The AERC’s PhD and Masters Bridge Programme, which was introduced in 2017, is an intensive 8-weeks programme for equipping participants with skills in Quantitative Techniques, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics, which are prerequisite courses for the Collaborative PhD Programme (CPP) in Economics, Collaborative Masters Programme (CMAP) in Economics, and Collaborative Masters in Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMAAE). The primary goal of the Bridge Programme is to address the limited competitiveness of potential PhD and Masters students from underrepresented countries and groups by virtue of gender, language barrier, and particularly fragile and post-conflict states, for admission and performance in the AERC’s collaborative training programmes.
Applicants from the following underrepresented countries are eligible to apply for the PhD and Masters Bridge Programme fellowships:
| Anglophone Countries | Francophone Countries | Lusophone Countries | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eritrea | 1 | Burundi | 1 | Angola |
| 2 | Gambia | 2 | Burkina Faso | 2 | Guinea Bissau |
| 3 | Lesotho | 3 | Central African Republic | 3 | Mozambique |
| 4 | Liberia | 4 | Chad | ||
| 5 | Sierra Leone | 5 | Congo | ||
| 6 | Somalia | 6 | Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) | ||
| 7 | South Sudan | 7 | Guinea | ||
| 8 | Eswatini | 8 | Mali | ||
| 9 | Togo | ||||
| 10 | Madagascar |
Students, who successfully complete the Bridge Programme, are expected to form a pool of students to be enrolled into the CMAP, CMAAE and CPP, or the Francophone Nouveau Programme de Troisième Cycle Inter-universitaire (NPTCI) Master’s Programme.
In order to broaden reach and enhance inclusivity, the PhD and Masters Bridge Programme is delivered virtually through live or synchronous lectures via the Zoom platform and AERC’s Learning Management System (LMS), complemented by the AERC eLibrary and MyLoft where textbooks, reference journal articles and lecture materials/notes are easily accessible, and lecture recordings are made available for asynchronous access to lessons by students. Delivery of the Bridge Programme is by a team of internationally competitively sourced experts.
PhD and Masters Bridge Programme Admission Criteria
All announcements for the PhD and Masters Bridge Programme Fellowship will be posted on this website.
Qualifications and Requirements
A key requirement for admission into the PhD and Masters Bridge Programme is admissibility of the applicant into CMAP, CMAAE, CPP or NPTCI Master’s Programme. However, the following criteria shall apply as a minimum requirement for selection of the PhD and Masters Bridge Programme students:
- Applicant of the Masters Bridge Programme fellowship must have attained at least a Second-Class honours (upper division) or equivalent in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness Management and Agricultural Sciences or related field;
- Applicant of PhD Bridge Programme fellowship must have attained a master’s degree in economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics or related fields (with compulsory course work coverage of Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Econometrics/Quantitative Methods, and a research project/thesis component) from a recognized institution;
- In addition, PhD Bridge Programme fellowship applicant must have attained a first degree in Economics, Agricultural Economics or related field and at least a Second-Class honour (upper division) or equivalent;
- Applicant of either Masters or PhD Bridge Programme fellowship must be a citizen of any one of the listed underrepresented countries:
- Female applicants are encouraged to apply.
Interested applicants are required to submit their applications for Bridge Programme fellowship to the AERC Director of Training by attaching the following documents and sending them through the application portal https://training.aercafrica.org/admissionnew
- Application cover letter specifying which fellowship (PhD or Masters Bridge Programme the applicant is applying for.
- Certified copies of transcripts and certificates.
- Two letters of recommendation from senior university academics who previously taught the applicant.
- Curriculum Vitae.
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