Students who have a research Master’s degree and are currently enrolled in Universities in CORAF member countries, the CORAF Doctoral Thesis Scholarships are available for you. CORAF, through its competitive and commissioned fund mechanisms for financing research at the regional level and its student sponsorship policy, plans to recruit 4 students for doctoral studies (PhD) in 2025 on themes of regional interest covering the fields of plant production (agronomy, agroforestry, agroecology, pest control, etc.), animal production (breeding, fisheries and aquaculture, animal feed-nutrition, etc.), food quality and safety, agro-industry (processing of plant, animal and fishery products), agricultural product markets, bioinformatics, prospective analysis, etc.
Research activities will be facilitated by the Centers of Specialization to promote collaboration between universities and these centers. These are the Centers of Specialization
(i) Root and Tuber Crops in Ghana
(ii) Rainfed, Irrigated and Deep Submergence Rice in Mali
(iii) Dry Cereals in Senegal
(iv) Fruits and Vegetables in Burkina Faso
(v) Plantain Banana in Ivory Coast
(vi) Aquaculture in Nigeria
(vii) Maize in Benin
(viii) Livestock in Niger
(ix) Mangrove Rice in Sierra Leone
(x) Pests and Diseases in Togo
(xi) Wheat in Chad.
Students who want to be part of the CORAF Doctoral Thesis Scholarships must be enrolled in one of the Universities in CORAF member countries. As part of this program, CORAF recommends co-supervision of successful students. Thus, the student will be supervised by a Professor from the University where the student is enrolled, a researcher from one of the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) research centres involved, and/or researcher from the CORAF executive secretariat.
Eligibility Criteria for CORAF Doctoral Thesis Scholarships
To be eligible for this program, candidates must meet the following conditions:
- Be a national of one of the CORAF member countries;
- Be at most 40 years old
- Have a research Master’s degree related to the chosen field and theme;
- Provide written and signed agreement from an academic Supervisor(s)
- Have demonstrated capacity in applied research, willingness to learn and think across disciplines and professions
- Have a demonstrated interest in agricultural research for development;
- Be able to speak and write either French or English fluently; a good working knowledge of the other language would be an asset
- Have good skills to work in a multicultural environment
- Have excellent communication skills
Benefits
The scholarship allowance will include:
(i) registration and laboratory fees;
(ii) a monthly subsistence allowance;
(iii) field expenses including travel, surveys or labor related to research activities, acquisition of small research equipment and consumables;
(iv) international travel expenses (participation in conferences, scientific stays);
(v) and supervision fees.
Application Procedure
To apply for the CORAF Doctoral Thesis Scholarships, the application file must include:
- A motivation letter from the applicant demonstrating his/her suitability and specifying his/her availability.
- Certificates and transcripts of master’s and bachelor’s degrees
- A curriculum vitae (Maximum 5 pages)
- Two letters of recommendation from supervisors (1 University and 1 Centre of Specialization or 1 National Agricultural Research Institute member of CORAF) bearing their addresses
- A budgeted thesis research proposal on one of the proposed research topics covering FSRP priority areas (appended proposals)
- A pre-registration form from the doctoral school or university of registration, the name and full address of the supervisors
Submit your application by email to scholarships@coraf.org no later than July 15, 2025.
For more details, kindly visit the official website of CORAF Doctoral Thesis Scholarships