Deadline: July 31, 2018
The call for applications for the MSc Fellowships in Biostatistics at the Sub-Saharan Africa Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics (SSACAB) 2018 is now open. The SSACAB training, a consortium of twenty African and northern institutions with the University of the Witwatersrand as the lead; and KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programmes, Universities of KwaZulu-Natal, Northumbria University and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as co-applicants, has secured funding from the Wellcome Trust/AESA through the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science (DELTAS Africa).
The funding will cover fellows undertaking a MSc programme in Biostatistics in participating training institutions to develop and improve biostatistical skills among researchers, with an ultimate goal of creating research nodes of excellence to grow the discipline and a biostatistical network to nurture researchers with advanced skills and expertise. The consortium is therefore calling for full time scholarship applications for MSc degrees.
This MSc degree programme focuses on quantitative research in health-related fields with the aim of developing a career in Biostatistics, which is a growing field in low and middle-income countries due to increased biomedical research. Therefore, the goal of this financial support is to enhance Biostatistical graduate training capacity and boost the number of researchers and practitioners in low and middle-income countries.
Benefits
The scheme will provide full scholarships for MSc Fellows in the 2018 academic year and covers the following:
- Tuition fees and basic medical and accident insurance
- A monthly stipend to cover accommodation and living expenses
- Reasonable support for the MSc research project and supervision
- Bench fees to research institution hosting the MSc student
- Travel costs to and from academic training institution and the host research institution
Eligibility
- The scholarship is open to nationals of low and middle-income countries in the Sub-Saharan African Region that are resident in the region.
- Applicants should normally be under 35 years for the MSc Programme.
- Applicants should meet each of the separate University’s admission requirements for the MSc degree before applying for the fellowship.
- The MSc scholarships are open to candidates with strong background in Statistics, Mathematics, Demography and any other quantitative fields, including competent candidates from the lab/health fields such as biomedical sciences, pharmacy, medicine who may benefit from a postgraduate course in biostatistics.
- The potential fellows should have applied for a place at one of the postgraduate biostatistics degree programmes being offered by partner institutions.
Application
Applications must provide the academic training institution with:
- A comprehensive curriculum vitae including relevant research and work experience
- Letter of motivation explaining why you want to pursue an MSc in biostatistics
- Certified copies of academic transcripts and degree certificates
- Evidence of acceptance or application to study Biostatistics at a partner institution in 2018 academic year
- Two confidential referee reports should be sent directly to the training institution
MSc scholarships will be given to candidates who are likely to strengthen the SSACAB institutions either as academic staff members or affiliation to research institution within the consortium. Awarded Fellows will be tracked with the new SSACAB alumni to increase their visibility and to monitor the impact of the programme.
For more information and to apply, visit MSc Fellowships in Biostatistics.
