AERC Collaborative PhD Programme 2022

Collaborative PhD Programme (CPP) in Economics’ primary aim is to strengthen teaching and research capacity in sub-Saharan African countries, to increase the pool of potential researchers and policy analysts, and to gradually build-up and retain African scholars in Africa, leading to an increase in capacity across the continent. CPP aims to increase output of professionals conversant with – and specialists in – African issues, leading to the possible emergence of various theories and African solutions to these problems. CPP integrates theory, tools and African applications into academic teaching, ensuring that theory is firmly grounded on the empirical side. Human and other resources available on the continent have been harnessed and pooled to produce a distinctive, common, uniform, high-quality doctoral programme in Africa. 

About African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)

The launch of AERC goes back to the late 1980s, when a small group of Africanists and African scholars began to recognize the disconnect between economic policy making and economic research in sub-Saharan Africa. Available research results, applied to other economies, did not always seem appropriate to the African context. And where such results were available, they were too often not put to use. Their concern swelled into a full-fledged idea; they had a discussion about a vehicle for pooling their expertise and applying it to the development of economic policy capacity in sub-Saharan Afric... read more

Collaborative PhD Programme

Aim and Benefits of Collaborative PhD Programme

PhD proposals that are successfully presented at the biannual research workshop and positively evaluated by thematic groups resource persons are awarded a PhD thesis research grant.

Requirements for Collaborative PhD Programme Qualification

To qualify, candidates must

1. Have applied and been admitted to any one of the CPP degree-awarding universities.
2. Have attained at Bachelor’s Degree level at least a Second Class Honours (Upper Division) or equivalent in Economics or related field from an accredited university.
3. Have a Masters Degree (with coursework and thesis component) in Economics, Agricultural Economics or related fields from a recognized University. The coursework should have covered microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods.
4. Female and applicants from post-conflict and fragile states are encouraged to apply.
5. Possession of at least 1 relevant publication in a refereed journal will be an added advantage.
6. Evidence of engagement in economic management, research and/or training in the public sector will be an added advantage.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Applications for admission should be sent directly to the degree-awarding universities whose website links and addresses are provided below. It is recommended that candidates apply for admission early enough to meet the scholarship application deadline.

Upon receipt of an admission letter from the specific university, candidates applying for AERC scholarship should submit the following to the Director of Training, African Economic Research Consortium, email: [email protected] and a copy to [email protected]. 

1. Application for scholarship
2. A copy of the admission letter
3. Curriculum vitae
4. Certified copies of academic certificates and transcripts

The CPP scholarship application deadline is indicated within the announcement and is not later than 31st August.

For more details, visit AERC website.