CARTA PhD Fellowships 2019/2020 for African Researchers

Application Deadline: 30th April 2019
Offered annually? Yes
Eligible Countries: All African countries

To be taken at (country): Below is a list of Universities and host countries

• Makerere University, Uganda.
• Moi University, Kenya.
• Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.
• University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
• University of Malawi, Malawi.
• University of Nairobi, Kenya.
• University of Rwanda, Rwanda.
• University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

• African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Kenya.
• Agincourt Health and Population Unit, South Africa.
• Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), Tanzania
• KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya.

• Brown University, USA.
• Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (CCGHR), Canada.
• Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Switzerland.
• Umeå University, Sweden.
• University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
• University of Warwick, UK.
• University of Bergen, Norway.
• Uppsala Monitoring Centre, Sweden.
• University of Chile

Eligible Field(s) of Study: Public and Population health related fields such as public health, demography, anthropology, communication, and economics.
About the Award: The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) is an initiative of eight African universities, four African research institutes, and select northern partners. CARTA offers an innovative model for doctoral training in sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen the capacity of participating institutions to conduct and lead internationally-competitive research.
This program has been developed in response to the great challenges faced by Africa’s institutions of higher education in addressing the training and retention of the next generation of academics in the region. Women are particularly encouraged to apply.

Specifically, CARTA seeks to fund candidates who will be future leaders in their institutions; that is, young, capable, and committed individuals who, in time, will ensure that their universities will be the institutions of choice for future generations of academics and university administrators wishing to make a positive impact on public and population health in Africa.
Successful applicants will attend CARTA’s innovative series of Joint Advanced Seminars (JAS) for cohorts of doctoral students admitted and registered in the participating African universities. Both the development and delivery of these courses are jointly-led by regional and international experts. The seminars consist of didactic sessions, discussions, demonstrations, and practice labs. These activities collectively serve to:

1. Expose students to key theories and concepts, seminal readings, and research methods of disciplines relevant to public and population health;
2. Train students in critical research skills; and
3. Build and maintain a network of researchers for scientific collaborations, professional support, and mutually beneficial exchange of scientific resources

Type: PhD, Research, Fellowship
Eligibility:

• A Masters degree in a relevant field.
• Prior admission into a PhD program is not required for application but awards are contingent on such admission being obtained at one of the participating African universities.
• Applicants for this program must be teaching or research staff at one of the participating African institutions and should be committed to contributing towards building capacity at their institutions.
• Applicants’ PhD research proposal must be related to public and population health.
• Fellowships are only open to people who have not yet registered for a PhD or are in the very early stages (first year) of the PhD program.
• Applicants must commit to participation in all four annual residential Joint Advanced Seminars (JASes), and to engage in inter-seminar activities designed to keep fellows actively engaged and in continual communication with peers and mentors.
• Male applicants must be under the age of 40 years and female applicants under the age 45 years by April 30, 2019.

Number of Awards: Up to 25 PhD fellowships

Value of Award: The fellowship, which is tenable at one of the participating African universities (complete list below), includes the  cost of fellows’ participation in the advanced seminars; a modest monthly stipend; small grants for research activities; a laptop loaded with relevant software; funds for travel to conferences, as well as costs for participating in joint program activities.
Duration of Scholarship: The fellowship runs for a maximum of four years.
How to Apply: 

• Contact the CARTA focal person in your institution to discuss your interest and obtain application materials. The application form is available here CARTA-Fellowship-Application-Form-2019.
• Applicants are expected to submit application forms by April 30, 2019 to the Focal Persons at partner institutions WITH A COPY TO THE SECRETARIAT (carta_fellowship@aphrc.org )
• Institutional Selection: Between April 30 and May 15 the institutions select nominees for the full application to CARTA. Institutions must submit a completed University CARTA PhD Fellowships Applications Screening Form on May 15.
• Full application process:

1. Critical review of a scientific article (score 100)
2. Numeracy task (score 100)
3. Critical thinking task (score 100)
4. Understanding plagiarism course (score 50)
5. AMANET basic health research ethics course (score 150)

• Nominees submit their revised research proposals which must adhere to the CARTA format to the focal person, who will forward it to the CARTA secretariat.
• Nominees submit a reference support letter from the Head of Department to CARTA secretariat.
• Final fellowship decision, which is independent of the university application, will be communicated by CARTA secretariat by November 1, 2019.

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details