Nyerere Scholarship

About the project

The Centre of African Studies is delighted to announce the Nyerere Scholarship for an applicant to our MSc in Africa and International Development.

The Nyerere Scholarship provides funding for a talented Tanzanian student to follow in Nyerere’s footsteps and study at the University of Edinburgh. The scholarship offers a one-year postgraduate scholarship for a student domiciled in Tanzania to study the multidisciplinary MSc in Africa and International Development. This postgraduate programme is based in the University of Edinburgh’s Centre of African Studies, Europe’s leading centre for the study of Africa. The award is open to high-achieving applicants who are either: 1) currently studying at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM ), or recent UDSM graduates (within the previous 4 years).

Launched in 2020, the Nyerere Scholarship has been awarded five times to academically-gifted candidates. The scholarship was initiated by Prof Deborah Fahy Bryceson to honour the scholarly legacy of J.K. Nyerere, who started his Masters degree at the University of Edinburgh in 1949.

Awards

The scholarship will cover Tuition Fees and an annual stipend at the UKRI rate (amount to be advised; for reference, this is £20,780 in 2025/26). The annual stipend will be paid into the awardee’s UK bank account in monthly instalments following full matriculation, with the first 3 months paid in advance.

Awards are made for one year only.

The award cannot be held alongside any other scholarship funding.

Eligibility

Applicants must be Tanzanian citizens domiciled in Tanzania, who have graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam within the last four years (from 2022) or will be graduating from the University of Dar es Salaam prior to the 2026/2027 academic year. The award will be made to a student who is accepted onto the full-time MSc Africa and International Development programme.

Criteria

The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of academic excellence. Candidates must have, or expect to obtain, the equivalent of a UK first class or 2.1 Honours degree at undergraduate level in a Humanities or Social Science subject.

In order to gain access to the scholarship application system, applicants must have first applied for admission to the full-time MSc Africa and International Development programme. Please note that, following the submission of an application for admission, it can take up to five working days for all system checks to be completed and for access to be granted. Therefore, please submit your MSc application at least five working days before the scholarship deadline to allow you access to the scholarship application form before it closes.

Applying

The deadline for applying for this Scholarship has now passed.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Scholarships Systems FAQs for Applicants (152.11 KB / PDF)

Notification

The CAS Selection Panel will meet in February to review the scholarship applications. All scholarship applicants will be contacted with the outcome by the end of March 2026.

Contact

If you have any

Dr Hazel Gray: hazel.gray@ed.ac.uk

If you have any

Toni Jenkins: pgresearch.sps@ed.ac.uk

Important

The University reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to amend or withdraw any of the advertised scholarships, without further notice.

This article was published on 2024-07-29

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