The Social Science Research Council offers fellowships to support the completion of doctoral degrees and to promote next generation social science research in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The fellowships support dissertation research on peacebuilding, security, and development.

The Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Fellowships support PhD students working on developing a doctoral dissertation research proposal as well as students who recently completed a master’s degree and seek to enroll in a PhD program. The fellowships support short-term research costs of up to US$3,000 to develop a doctoral dissertation proposal.  

Program Components 

Through the Next Gen Completion Program, fellowship recipients can expect the following:

Thought Leadership 

  • Commit to six (6) months of developing their doctoral dissertation proposal. Fellows produce proposals that are relevant to, and have significant impact on, peacebuilding, security, and development scholarship on the continent while producing evidence-based knowledge of relevance to regional and global scholarly debates.

Workshops 

  • Participate in two mandatory APN and Next Gen workshops occurring in July and January across different regions of Africa. These workshops are designed to help fellows refine, develop and strengthen research questions, match research methods to questions, engage key literature in their fields, and finalize their doctoral research proposals.

African Scholarship and Knowledge Production 

  • Contribute to the APN and Next Gen’s digital forums and social media platforms (Kujenga Amani, Facebook, and X). 

Fostering Community, Professional Development and Networking 

  • Fellows are part of a network of highly visible and active African scholars and practitioners capable of projecting African perspectives and voices onto global discourses, knowledge and practices of peacebuilding, security, and development. 
  • Fellows will receive mentorship from highly experienced senior scholars in the field. There are opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and collaboration. 
  • Gain new knowledge and skills to advance their careers as academics or practitioners in their chosen fields.  

Eligibility

All applicants must:

  • be citizens of any African country
  • be enrolled, or intend to enroll by the time of the award, and working towards a PhD in an accredited university, or affiliated to an institution in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda 
  • hold a master’s degree at the time of application

As of May 2015, the program prioritizes applicants holding a faculty position or demonstrating a durable commitment to higher education in Africa, but does not restrict eligibility to such individuals.

The program seeks to promote diversity and encourages historically marginalized persons and communities including women, Indigenous people, gender diverse, LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, among others to apply.

Become a Fellow 

To apply and obtain more information regarding the Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Fellowship, please refer to the 2025 APN and Next Gen Application Guidebook. For inquiries or technical questions pertaining to the online application portal, please contact the APN and Next Gen staff at nextgenafrica@ssrc.org. 

This program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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