2015 OWSD Postgraduate Training Fellowship for Female Scientists from Sub-Saharan African and Least Developed Countries.

The Application for the Organisation for Women in Science for Developing World (OWSD) postgraduate fellowships is open.

Women from Sub-Saharan Africa or Least Developed Countries (see list below) can apply for a PhD programme or for an MSc converting to a PhD programme. 

Grantees can choose either a full-time three year fellowship option, where the research is undertaken entirely at the host institute, or a sandwich option, where applicants are registered as PhD students in their home country and spend a minimum of six months at a host institute abroad.

Women are particularly encouraged to consider the sandwich option, which allows them to earn the PhD in their home country while accessing specialist researchers and equipment at the host institute.

Eligibility

• Open to qualified women science graduates from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Least Developed Countries (see list below).
• If applicants are over 40 years of age, they should include a brief explanation of why their research career has been delayed.
• The minimum qualification is an MSc degree (or equivalent), or an outstanding BSc honours degree in the natural sciences, engineering or information technology disciplines (see list below).
• Host institutions must be located in a developing country. This must be a different country from the applicant's home country.
• Applicants must provide a preliminary acceptance letter from at least one host institute.
• Students from eligible countries already enrolled on a PhD programme in their home country can apply for the sandwich option. This gives them access to expertise and resources that might not be available at the home institute.
• Applicants already on site in the host country will not be considered eligible since this implies that they have already secured sufficient funding for their studies.
• The applicant must be willing to return to her own country after completion of the fellowship.
• Accompanying persons are not eligible for support.

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES

Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros Islands, Congo Dem. Rep., Congo Rep., Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Niger, Réunion, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Western Sahara, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Eligible scientific fields

• Agricultural Sciences
• Structural, Cell and Molecular Biology
• Biological Systems and Organisms; Medical and Health Sciences
• Neurosciences
• Chemical Sciences
• Engineering Sciences
• Information Technology
• Astronomy, Space and Earth Sciences
• Mathematical Sciences
• Physics.

Please note that applications from students in the Basic (or 'pure') Sciences, such as Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry are encouraged.

Application deadline is 31st May 2015

To Apply, Please Visit the Official Webpage of OWSD Postgraduate Training Fellowship for Female Scientists.