Scholarship Opportunities In Southern Africa – The state of the economy in Africa is poor compared to most European or American countries and as such this has affected a lot of students in terms of getting quality education in higher institutions. From not having access to quality education to not being able to chase career goals, not being able to boost ones resume and not to mention but a few, individuals who are not financially stable enough tend to suffer a lot when it comes to getting higher education. Hence, the need for scholarships.
This article focuses on some universities that offer scholarships in the southern part of Africa. Before getting to know these universities, you might probably want to know some of the benefits of getting a scholarship.
Benefit of A Scholarship
A scholarship is a financial support that is usually given to students to further their education with its criteria usually based on financial struggle, merit, athletism and not to mention but a few. Some of the benefits of a scholarship includes:
• Access to good education:- as a result of not being financially buoyant, some people have little or no access to quality education. With a scholarship, this set of people can get quality education in reputable schools whose fees they usually would not be able to afford.
• Aside formal education, most schools also offer mentorship opportunities as part of their scholarship program.
• A scholarship gives you an opportunity to network with other scholarship awardees like yourself. Just think about the benefits of interacting and sharing values and experiences with other scholarship awardees might include students from different parts of the world.
• A scholarship also helps you enhance your resume. Since a scholarship can help you to study in a reputable university, you are more likely to be considered for a job ahead of other applicants who might have just graduated from average universities.
Southern Africa Universities Offering Scholarships
As mentioned earlier, this article focuses on some of the universities that offer scholarships in the southern part of Africa. Some of them include:
UNIVERSITY OF CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Established in 1829 as South African College, the University of Capetown is regarded as the oldest university in South Africa. The public research university is made up of 6 faculties and 57 departments.
A scholarship program in the university known as the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program allows for Africans to pursue both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The MasterCard Foundation partners with the University of Capetown to offer both academic and financial support to students. Its scholarship program titled “The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Capetown” is aimed at equipping economically disadvamtaged undergraduates with the necessary knowledge, values and skills needed to be transformed from “beneficiaries” to “benefactors”.
This scholarship is only available to students who have applied to study in the University of Capetown. Hence, to stand a chance of getting this scholarship you need to first apply to the University of Capetown as an undergraduate before applying for the MasterCard Foundation Scholarship. When applying for the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship, ensure you submit the necessary documents in order to stand a chance of getting a scholarship.
POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP, ZIMBABWE
Just as it name implies, this scholarship is meant for only postgraduate students and it is available in the Zimbabwe, Southern Africa.
The Postgraduate Research Scholarship is available for postgraduate students willing to study any health-related course in any of the universities in Zimbabwe. This scholarship program is managed by The Biomedical Research and Training Institute and it aims at providing support and mentorship to postgraduate students.
To apply for this scholarship program, you must have an undergraduate degree, must be a partaker of a postgraduate research in any of the universities in Zimbabwe and you must be a good speaker and writer of English language.
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
Just like the University of Capetown, South Africa, the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Program is also available in the University of Pretoria, South Africa but unlike the former, the scholarship program is only available in the latter for full-time postgraduate students.
Benefits that come with the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Program include full tuition fees, free meals and accommodation, free stationery, monthly stipend, e.t.c. The scholarship also covers the cost of your VISA, your travel cost and your medical cost for the course of your study.
To be eligible for this scholarship you must be a full-time post graduate student in the university, you must be at a disadvantage economically and you must ensure you provide the right information as any false information would automatically lead to disqualification.
LILONGWE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES, MALAWI
To be eligible for this scholarship you must be a citizen of a sub-saharan country in Africa, you must be looking to pursue a PhD or Masters degree in Fisheries Science and Agriculture.
NELSON MANDELA AFRICAN INSTITUTION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, SOUTH AFRICA
To be eligible for this scholarship, you must be a postgraduate student, you must be a citizen of an Eastern or South African country, you must be good in speaking and writing English, you must be below the age of 35 and you must be willing to specialuze in any of CREATES pillars.
UNIVERSITY OF MALAWI, MALAWI
The University of Malawi, through its participation in the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa , offers offers to PhD students in fields that are related to Public and Pupolation Health. The aim of this scholarship is to tackle the challenges faced by universities in Africa by funding students who are willing to make impacts on public and population health in Africa.
To be eligible for this scholarship you must possess a Masters degree in an important field, you must agree to participate in all its Annual Residential Joint Advanced Seminars, you must be below the age of 40, your research proposal must be in public and population related fields.
