2023 West African Queen Elizabeth Scholarship

The Carleton University Queen Elizabeth Scholarship for Advanced Scholars from West Africa (QES-AS-WA) is a research acceleration program for West African women who are in the final stage of their PhD program, postdoctoral researchers, or early career academics. The program is funded by the International Research Development Centre (IDRC) through the Rideau Hall Foundation.

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship program provides an opportunity for scholars to spend between 35 and 180 days at Carleton University, where they will receive research supervision, participate in workshops, and gain field research experience through a placement with an NGO partner. The scholarship also covers mobility expenses, accommodation, research placement expenses, and travel and health insurance.

To be eligible for the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship (QES-AS-WA), applicants must be women, citizens of a West African country, and either a doctoral researcher, postdoctoral researcher, or early career researcher. They must also have a research proposal that aligns with the research interests of the placement opportunities.

The application deadline for the second cohort of the QES-AS-WA is Wednesday, September 20th, 2023. Applications can be submitted through the program website.

Eligibility Requirements for Queen Elizabeth Scholarship

1. Only women can apply for this scholarship.
2. Eligible candidates should belong to one of the following distinctive categories:
   Doctoral Researcher: Individuals who have concluded coursework and have progressed to the dissertation phase of their PhD studies.
   Post-doctoral Researcher: People who are researching after getting their PhD, usually under the guidance of a lead researcher.
   Early Career Researcher: People with a PhD who’ve shown they can do independent research. They’ve led their own projects or labs for 4-6 years, or hold a tenure-track position at an institution offering degrees.
3. Eligible Countries: Applicants must hold citizenship from one of the following West African nations:
   Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
4. All applicants must be able to communicate in English or French.
5. Research Focus Areas: Successful applicants’ research should fall into one of the following areas:
   Climate-Resilient Food Systems
   Education and Science
   Ethics in Development Research
   Global Health
   Democratic and Inclusive Governance
   Sustainable Inclusive Economies
6. Mobility Requirement: Applicants should be ready to travel. Travel might be in West Africa and/or to Canada, if possible. There’s no support for childcare.