Africa International PGR Scholarships 2021-22

Three (3) full scholarships available for 2021/22 entry, to support international students from Africa to undertake full-time doctoral research degrees (PhD) at King's College London.

Award details

Do you have research interests that relate to Africa?

Could you take an interdisciplinary approach to your research?

Applications are invited from international students from Africa for three full scholarships to undertake a full-time PhD at King’s College London starting in 2021/22. Funding is available for up to 4 years.

The topic of the PhD must clearly be relevant to the continent of Africa.

Interdisciplinary projects are especially encouraged, and all projects must fall at the intersection of two or more of the following themes or disciplines:

1. Conflict, Peace and Security: King’s is world renowned for the study of violent conflict, peace, and security. The School of Security Studies and the School of Global Affairs provide a range of programmes of relevance to Africa, with the African Leadership Centre offering particular focus on leadership studies at the security-development nexus. Further info:
   • https://www.kcl.ac.uk/global-affairs /
   • https://www.kcl.ac.uk/security-studies /
   • https://www.kcl.ac.uk/alc
2. Global Health: Students in this discipline are exposed to a unique international and interdisciplinary context covering broad areas such as healthcare partnerships, global surgery, palliative care, maternal health, global health governance and policy, mental health, ageing, cancer, oral health and mucosal biology, diabetes and other conditions, conflict and health, migration and health, environment and health. Further info:
   • https://www.kcl.ac.uk/global-health/about-us
3. Development: The study of development at King’s cuts across a range of disciplines with particular concentration in the School of Global Affairs including, development studies with reference to emerging economies in the Department of International Development; environment and development with a potential to examine disasters and adaptation in the Department of Geography; leadership and development at the African Leadership Centre. Further info:
   • https://www.kcl.ac.uk/global-affairs /
   • https://www.kcl.ac.uk/alc
4. Digital Technology: Students in this discipline undertake research into new and emerging internet technologies in the Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; and the different ways in which digital technologies and methods are transforming society in King’s pioneering Department of Digital Humanities. Further info:
   • https://www.kcl.ac.uk/engineering/postgraduate/research-degrees /
   • https://www.kcl.ac.uk/bigdata/Expertise/Digital-Humanities

Award value

The Scholarship covers:

• An annual stipend (living allowance): at the UKRI rate (for the year 2021/22, this was set at £17,285)
• Full international tuition fees
• Research Support Grant: up to £5k/year, depending on the research project

Eligibility criteria

Candidates must:

• Be African nationals and permanently resident in the relevant country;
• Be liable for tuition fees at the higher international/overseas rate;
• Plan to commence a full-time MPhil/PhD programme at King’s College London in the 2021-22 academic year (from October 2021 and by no later than June 2022);
• Plan to conduct research that is relevant to Africa, at the intersection of two or more of the given themes or disciplines, as described in the ‘Award Details’ section;
• Have applied to King’s College London for the scholarship (as instructed in the ‘Application Process’ section below) by the given deadlines;
• Secure an admission offer for an MPhil/PhD programme at King’s by 30 June 2021.

Please note:

• Existing doctoral degree students are not eligible to apply;
• The scholarship cannot be held on a part-time basis;
• Professional doctorate degrees are not eligible;
• Distance learning programmes are not eligible;
• The scholarship cannot commence prior to October 2021.

Award conditions

Please refer to the 'Conditions & Regulations of Funding 2021-22' document for details about the terms and conditions - See attached under 'Terms and conditions'.

Application process

Timeline:

Steps on How to Apply:

1. Refer to our ‘How to apply: Research courses’ page for general guidance on how to find and apply for a doctoral degree at King’s. Please ensure that you are fully aware of the entry requirements for your chosen programme before applying. Please also carefully consider if/how your proposed research project aligns with at least two of our specified themes/disciplines (see above).

2. Submit an admissions application to King’s College London for a full-time MPhil/PhD degree programme with a 2021-22 start date (i.e., from 1 October 2021) using the King’s online admissions application system – King’s Apply* You will need to submit full academic documents relating to your previous education, and depending on your chosen programme of study, this may also include a personal statement, research proposal, and a supervisor whom you have named and contacted. Please ensure that your admissions application is submitted with the relevant supporting materials by 30 April 2021. It normally takes at least 8-weeks for applications to be processed and for admissions offers to be secured, so it is your responsibility to ensure that all supporting materials, including references, are provided as soon as possible.

*If you have already submitted an application via King’s Apply for an MPhil/PhD degree at King’s that meets the eligibility criteria, you do not have to reapply, but please follow the step 3 and 4.

3. On the ‘Funding’ Section of your King’s Apply application, you MUST tick the box at item 5 (Award Scheme Code or Name) and enter the funding code: 2122-AFRICA (Please copy and paste the code exactly!). This funding code must be added as soon as possible and by no later than the deadline of 23:59 GMT on 30 June 2021.

If you submitted your admissions application before including the funding code, simply log back into King’s Apply to update the ‘Funding’ section of your application. If you experience any problems with this, please contact the admissions office via the messaging section of your application for assistance.

4. As soon as possible and by no later than the deadline of 23:59 GMT on 30 June 2021, complete a separate ‘Africa International PGR Scholarships 2021-22 Form’ and attach this to the ‘Funding’ Section of your application on King’s Apply, using the ‘File Upload’ option at the bottom of the page; under the ‘Document Category’ dropdown menu select ‘Sponsorship Document’.

Again, if you submitted your admissions application before uploading the Africa International PGR scholarship form, simply log back into King’s Apply to update the ‘Funding’ section of your application. If you experience any problems with this, please contact the admissions office via the messaging section of your application for assistance.

PLEASE NOTE: Students who fail to input the funding code and upload a completed ‘Africa International PGR Scholarships 2021-22 Form’, exactly as instructed in steps 3 and 4, will not be picked up when we extract details from King’s Apply, so it is vital that you follow the instructions correctly!

IMPORTANT: to be considered for this scholarship, applicants must secure an admission offer by no later than 23:59 GMT on 30 June 2021. Only those who meet the eligibility criteria and who have applied as instructed and in time for the scholarship will be considered.

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