School of Social and Political Science

Introduction

The deadline to apply for September 2024 entry is Monday 1 July 2024.

We invite candidates to apply for a PhD degree in African Studies

The Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh is a leading hub for the study of Africa. We host a thriving community of PhD students who make original and rigorous contributions across various themes from politics and economics, conflict and law, history and gender. 

We offer a PhD programme with an international reputation, awarded from one of the world's leading universities. We welcome applications and enquiries from prospective students with a keen interest in conducting research that engages with and extends our knowledge of Africa.

Prospective Students

Prospective students are expected to contact potential supervisors prior to applying. A strong supervisory team of at least two Edinburgh staff members is essential to a successful doctorate. Please familiarise yourself with the research expertise of staff members in the Centre of African Studies, as well as those in other subject areas at the University of Edinburgh (especially the School of Social & Political Science). Should your own research areas align with staff members, please write to them explaining your interests and sharing a 3-5 page research proposal and CV. Guidance on how to draft a research proposal is provided here, but in brief, it should discuss your intended topics of study, the scholarly literatures with which you will engage, the methods through which you will do so, and your expected contributions. 

Applicants are also encouraged to write to the Programme Advisor (listed on the right-hand side of this page) who can assist with identifying supervisors and funding. Supervisors can be drawn from across the University of Edinburgh, but most African Studies PhD students will have one who is a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, or Professor in the Centre of African Studies. These members of staff can be seen here.

Most PhD students begin in September, and while applications are accepted until a few months before that start date, many of the best candidates share their research proposals in the autumn before they begin. This also facilitates access to doctoral funding from external sources (many of which have deadlines by December) and internal sources (many of which have deadlines by February).

Funding

Funding for doctoral studies is highly competitive. Information on the primary sources is available here. Given the early deadlines, please be sure to begin your process with plenty of lead time, including writing to the Programme Advisor as necessary.

Research

Doctoral degrees are expected to be original and significant, pushing the boundaries of knowledge through novel cases, methods, or interpretations. Your application should provide evidence of familiarity with major debates and persuasively demonstrate your ability to conduct rigorous empirical research that brings the dynamics of specific settings and populations into conversation with theories and concepts. 

In the course of your doctoral degree, you will be supported by a range of research training and extensive supervision. The research conducted by our staff is internationally regarded, and many are recognised as leaders in their field. We work with students in a range of interdisciplinary topics, including: 

• Political economy and inequality;
• Law, justice, and society;
• Gender studies;
• International development and NGOs;
• Conflict and violence;
• Technology, data, and digital studies;
• Energy, environment, and sustainability;
• Race and decolonial thought;
• Health, well-being, and medicine;
• Migration, displacement, and diaspora;
• Identity, culture, and history;
• Urbanization; and
• Politics, elections, and governance.

Our staff have experience in many African countries, and we welcome students from or studying in those contexts, as well as those pursuing shared themes in other settings. 

A number of our staff also have considerable expertise engaging with governments, international organisations, and non-profits. Throughout your scholarly training, you will have an opportunity to explore and receive guidance on engaging more widely with non-academic audiences.

Our graduates

In recent years, graduates of the Ph.D. in African Studies have accepted prestigious academic appointments and influential roles in non-profit, governmental, and international organisations. Their work is recognised within the academy for its creativity and rigor: for instance, in 2022, one of our graduates, Dr Simeon Koroma, was named by the African Studies Association (UK) the winner of the Audrey Richards Prize  for the best doctoral thesis in the prior two years, and a different Edinburgh student, Dr Patrick Wahome Mutai, was named runner-up for the same prize.

Recent graduates have received Lectureships at the University of Manchester, the University of Bath, and the University of Nottingham. Others are  working as postdoctoral researchers at the London School of Economics & Political Science, the Tampere Institute for Advanced Studies, the University of Glasgow, and the Ohio State University.

The skills developed in the Ph.D. in African Studies are  in demand outside of academia. Students studying topics such as post-conflict environments, state-led development, refugee displacement, and missionary schooling have gone on to work for the UN, the EU, environmental charities, and the Scottish government. 

To understand the type of work conducted by Edinburgh PhD African Studies students, we encourage you to explore the profiles of recent graduates here.

Programme overview

Usually undertaken full-time over three years, or part-time over six years, the PhD in African Studies is an interdisciplinary research degree in which students make an original contribution to our knowledge of Africa by pursuing an extended and focused piece of research on a topic of interest to them. The Centre of African Studies is supported by the Graduate School of Social and Political Science, which enables students to acquire a broader set of transferable skills during their studies.

Research training

We have a number of resources available for your training. You may be encouraged to participate in taught Masters level courses to assist your intellectual development and support your research, including offerings from a suite of research training courses. There is also a Research Training Centre within the School of Social & Political Science where students can receive guidance on methodologies tailored to your skills and desires. The University of Edinburgh's Institute for Academic Development also offers a range of short courses, ranging from how to prepare an academic CV to how to conduct a literature review.

Student seminars and workshops

Throughout the year our students attend a weekly seminar where they present  research proposals, fieldwork plans, chapter drafts, etc. This provides a friendly forum in which students can exchange ideas about theoretical and practical aspects of their work with others who are going through or have recently gone through the same process. CAS students have also been involved in the organisation of substantial research workshops.

Research themes

Each of our PhD researchers belong to at least one of the research themes within the Centre of African Studies, and possibly also to other research clusters within the School. We encourage students to participate in our research group activities.

Students at CAS form a dynamic group, all studying different topics and countries but linked by their interest in Africa. Our students are encouraged to become active members of the Centre, participating in conferences, seminars, research projects and contributing to our publication profile.

Senior research students are often involved in course planning and teaching, which helps in equipping them for future academic careers. Our research graduates are highly employable, many remain in academia, some become researchers in Africa and elsewhere and all develop skills which allow them to work anywhere in the world.

Events

The Centre of African Studies hosts a weekly seminar series where outside speakers discuss recent research and publications; PhD students are expected to attend and contribute. There are also numerous other events within the School of Social and Political Science, including research and reading groups. 

We also organise an annual CAS Conference. The 2024 event -- Security in Africa: Actors, Logics, and Futures -- was co-hosted with the Centre for Security Research (University of Edinburgh). It featured 50 presenters and keynote addresses from Dr Comfort Ero (President and CEO of the International Crisis Group), Professor Gilbert Khadiagala (University of Witwatersrand), and Professor Kristof Titeca (University of Antwerp).

We also participate actively in Africa-focused events in Edinburgh, such as panels highlighting contemporary African authors at the Edinburgh International Book Festival (the world's largest book festival) and the UK's largest African Film Festival, Africa in Motion.

• Edinburgh International Book Festival
• Africa in Motion

Supervisors and topics

PhD researchers are allocated two supervisors, who will offer expert advice through the entire research process, from advising on the choice of any initial training courses, developing research questions and an extended research proposal, to fieldwork, data analysis, presenting and publishing findings, writing up the thesis, overcoming the final hurdle of the viva and moving onto the next stage of students career.

Our supervisors and Postgraduate Advisor are the formal component of a much broader informal network of support, advice and supervision. They offer regular and supportive reviews of progress as well as providing additional advice and support for any problems which may occur.

Information and contact details for prospective supervisors affiliated with the Centre of African Studies may be found here:

• Centre of African Studies staff

Academics from elsewhere in the University can also be included on the supervisory team.

Postgraduate community

Besides academic activities Centre members engage in a wide range of other activities, from football to language training, barbecues (or braais) and movies, taking part in reading and cultural groups, field trips and retreats. We provide a challenging, dynamic, supportive and tightly-knit environment for our students.

Recent Doctorates Awarded

As an indication of the methodological, thematic, and geographic breadth of research conducted by PhD African Studies students, here is a sampling of recent dissertations:

• "Tweeting 'Truths': Rumours and Grammars of Power in Kenya."
• "Divided Waters: A Hydropolitical Analysis of Development, Space, and Labour in N'Djamena, Chad."
• "Law Beyond the State: The Makings of Justice in Urban Sierra Leone."
• "Stagnant Extraction? The Politics of Time and Space in the Tanzanian Hydrocarbon Sector."
• "Politics and Practices of Refugee Self-reliance in Trifurcated States."
• "Clements Kadalie, Trade Unionism, Migration, and Race in Southern Africa, 1918-1930."
• "Ex-Combatant Political Engagement in Post-Conflict Cote d'Ivoire."
• "Killowatts, Megawatts, and Power: Electric Territorialities of the State in the Peripheries of Ghana and Tanzania."
   

A full list of recent doctoral recipients is available at the Edinburgh Research Archive.