The Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at the Wits Business School (University of the Witwatersrand), with the support of the Mastercard Foundation invites applications for Doctoral Fellowship on the Non-Profit Sector and its Contribution to African Economies project. The aim of the PhD fellowship is to provide opportunities for young African doctoral students registered in African universities to participate in research on non-profit organisations and their contributions to African economies. The specific focus of the research project is ‘The creation of dignified and fulfilling work for young Africans by the non-profit sector’.
The CAPSI-Mastercard Foundation doctoral fellowship programme offers a maximum of five years of support to twenty (20) selected full time Ph.D students.
University of the Witwatersrand Information
Founded in 1922, University of the Witwatersrand is a non-profit public higher education institution located in the urban setting of the large city of Johannesburg (population range of 1,000,000-5,000,000 inhabitants), Gauteng. Officially accredited and/or recognized by the Department of Higher Education and Training, South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) is a large (uniRank enrollment range: 25,000-29,999 students) coeducational higher education institution. University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) offers courses and programs leading to officially recognized higher education degrees such as bachelor degrees, master degrees, doctorate degrees in several areas of study. See the uniRank degree levels and areas of study matrix below for further details. This 97 years old higher-education institution has a selective admission policy based on entrance examinations and students' past academic record and grades. The admission rate range is 30-40% making this South African higher education organization a very selective institution. International students are welcome to apply for enrollment.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the Fellowship Programme, applicants must:
- Be a female aged 35 years or below
- Be currently enrolled as a full time student in a relevant doctoral programme at an African university, focusing on themes and research aligned to the project.
- Have research interest in the non-profit sector’s contributions to dignified and fulfilling work for African youth.
- Demonstrate commitment to the programme and the ability to work effectively in a team.
- Be available to participate in the programme for its entire duration.
- In the first or second year of their PhD programme.
- Be nationals of any of the countries listed above and conduct research on any of them or some of them.
- The programme invites doctoral students exclusively from African universities in the 17 countries targeted by the project. These are Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
SUBJECT FIELDS
Social and behavioural sciences, including Economics, Development Studies, International Development, Non-profit or Philanthropic studies, Statistics and Actuarial Sciences, Management, Public Policy, History, Human Geography, or any development-related field.
The research should strictly focus on the project’s main objective; The Contributions of Non-profit Sectors to African Economies with specific focus on Dignified and Fulfilling Work for the Youth.
Offered Benefits
Each fellow will receive a fully funded fellowship, providing a full scholarship of up to $30,000 per year.
Application Process
The application must be sent by email to: (applicants from West and North Africa), (applicants from East Africa), and eleanor.chipeta @wits.ac.za (applicants from Southern Africa) clearly marked “PHD FELLOWSHIP IN THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR’S CONTRIBUTION TO AFRICAN ECONOMIES, and copied to .
Required Documents:
- Current curriculum vitae (CV).
- A personal statement (maximum 500 words) outlining their research interest, motivation, and alignment with the advertised CAPSI Research programme.
- An outline of their proposed research project (Maximum 2500 words) covering the following.
I. Background of study
II. Problem Statement
III. Research questions
IV. Research objectives
V. Literature review and theoretical framework
VI. Proposed methodology (covering research design, sampling and, data collection and ethical considerations)
4. A letter of recommendation from supervisor/proposed supervisor.
5. A copy of academic transcripts.
6. Proof of age ( e.g., passport, birth certificate, etc.)
7. Proof of admission or registration in an African University
Founded in 1922, University of the Witwatersrand is a non-profit public higher education institution located in the urban setting of the large city of Johannesburg (population range of 1,000,000-5,000,000 inhabitants), Gauteng. Officially accredited and/or recognized by the Department of Higher Education and Training, South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) is a large (uniRank enrollment range: 25,000-29,999 students) coeducational higher education institution. University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) offers courses and programs leading to officially recognized higher education degrees such as bachelor degrees, master degrees, doctorate degrees in several areas of study. See the uniRank degree levels and areas of study matrix below for further details. This 97 years old higher-education institution has a selective admission policy based on entrance examinations and students' past academic record and grades. The admission rate range is 30-40% making this South African higher education organization a very selective institution. International students are welcome to apply for enrollment.