1. About the Fellowship

The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), with support from the Mastercard Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, is launching this Early-Career Research Fellowship program. The initiative will fund up to forty-two (42) early-career researchers to conduct globally competitive research at the host and affiliated institutions of ARUA’s thirteen (13) Centres of Excellence (CoEs).

Each fellowship will last six months, between July 2025 and June 2026. A maximum of four fellows will be assigned to each CoE, with all positions filled by December 2025. At least 70% of the fellowships are reserved for female candidates, and applicants must be no older than 35 years at the time of application.

The program aims to enhance the capacity of early-career researchers at African universities by providing them with time away from teaching duties at their home institutions to collaborate with highly experienced and distinguished researchers at ARUA Centres of Excellence (CoEs). Each CoE is expected to host research fellows from countries other than its own.

–> Read Mor