Fully Funded Masters and PhD Scholarships in Developmental Studies

South African-German Centre for Development Research

For applicants from Sub-Saharan African countries with an excellent academic record the DRD offers a limited number of DAAD merit scholarships per year.

Application deadline 31st July 2015

Scholarships are available for full-time students of

Scholarships include monthly allowances of 650 Euro plus travel allowances for Master candidates and 900 Euro plus travel allowances for PhD candidates. More information about requirements for application and application procedure is provided below.

Requirements for application and application procedure

  • Scholarship applicants are adviced to carefully read about the specific entry requirements and course application procedure of the programme of their choice. The information is available from the respective programmes sections. In addition to programme requirements, all applicants have to meet the following requirements:
  • Applicants should be from Sub-Sahara Africa
  • Applicants should have an outstanding academic record – at least 70% for your last degree
  • Applicants should apply within 3 years of having completed their previous degree
  • The study must have been completed at an internationally recognised university
  • The previous degree (Baccalaureus or Master) should have been an academic discipline which is related to Development Studies or Public Administration
  • South African students are required to have an honours degree in order to be admitted to a Masters degree course. Other students need the equivalent of a 4 year undergraduate degree
  • Applicants must provide evidence of proficiency in English, both written and spoken. This can be TOEFL test or a similar standard test or a letter from an academic institution
  • Work and/or voluntary experience in your field of interest would be a recommendation
  • Women are encouraged to apply
  • South African students are encouraged to apply
  • Applicants must be able to study fulltime at the UWC for the required period.

Scholarship application procedure for

  • MA in Development Studies
  • Master in Public Administration
  • PhD options at the CDR

For the MADM please refer to the “How to apply” section of the Bochum programme or the course homepage.

You will have to fill in an electronic application form (ONLY AVAILABLE FROM 22nd APRIL to 31th July)!Applications not using this e-form can´t be considered! As the e-form can only be submitted once, please make sure that your application is complete before submitting it!

Documents that have to be uploaded when using the e-form are:

  • a letter of application
  • a CV: Please use the europass CV form available at https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/home
  • an academic transcript from your last university
  • certified copies of all academic certificates
  • MA applicants will have to write a one page paper about 1 of the following 4 topics:

1 François Bourguignon, a former Chief Economist of the World Bank referred to the “poverty growth inequality triangle”: Discuss this comment, critically evaluating the role of inequality in the current study of development in Africa.

2 Write critically on perceptions about governance in Sub Saharan Africa.

3 It has been claimed that climate change could potentially interrupt progress toward a world without hunger. Consider the evidence for this claim and discuss how climate change might impact on food security.

4 Discuss the relationship between social movements and civil society in a specific SSA country of your choice.

  • PhD applicants are asked to also submit a 6 page proposal on the research they would want to undertake for the thesis. This should include their research question, the research methodology and a (provisional) theoretical framework. A list of topics is given in the PhD section.
  • Additional one signed reference (academic) (and one professional if applicable) have to be uploaded to the e-form. Only if referees don´t want you to submit the reference yourself, the reference can be send by the referee directly to ,’; document.write(‘<a ‘=”” +=”” path=”” ‘\”=”” prefix=”” ‘:’=”” addy54078=”” ‘\’=””>’); document.write(addy_text54078); document.write(‘<\/a>’); //–>\n indicating the applicant’s name!

<a ‘=”” +=”” path=”” ‘\”=”” prefix=”” ‘:’=”” addy54078=”” ‘\’=””>

  • <a ‘=”” +=”” path=”” ‘\”=”” prefix=”” ‘:’=”” addy54078=”” ‘\’=””><a ‘=”” +=”” path=”” ‘\”=”” prefix=”” ‘:’=”” addy54078=”” ‘\’=””>Candidates for the Masters Programme in Public Administration (MPA), the MA in Development Studies as well as PhD candidates in the fields of Governance, Public Policy, Public Management or Development Studies can submit their scholarship application without needing to apply for admission at UWC. If they are awarded a scholarship, or if they intend to finance themselves, they may apply for admission through the online application procedure (www.uwc.ac.za).
  • We are unfortunately not able to engage in extended correspondence with applicants.
  • For applicants of the MPA, the MA in Development Studies as well as PhD candidates the closing date for the next intake (2016) for all scholarship applications is 31 July 2015. Applicants will be informed about their applications beginning of September 2015.
  • For additional information on the courses or on registration please write to:
    • pkippie@uwc.ac.za for the MA and M Econ or PhD in Development Studies and to
    • LFesters@uwc.ac.za on the MPA course or an PhD in Public Administration or Governance.
    • Britta Niklas for the Master of Arts in Development Management (Bochum Programme)
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