PhD in African Studies

We warmly invite candidates to apply for a PhD degree in African Studies. We host a thriving and cosmopolitan community of research students in the Centre of African Studies (CAS).

The Centre of African Studies offers a Ph.D. programme with an international reputation, awarded from one of the world's leading universities. We welcome applications and enquiries from prospective students with a keen interest in conducting research that engages with and extends our knowledge of Africa. Please note that the deadline for submission of applications for September 2012 entry is 15 August 2012. Students who will need to apply for a visa to study in the U.K. should plan to apply at least three to four months prior to the start of term.

The Centre is the base for the ESRC's Scottish Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) Pathway in African Studies & International Development, and for the forthcoming academic year 2012-13 one award is available for a doctoral student to study in CAS.

For information on ESRC and other funding for the PhD in African Studies, please click here.

Teaching and Research Environment

The Centre is a recognised ESRC outlet which means our teaching and training has been nationally quality assured. We are consistently ranked in Good University Guides as one of the top African Studies programmes in the UK.

Our teaching staff's research is highly regarded internationally, all the subject areas to which we contribute (Sociology, Social Anthropology, Politics and History) were rated in the top six in their respective fields in the UK in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. The University of Edinburgh is a world class university and one of the world's greatest centres of gravity of Africanist expertise. Consequently, our teaching and supervison are of the highest standard; built on our commitment to teaching and our own cutting edge research.

Africanist expertise is drawn from the three dozen faculty associated to the Centre of African Studies and from across the University to provide expert and focused training and supervision for our research students.

HOW TO APPLY

See the Graduate School's website for guidance on how to apply (http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/how_to_apply). Please note that full applications must be received by 1 July 2012 at the latest in order to be considered for entry in September 2012. In addition to the School's and University's requirements (especially regarding English language skills, past academic undergraduate record and references) the Centre of African Studies gives particular weight to the following factors:

(a) the applicant's postgraduate work at Masters level. We will expect a good overall performance, at least in the 60s range or equivalent, with particular focus on the dissertation.  Additional factors, such as ESRC-certified methods training (or its equivalent), directly relevant work experience, as well as command of one or more African languages, are also highly desirable.
(b) the applicant's research proposal. The proposal (of about 1-2,000 words) should
 - specify clearly the analytical question, issue, or topic which the applicant wishes to pursue;
 - briefly explain why the proposal topic is both important and under-researched, with reference to the current scholarship; and
 - stipulate the methods needed in order for the research to be undertaken (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed; fieldwork; interviews and surveys; archival /primary source research; etc.).

Applicants should bear in mind that their proposals will also be evaluated in terms of their grammar, style, and presentation; revising is thus strongly recommended.    

You are strongly advised to get in touch with prospective supervisors affiliated with the Centre. Further information and contact details may be found at the Centre's staff pages: http://www.cas.ed.ac.uk/staff_profiles/index.
Prospective supervisors might ask you to provide them with written work from your Masters degree (for example, your MSc dissertation, or two long essays), in order to get a sense of your research potential).

Further information can be found in the programme handbook: http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/programme_handbooks. 

Students

Students at CAS form a dynamic group, all studying different topics and countries but linked by their interest in Africa. Students are encouraged to become active members of the Centre, participating in conferences, seminars, research projects and contributing to our publication profile. Senior research students are often involved in course planning and teaching, which helps in equiping them for future academic careers. Our research graduates are highly employable, many remain in academia, some become researchers in Africa and elsewhere and all develop research and other skills that allow them to work anywhere in the world.

We provide a challenging, dynamic, supportive and tightly-knit environment for our students. You can read comments describing their time at CAS from some of our past students here and page through images of our community using the links on the right hand side. 

Student Seminars and Workshops

Throughout the year PhD students organise informal peer review seminars where students have the opportunity to present their research proposal, fieldwork plans, chapter ideas, etc. This provides a friendly forum in which students can exchange ideas about theoretical and practial aspects of their work with others who wre going through or have recently gone through the same process. MSc research students also are invited to participate in these sessions. Other student-led activities include our book club, language classes and the Africa in Motion film festival.

CAS students have also been involved in the organisation of more substantial research workshops, raising the funding themselves from organisations like the ESRC and Royal African Society.