US – South Africa Staff Doctoral Programme in Global Health for PhD Students in South Africa 2018

The University of the Free State, the University of Venda and the University of Virginia (US) have joined forces to advance the training of a cohort of ten academically excellent staff members for doctoral degrees in the field of Global Health, who are in addition highly interculturally competent and capacitated to advance academic collaboration between South African and US higher education institutions.

Application Deadline: 16th July 2018.

Eligible Countries: South Africa

To Be Taken At (Country): United States

About the Award:  The programme is partially funded by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training. The tripartite partnership aims to provide an enabling environment for high quality mentoring and supplementary resources, to obtain doctorate degrees in the health sciences, with a focus on global health. The global health focus may be in a discipline specific area for example surgery.

The doctoral candidates will be involved in regular (quarterly) virtual cohort meetings. At the meetings, the doctoral candidates will share their proposals and discuss the progress of their doctoral work. The cohort meetings will be attended by all candidates and their respective supervisors. Every doctoral candidate will participate in a one-month mobility to the University of Virginia in the United States. The candidate will be joined for one week by her or his South African supervisor.
In addition, ancillary trainings workshops, such as the ethics and responsible conduct of research, the art of scientific writing, research grant proposal writing, innovation, implementation and leadership in research, science and society will be organized and will be compulsory for all students. Facilitation of the ancillary sessions will be supplemented by renowned individuals in global health science and practice. Invited facilitators will include women to provide perspective and motivation for women in academia.

Type: PhD, Short courses

Eligibility: 

• Candidates must be academic staff members of the partner universities or professional staff in their developmental career stage who support the academic function and occupy permanent full time positions at one of the South African partner universities.
• Preference will be given to younger candidates who have established themselves in academia by attaining positions as Heads of Departments or Senior Lecturers that aspire to have a PhD.
• Evidence of academic leadership potential will be a strong recommendation
• Candidates must have a track record of academic excellence.
• Candidates must be South African citizens or permanent residents.
• 80 percent of the cohort must be black and/or female staff members in the mid-forties or younger.

Selection Criteria: 

• The participants in this staff doctoral training programme will be determined through a formal recruitment process.
• Applications will be screened for completeness, and assessed by key representatives of the partner institutions for suitability for participation in the programme.
• Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed to understand their readiness to embark on a doctoral programme, interest in global health science, and career plans in academia. The universities reserve the right not to make appointments. Further calls for applications to this staff doctoral programme may follow.

Number of Awards: 10

Value of Award: 

• Every doctoral candidate will participate in a one-month mobility to the University of Virginia in the United States. The candidate will be joined for one week by her or his South African supervisor.
• In addition, ancillary trainings workshops, such as the ethics and responsible conduct of research, the art of scientific writing, research grant proposal writing, innovation, implementation and leadership in research, science and society will be organized and will be compulsory for all students.
• Facilitation of the ancillary sessions will be supplemented by renowned individuals in global health science and practice. Invited facilitators will include women to provide perspective and motivation for women in academia.

Duration of Programme: One month

How to Apply: All applications must include:

• Application letter setting out the reasons why the candidate thinks that she/he would benefit from participating in this staff doctoral training programme and setting out how the candidate would use the skills and competencies gained for the benefit of his home university and the South African higher education system. (Maximum 2 pages)
• A 1-2 page preliminary research proposal, in which you outline the research problem you would like to investigate, the rationale why this research problem should be investigated, and the methodology you would like to use. It should include a short sample bibliography with a maximum of 5 core writings central to the proposed topic.
• A detailed academic curriculum vitae.
• Copies of all post-secondary qualifications and academic records (certified copies to be supply once short listed).

Applications must be addressed to:
The Office for International Affairs
University of the Free State
Attention: Chevon Jacobs
Email: JacobsCS@ufs.ac.za

Visit Programme Webpage for Details