A Fellowship of Funders: Finding Financial Support for Your PhD

The team explores how African women scholars fund their doctoral studies in this fifth episode of Season Six of the Mawazo Ideas Podcast. The scholars take us on a daring journey of crowdsourcing funding information, seeking familial support, partnering with scholars from different geographical jurisdictions, adapting to existing funding criteria, and mapping new trajectories whenever necessary to secure the coveted doctoral degree.

Globally, funding has been cited as the major factor that drives research outcomes among scholars. African women, in particular, are positioned in the lower rungs of the academy and account for a mere 30% of doctoral graduates in sub-Saharan Africa (Tsephe, 2023). Seventeen years ago, African countries committed to spending 1% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on research, yet they only spent 0.42% against the backdrop of a 1.7% global average (Caelers & Okoth, 2023).

According to Schultz1, & Rankhumise (2023), accessing research funding constitutes a significant challenge for many academics. A few funding opportunities specifically target African academics, particularly African women. Proactive academics who are knowledgeable about the opportunities and often take advantage of such opportunities. Notably, many academics report difficulties in obtaining funding, possibly because of a lack of transparency in funding opportunities, a lack of knowledge about funding opportunities, and a lack of expertise to access funding opportunities (Ramnund-Mansingh & Seedat-Khan 2020). Generally, funding is a challenge for Black women academics (Monnapula-Mapesela, M. 2017).

With the myriad of urgent problems facing the African continent, investment in research and development is imperative to the continent’s growth in all spheres. While research is not necessarily limited to the academy, a doctoral degree is a prerequisite to entering the academy, securing tenure, and commanding space for African women as a traditionally marginalised demographic. For these women, access to funding allows them to take up scholarly space and solve some of the most urgent challenges on the continent.

Further Reading

1. Caelers D. & Okoth D. (2023) Research Funding in Africa: navigating sustainability and shifting perspectives. https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-023-00360-4
2. Monnapula-Mapesela, M. (2017). Developing as an academic leader in a university of technology in South Africa: Dealing with enabling and constraining teaching and learning environments. Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning, 5(2), 69-85. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/cristal/article/view/164434 
3. Ramnund-Mansingh, A., & Seedat-Khan, M. (2020). Understanding the career trajectories of black female academics in South Africa: A case study of the University of Kwazulu-Natal. Perspectives in Education, 38(2), 56-69. https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v38.i2.04
4. Schultz1, C., & Rankhumise, E. (2023). Constraints and contributors in advancing black women academic researchers at a university in South Africa. South African Journal of Higher Education, 37(4), 248-265. https://journals.co.za/doi/full/10.20853/37-4-5070#b16-high_v37_n4_a13 
5. Tsephe, L. (2023). Factors impacting African women’s doctoral success (p. 152). AOSIS. https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/88046