The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) has received a grant worth USD 800,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support 
a cohort of 15 Early Career Scholars to pursue cutting-edge and innovative research in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
The grant is part of the broader commitment by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support teaching, learning and research at CHUSS. The grant will support Early Career Scholars engender an academic breakthrough to establish themselves as leading scholars in their respective disciplines. It will also support Early Career Scholars to establish a platform for scholarly exchange and interaction nationally and internationally so as to nurture a new generation and community of scholars to provide intellectual leadership needed for future development and sustainability of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The three-year programme will entail two cohorts (6 in 2018-2020 and 9 in 2019-2021), with each of them expected to pursue a two-year research programme. Each of the 15 scholars is expected to take a maximum of four months residence at an advanced research centre to participate in advanced research and specialized skills and research methodology training in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Launch of the Early Career Scholars Programme
On 23rd August 2018, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences launched the Early Career Scholars Programme. The launch ceremony was held in Lecture Room1, Arts building and was graced by the Director of Research and Graduate Training at Makerere University, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi. It was attended by the Principal, Deputy Principal, Deans, Heads of Department and members of staff from the College.
In his address, the Principal of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prof. Edward K. Kirumira introduced the programme, highlighting its objectives and guidelines for implementation. He expressed gratitude to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Gerda Henkel Foundation for the support rendered towards building capacity of staff and students in the College. “The support received from the two foundations will go a long way in reinvigorating scholarship in the College. The grants will help us to build sufficient capacity to train PhDs at Makerere University,” he noted. In addition to the Early Career Scholars Programme, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation early this year approved funding for seven PhDs. The College also received financial support from the Foundation to establish thematic research networks addressing Africa’s development by early career researchers. It is expected that the Competitive Mentorship-oriented Research Grants will facilitate a sustainable career development of the junior researchers and will lay a strong foundation for their intellectual and scholarly growth for them to become independent academic leaders in their respective fields. Similarly, Gerda Henkel Foundation is supporting 30 scholars to pursue PhD studies in Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Prof. Buyinnza Mukadasi, Director DRGT congratulated the Principal and the entire leadership of CHUSS for winning the grants. “For years, people thought research was a preserve of the sciences. It gives me great pleasure to see colleagues in the Humanities and Social Sciences increasingly working towards realizing academic excellence. As DRGT, I am hopeful that these grants will scale up the academic vibrancy in CHUSS, thereby strengthening its capacity to play its rightful role in knowledge generation and dissemination nationally and globally. With all this support, there is no reason why we should not churn out quality graduates,” he said, noting that the Early Career Scholars programme will help enhance visibility of the University and subsequently promote internationalization. He expressed DRGT commitment towards supporting CHUSS to successfully implement the programmes.
The Programme is coordinated by Dr Edgar Nabutanyi from the Department of Literature.
Call for applications
The College invites eligible applicants, whose proposed research projects are innovative, cutting-edge and show an explicit inter-disciplinary focus in 
the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences to apply for a two-year Early Career Scholars’ Grant 2018. The grant pairs a junior with a senior faculty/researcher, with the junior faculty/researcher being the Principal Investigator of the project.
Eligibility
The applicant must be a permanent employee of Makerere University and must have completed his/her PhD training in the last 10 years. He/she must have published at least five articles in academically recognized channels such as refereed journals and books at the time of application.
Application form
The grant application form can be requested for from graduate.college@chuss.mak.ac.ug.
Requirements of the grant proposal;
- a 150-word abstract
- a one-page academic biography describing your academic career and detailing the ideas and experiences that have shaped your work and your future plans. State where you see yourself in 5 years
- a grant proposal, in which you are expected to provide evidence of your ability to plan and organize independent research, and the relevance, feasibility and contribution of your proposed research topic to the study of humanities and social sciences
How to apply
The completed grant application form, together with copies of all the supporting documents should be submitted preferably by email to graduate.college@chuss.mak.ac.ug, copied to principal@chuss.mak.ac.ug, before Friday, 12th October 2018. Check attached documents for more details.
Overall programme management
The Programme Head will be the Principal of the College, Prof. Edward K. Kirumira. He will be the overall person for the scientific direction of the programme and tracking its impact and accountability. The Principal will be supported by the Deputy Principal, Prof. Josephine Ahikire. Both the Principal and Deputy Principal will be part of the Steering Committee, which will be directly involved in the selection, training activities and mentorship of the scholars. The Steering Committee will also comprise of the Deans and Director, MISR. The Steering Committee will among other things be responsible for reviewing and supporting relevant changes required for a quality Early Career Scholar’s programme.