Fully Funded Africa Climate PhD Fellowship

The Africa Climate Collaborative at the University of Cape Town is offering 12 fully funded PhD fellowships in Climate and Development. The four-year programme starts with a year of structured coursework, followed by three years of supervised thesis research on one of 19 set research topics in Cape Town. It is open to African citizens with a relevant Master's degree, including those living outside Africa.

What you get:

• One of 12 fully funded fellowships covering a four-year PhD at the University of Cape Town
• Four years of fellowship funding, according to the Collaborative's Graduate School of Climate page
• A named supervisor or supervisory team linked to your research topic
• Doctoral skills training alongside your thesis research
• Help applying for PhD admission at UCT if your fellowship application succeeds

What you'll do:

• Year 1: structured pre-doctoral coursework
• Years 2 to 4: independent thesis research under supervision, with doctoral skills training
• Work on one set topic, across departments including Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Statistical Sciences, Civil and Chemical Engineering, Construction Economics and Management, the Academic Development Programme and the Graduate School of Business

• Citizens of an African country only. African citizens living outside Africa may apply
• Under 35 years of age on 1 February 2027
• A completed Master's degree in a discipline relevant to climate and development, and specifically in the discipline listed for your chosen topic
• Apply to one research topic only. More than one application may lead to disqualification
• Successful fellows must apply for and be accepted into a PhD at UCT to take up the fellowship
• Documents: CV with three referees (one must have supervised your Master's dissertation), a writing sample, Bachelor's and Master's transcripts, a letter of motivation, and a national ID or passport