Call for Applications - Inter-disciplinary PhD by Research Programme in Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences

Background

With funding from the Gerda-Henkel Stiftung Foundation, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences seeks to admit 10 students for the 2020 intake of the Inter-disciplinary PhD in Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences.The programme is by research and focuses on interdisciplinary topics in the Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences. This includes a cluster of subjects (disciplines) that study human society with a particular sensitivity to change over time, historical context, and the development of various kinds of evidence to support analyses about the causes, characteristics, and implications of such changes in human society.

TheInter-disciplinary PhD by Research is reconfigured as a research agenda with an explicit intersection between Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences. Preference will be accorded to projects that approach the study of the Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences with a clear and strong historical bias and/or focus in the following fields:

The Classics, namely literature, philosophy, epic, and drama
Prehistory/Early History of Africa
Archaeology
Language and Linguistics
Creative Arts in Africa
Religion in Africa
Security, Society and the State
Islam, the Modern Nation State and Transnational Movements[1]

General Requirements

Research experience in the Humanities and Social Sciences at a University or a Research Institute and a strong foundation in writing and research methods is desirable. The applicant should have excellent oral and written communication skills. This is a PhD by research;therefore, applicants should demonstrate capacity for independent work. They should also have excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills.

Eligibility

Eligible candidates should:

Be Ugandan nationals or nationals of a Sub-Saharan African country. (Attach a biodata page of your passport or National Identity Card to your application).
Hold Master’s degree in the Humanities and SocialSciences discipline,for which s/he has applied for,from a recognised university. The MA must have been completed less than ten years ago at the time of application.
Hold an Honours undergraduate degree in the Humanities and Social Sciences from a recognised university.
Be fluent or show proof of fluency in English Language
Provide two letters from two academic referees who are familiar with his/her work recommending his/her application. It is important that the referees, who have been named on the applicant’s application form, are the ones who supply a reference letter for the applicant.
Confirm that s/hewill be available from July 2020 to undertake a three-year full-time study leading to the award of a PhD in the fields of Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences of Makerere University.
Be under the age of 40 years (male) or 45 years (female) by 30 June 2020.Qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

Funding

The programme is fully-funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation and is tenable at Makerere University. The scholarship will cover all costs of the PhD programme, including tuition and other university fees, living expenses, medical insurance, research and travel.The maximum value of the scholarship, commencing in 2020 is approximately UGX 40,150,00 or USD 11,000 per year. Each fellow will receive a laptop computer.

Timeline

This is a-three year’s programme, which starts in July 2020 and ends in June 2023.