Call for Scholarship Applications 2020 at the Institute for Land, Poverty and Agrarian Studies, University of Western Cape

In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme “Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa”

Programme Objectives

As part of the “In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme” DAAD in close collaboration with the GIZ assisted programme “Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa (SLGA)” is able to offer scholarships for postgraduate studies within the Network of Excellence for Land Governance in Africa (NELGA)”. The programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) within the framework of the special initiative “One World – No Hunger”.
NELGA is a partnership of leading African universities and research institutions with proven leadership in education, training and research on land governance. Currently NELGA has more than 50 partner institutions across Africa.

Its overall objective is to promote good land governance by strengthening human and institutional capacities for the implementation of sustainable and development-oriented land policy in Africa.
The target group for scholarships are graduates and postgraduates from Africa with a first academic degree if applying for a Master’s programme, or with a Master’s degree if applying for a doctoral programme who want to pursue Master’s or PhD courses in their home country (so called In-Country scholarships) or in another African country (In-Region scholarships).
DAAD offers up to 3 scholarships for Master studies and 3 scholarships for PhD studies at PLAAS for the intake 2020.

Application Requirements

• have successfully completed generally a three-year university degree (Master candidates) or a two-year university degree (doctoral candidates) with above average results (upper third of class)
• clearly show motivation and strong commitment
• have thorough knowledge of the language of instruction
• must be nationals or permanent resident of an African country
• hold a SAQA Certificate of Evaluation or be in the process of obtaining one if they hold a non-South African university degree;
• should generally be a) staff member of a public university, b) candidate considered for teaching or research staff recruitment, c) from the public sector.

Female applicants and candidates from less privileged regions or groups are especially encouraged to participate in the programme.
Scholarships are initially granted for one year and can be extended to upon receipt of an application for extension. Scholars must demonstrate satisfactory progress before an extension is granted. All further information will be provided after admission to the scholarship programme.

Eligible Fields

The scholarships at PLAAS are available for the following Master and PhD courses:
• Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies

Place of Tenure

University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

Duration and Commencement

The duration of the Master programme is two years, the duration of the PhD programme is three years, generally starting in May 2020.

The application process contains two steps. Please be aware of the two application deadlines.
First step:
Applicants must apply for their studies at PLAAS using the contacts and the method that is prescribed by the institution. PLAAS has set its own deadlines.
PLAAS will screen, pre-select (according to DAAD selection criteria) and short-list the applicants. A detailed report consisting of the shortlisting procedure, the entire list of applicants, the ranked shortlist and the shortlisting panel members will also be availed to DAAD. The ranked shortlist will contain preferably triple the number of scholarships that have been attributed to the institution.
DAAD reserves the right of final selection.

Second step:
PLAAS will provide the shortlisted candidates with the link to the DAAD-Portal. Only the pre-selected candidates are asked to log into the DAAD portal, register themselves and submit an DAAD application. DAAD Deadline: 30/11/2019

Documents to be submitted:

• DAAD application form duly filled in (available in the DAAD-Portal)
• Hand signed curriculum vitae (please use the European specimen form at http://europass.cedefop. Europa.eu), including a list of publications (if applicable).
• Recommendation letter by university teachers (Master: 1, PhD: 2)
• Letter of admission for the host university
• Certified copies of university degree certificates including transcripts
• Letter of motivation
• Passport copy
• In case of non-South African university degrees: SAQA Certificate of Evaluation

Scholarship Funding

The scholarship will either be disbursed by the host institution or will be paid directly to the scholarship holder´s banking account. Further details will be announced after admission to the scholarship programme.

Contact and Advice

German Academic Exchange Service
Section ST32 – Scholarship Programmes Africa
Kennedyallee 105
53175 Bonn
Germany
Ms Jana Bömer
E-Mail: boemer@daad.de