The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) has announced the launch of its Early-Career Research Fellowship Programme. Backed by the Mastercard Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the initiative will provide support for 42 outstanding young researchers across Africa.
This fellowship is designed for early-career academics to carry out internationally competitive research at one of ARUA’s thirteen Centres of Excellence (CoEs). Each fellow will collaborate with seasoned scholars while being relieved of their teaching responsibilities at home institutions.
Speaking on the purpose of the programme, ARUA noted that, “The initiative aims to boost the research capacity of early-career scholars across African universities. The fellowship allows them to engage in high-quality research with experts from other countries within the continent.”
Each fellowship runs for six months between July 2025 and June 2026. Only four researchers will be hosted by each CoE, with the last set of fellows confirmed by December 2025. Importantly, at least 70% of the fellowships are set aside for female applicants.
To qualify, applicants must be African nationals under the age of 35 and within five years of earning a PhD in a field that matches the Centre’s focus. Candidates should be junior faculty or research staff at any ARUA member university. Female postdoctoral researchers will also be considered in special cases.
“Applicants should have strong academic records and should already be working on a project with available data related to the Centre’s theme,” ARUA added. Preference will be given to individuals who can demonstrate potential for global research impact.
Selected researchers will be expected to contribute meaningfully to their host institutions. Their main responsibilities include working under the guidance of a mentor to conduct new studies, publishing at least one lead-author paper in a high-impact journal, and creating a policy brief or blog post summarising the research.
Fellows will also deliver two public presentations, take part in technical workshops, help build institutional partnerships, and support the dissemination of findings.
“These activities are meant to expose the fellows to policy-relevant research and help position them as thought leaders in their fields,” ARUA stated.
The fellowship will start 1st July 2025.
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How to Apply
Applications are now open and must be submitted through the official ARUA website https://arua.org/early-career-research-fellowships-2025/. All applicants are required to upload the following documents:
1. A cover letter
2. Full CV
3. Letter of support from their home institution
4. Proof of PhD award
5. A concept note (maximum 1,500 words) outlining their research plan
6. Two samples of academic writing (not from a PhD thesis). If co-authored, applicants must explain their contribution
ARUA encourages women to take full advantage of the opportunity. “We are committed to gender equity. That’s why a significant percentage of these fellowships are strictly reserved for female scholars,” the statement read.