The Wits-TUB-UNILAG Urban Lab Programme is built on a partnership agreement between the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of Lagos (UNILAG), and the Technische Universität Berlin (TUB) The Wits-TUB-UNILAG Urban Lab Programme is built on a partnership agreement between the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the Technische Universität Berlin (TUB).
This collaboration seeks to contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015 and the New Urban Agenda (NUA) of 2016 on the sub-Saharan African continent. The New Urban Agenda (NUA) in particular calls for integrated approaches to urban planning and management as a central element of an “Urban Paradigm Shift”. It recognizes the need for institutional capacity development as an important “enabling condition”. The Wits-TUB-UNILAG Urban Lab Ph.D. program is offering Scholarships to South Africans and other African nationals in urban studies.
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The Wits-TUB-UNILAG Urban Lab Ph.D. program is offering Scholarships to South Africans and other African nationals in urban studies. It is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). It seeks to improve graduate education in urban fields across Sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of seven SDG Graduate Schools funded by the DAAD worldwide. The lead partners, the Habitat Unit at Technische Universität Berlin and the School of Architecture and Planning at Wits University in Johannesburg and the University of Lagos, collaborate in the offering of an urban-oriented graduate training and capacity building program at Wits University that seeks to effectively address the challenges and needs of modern urban studies.
Successful Ph.D. candidates will be based in the School of Architecture and Planning at Wits University. The school has a structured Ph.D. offering. This will include regular support and networking activities for enrolled Ph.D. students in the school.
Benefits
Funding opportunities for the PhD programme.
Eligibilities
- The programme is interdisciplinary, but we place a special emphasis on a portfolio that is inter- and trans disciplinary,cutting across the fields of development planning, housing,sustainable urban development, urban management, and urban design. Candidates in architecture and urban planning as well as in the humanities, cultural studies, urban geography, or social sciences with a focus on urban studies and planning as well as candidates in related fields such as landscape architecture are also welcome to apply.
- Only South African citizens and citizens of other African countries can apply.
- Applicants must hold a master’s degree that is equivalent to a master’s degree (NQF level 9) in the South African Qualification System (SAQA).
- They must also meet the PhD admission requirements of the School, which include proven ability of excellent academic writing in English, and an academic transcript at masters level with marks averaging at least at 70%.
- The programme language is English. Proficiency in any other language necessary for their proposed geographic location of their fieldwork is recommended.
- There is no age limit applying to the scholarships for study purposes. However, at the time of the application, no more than 6 years should have passed since an applicant graduated from his/ her previous master studies.
Application Process
In order for the scholarship application to be complete, it must include the following documents:
- The Wits-TUB-Unilag Scholarship Application Form
- A cover letter explaining why you qualify for the scholarship. Additionally, this letter should speak to the qualification criteria, and should also provide a connection between the project themes and your envisaged topic.
- A 4-page research proposal indicating the intended area of research and topic, research question, and methods. Applicants’ research proposals should engage with at least one of the project’s research areas set out above (resilience, urban justice, solidarity) in the context of urban development on the African continent (the proposal needs to state the geographical area of the research), while also aligning to one of the main areas of expertise of either of the two main supervisors mentioned in the application details.
- A CV
- A copy of all degree certificates and official academic transcripts indicating marks for all degrees.
- An electronic copy of any previous research undertaken (if available).
- Letters of recommendations from two referees. At least one referee must be an academic under whom the applicant has studied.
- For a master’s degree obtained outside of South Africa, a South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) certificate ranking the applicant’s master’s degree at NQF level 9.
- Please follow the official link for the application form and further details.
Application Deadline: August 31, 2021
Application ClosedOfficial link
