For yet another year, the long-awaited Learn Africa postgraduate scholarship programme, a flagship of the Women for Africa Foundation, is back. With more than 10 years of history, the programme has reached the incredible figure of 350 female students from 35 different African countries. Many of them have successfully completed their studies in Spain or Morocco and have managed to successfully access the labour market in their countries of origin or have continued with doctoral studies.
In this new call for applications, the Women for Africa Foundation has made a solid commitment to doctoral scholarships –this is the year with the highest number of doctoral scholarships offered. In addition, the Foundation has kept up the trend of promoting academic programmes in STEM fields, adding innovative topics such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, food safety and sustainable construction, among others.
In this new edition, a total of 76 new scholarships and 22 continuity scholarships are being offered, thanks to the unswerving commitment of the programme’s 50-plus collaborators, including universities, business schools and private funders such as GMV, ASISA Foundation and ANESVAD Foundation.
Undoubtedly, the success of the programme is reflected not only in the number and variety of scholarships offered or in the impact that the Learn Africa experience has on the lives of its beneficiaries, but also in the wide range of partners involved in the programme, which continues to grow every year. Thus, for this new call, Learn Africa will have the honor of counting for the first time on the University of Almeria (UAL) and the ENAE Business School (Murcia); both institutions have started their journey in the programme with a strong commitment of two scholarships each.
Eligibility Criteria
- Be a woman, and have nationality and residence in an African country.
- Be enrolled in an African university or have a university degree issued in an African country. For postgraduate scholarships, a Bachelor’s degree is required. The degree required may vary depending on the scholarship applied for (see detailed information on each scholarship).
- Meet the specific requirements of the scholarship you are applying for.
- Only one application per person will be accepted.
Technical and academic requirements
- It is important to read carefully the information showed in the description of the studies you want to take, as well as on the university website (link attached to each scholarship), regarding the academic requirements.
- The beneficiary agrees to provide the host university with duly legalized, certified and translated copies of her university degree, academic record or any other required documentation. If you are selected, we recommend that you start the administrative process at the time you accept the scholarship, as the procedures you will need to take at the Embassy/Consulate and/or at the Ministries of Education or Foreign Affairs of your country may take long time.
- The beneficiary must also present a certificate issued by her university certifying that she has a degree that enables her to pursue the requested studies (master or Phd).
- If you apply for an online scholarship, you must have a computer properly equipped to follow online courses, taking into account the following aspects: Internet connection, web browser, operating system, desktop applications, webcam, Zoom/Microsoft Teams applications etc.
Language requirements
- Before applying, make sure you have the required language skills. A high level of the language in which the training is delivered will always be required (B2 or C1 depending on the host university). You must prove your language level through the presentation of an official language certificate or through a telephone interview with the university.
- If you are selected, you will receive a notification email and — probably — a phone call from the Women for Africa Foundation to inform you personally. You will be requested to communicate with the foundation’s staff in the language of the scholarship you have applied for.
Offered Benefits
- Online scholarships cover only tuition fees.
- Face-to-face scholarships cover the following costs:
- Tuition fees
- Round trip
- Accommodation and meals (either in a University Hall or through the provision of a monthly allowance)
- Health insurance
IT IS NOT guaranteed that scholarships will cover other expenses such as:
- Re-enrollment fees for subjects failed at the ordinary or extraordinary exams.
- Internet connection for online scholarships.
- Costs associated to the issuance of the visa to travel to Spain.
- The legalization, recognition and translation of university degrees and academic records (the host University will require these documents).
- The issuance of the certificate once the studies in Spain have been sucessfully completed.
- Any other daily expenses including, but not limited to, warm clothing, hygiene articles, footwear, leisure, or local transport.
- Each scholarship is just for a single person; in no case will support of any kind (financial, consular, accommodation, etc.) be granted for potential accompanying family members (children, parents, siblings, spouse, etc.).
Application Process
Required Documents:
IMPORTANT: The files with the required documentation must meet the following requirements:
- Format: png, gif, jpg, jpeg, pdf, doc, docx, ppt or rtf
- Maximum size: 4MB.
If the files do not meet these requirements, your documents will not be uploaded and your application will not be valid.
To apply for a scholarship you will need to attach the following documents:
- Passport or National identity document + INFO
- Photo
- CV + INFO
- Diploma / certificate / university degree (as required)
- Academic record
- Motivation letter + INFO
- Reference letter(s) + INFO
- Official language certificate (if required) + INFO
- Other documents required for the scholarship
