Open call for TDR Postgraduate Scholarship in Implementation Research

Funding for these full scholarships is from TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, based at the World Health Organization in Geneva. Only applicants from low- and middle-income countries of the WHO African Region are eligible to apply.

The training will be focused on courses relevant to a career in implementation research, with a focus on four major global health challenges affecting infectious diseases of poverty using a One Health approach: Epidemics and outbreaks; Control and elimination of diseases of poverty; Climate change’s impact on health; and Resistance to treatment and control agents.

Implementation research is a growing field that supports the identification of health system bottlenecks and approaches to address them and is particularly useful in low-and middle-income countries where many health interventions do not reach those who need them the most. The goal of this scheme is to enhance postgraduate training capacity and boost the number of researchers in low- and middle-income countries.

Study Areas for Scholarship 

Scholarships will be offered for the 2024-2025 one-year programme in public health, leading to an MPH degree or MSc. in Applied Health Social Science. These programmes are taught in English:

Master’s degree scholarships (12 months – Full-time)

• Master’s in Public Health (Housed in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences) (12 months- Full-time)
• MSc. in Applied Health Social Science (12 months- Full-time) run by the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Recipients will be enrolled as postgraduate students, and their careers will be tracked through the TDR postgraduate alumni platform, IR Connect, which monitors the impact of the programme and provides networking and other opportunities to increase visibility for students and alumni.

The Scholarship Package

The scholarship covers:

• one round-trip economy airfare between the home country of the student and Accra, Ghana;
• tuition and academic fees;
• basic medical and accident insurance;
• monthly stipend to cover living expenses including accommodation commensurate to the local cost of living; and
• support for research project/dissertation expenses during data collection.

Eligibility For Scholarship 

Applicants should:

• be nationals of, and resident in, low- or middle-income countries of the WHO African region;
• be under 37 years old at the time of application for the Master’s programme;
• meet the standard University of Ghana admission requirements for international or local graduate students (for postgraduate admission requirements at University of Ghana
• be interested in developing a career in implementation research to address major global health challenges such as epidemics and outbreaks; control and elimination of diseases of poverty; climate change’s impact on health; and resistance to treatment and control agents.
• be proficient in English;
• be an employee of an academic or research institution, not-for-profit organization, or ministry of health and its agencies in low- and middle-income countries of the WHO African Region;
• be able to identify a local supervisor or mentor before the commencement of the programme. Preference will be given to applicants currently working with health programmes (e.g., malaria control/elimination programmes, TB control programmes) in their respective countries;
• provide a letter of support from the Director/Manager of the applicant’s home institution testifying the applicant’s ability to successfully undertake the Master’s programme and certifying that the applicant, if selected, will be granted leave of absence to pursue the programme. The Director/Manager must also indicate how the Master’s programme will strengthen the institution’s capacity to conduct implementation research upon the return of the applicant; and
• consent to meet health requirements in line with regulations of the Government of Ghana and University of Ghana.

For more information, visit University of Ghana.