The Fully Funded Wadsworth African PhD Fellowships in South Africa are open for Africans. These are intended to support African students undertaking study leading to a Ph.D. at a South African university that can provide them with international-level training in anthropology (including biological and archaeology). Currently, applications to the University of Witwatersrand or The University of Cape Town are given priority.

The Fully Funded Wadsworth African PhD Fellowships in South Africa will provide $17,500, which can be used towards travel, living expenses, tuition, student fees, insurance, books, research expenses, and other relevant expenditure categories while studying at the Host institution. A separate application can be made for an additional year of funding to support the dissertation write-up.

The eligibility criteria for the Fully Funded Wadsworth African PhD Fellowships in South Africa are stated below:

1. The Wadsworth African Fellowship is intended for young African scholars who may not otherwise be able to pursue a doctoral degree in anthropology. Normally, applicants will be under 35 years of age at the time they begin their fellowship. They must be citizens and residents of an African country at the time of application. They must also be members of an underrepresented academic anthropology/archaeology group.

2. Applicants must be prepared to demonstrate their reasons for choosing their Host Institution (where they plan to study). Currently, applications to the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town are given priority.

3. A Host Institution can have only two active Wadsworth African fellows. Because anthropology can be taught in various departments (Social Anthropology, Archaeology, Anatomy, etc.) it is expected that there will normally be only one active fellow per department at any time.

4. Applicants may have already begun their training for the doctoral degree at a South African university. Still, they must demonstrate why their funding circumstances have changed and why they now do not have sufficient funding to complete their degree.

5. Students who have advanced beyond their first year of doctoral studies/training are not eligible to apply.

6. When they submit their application, candidates must have an application for doctoral admission pending at a South African institution that will provide training.

7. The applicant must have a Host Sponsor or supervisor who is a member of the South African institution where the candidate plans to pursue the training. The Host Sponsor must be willing to oversee the candidate’s training. A Host Sponsor cannot sponsor more than one applicant per funding season.

8. The applicant must have a Home Sponsor who is a member of the institution at which the applicant received his or her prior degree/s. The Home Sponsor must be prepared to supply a letter of reference for the applicant. In some cases, the Host Institution may be the same institution where the applicant received his or her prior degree/s. If this situation applies, the Home Sponsor should be the Head of a relevant department at the Host Institution or another member of the academic staff who is familiar with the applicant but will not be acting as the Host Sponsor.

9. Applicants may submit only one application per funding season. They may not apply through two or more Host Institutions/Departments simultaneously.

10. If the Foundation receives more than one application for a single South African department, the Foundation will contact that department to have them prioritize their applicants for potential funding.

11. Applications exclusively seeking support for fieldwork expenses and/or dissertation write-ups are not accepted. Applicants should apply to the Dissertation Fieldwork Grant program for fieldwork expenses. The Foundation only funds dissertation write-ups for Wadsworth African Fellows who have received funding for training purposes from the Wenner-Gren Foundation before undertaking their fieldwork.

12. Applicants must demonstrate that they have sufficient funds in addition to the Wadsworth African Fellowship to complete their training at the Host Institution.

13. If a Wadsworth African Fellowship is awarded, the applicant must agree to comply with the Requirements and Conditions of the Wadsworth African Fellowship.

How to Apply: 

Final decisions will be made by January 15. Application materials are available three months before the application deadline. Applicants must use the most recent application form. They must also submit their application materials using the Foundation’s online submission procedure and send two printed copies to the Foundation by regular mail. See the link to ‘Application Procedures’ below for more information.