The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program, launched in 2011, responds to an emerging dilemma within higher education in the global South caused by the extraordinary emphasis on increasing undergraduate enrollment without proportionate investment in faculty development, limiting the ability of universities to produce the next generation of researchers, faculty, technocrats, and leaders.
The program currently operates to strengthen tertiary education in Africa by offering a sequence of fellowship opportunities for promising PhD students to undertake research and make steady progress toward the completion of their doctoral degree and one post-doctoral fellowship:
- Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Fellowship: Supports short-term research costs of up to US$3,000 to develop a doctoral dissertation proposal
- Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship: Supports 6–12 months of doctoral dissertation research costs of up to US$15,000
- Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship: Supports a one-year leave from teaching and administrative responsibilities through a stipend of up to US$10,000 to permit the completion of a doctoral dissertation
The program also offers activities that nurture the intellectual development of its fellows by connecting them to one another to create a pipeline for the development of faculty and research communities working on peace, security, and development topics across the continent.
Currently, the program supports doctoral candidates enrolled in universities in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
