Ph.D. Scholarship Program

Objectives

The International Water Management Institute's mission is to improve the management of water and land resources for food, poverty and nature. It does this through research and capacity building. One mechanism through which this mission is served is by providing financial support - through IWMI PhD Fellowships - to promising potential researchers from developing countries with an interest in conducting research in an area that fits IWMI's research agenda.

Eligibility

PhD candidates who satisfy the academic requirements to be admissible to PhD programs and want to carry out research that fits in IWMI's research agenda can request IWMI to provide a Fellowship in partial support of their PhD research. IWMI will not pay the full cost of undertaking the PhD program, but will be looking for co-financing with a university or third party.

Developing your research topic

IWMI staff will play a key role in choosing and shaping the research topic. The student's research is expected to be an integral part of IWMI's own research program, i.e., to contribute directly to the Institute's research objectives as well as to the student's professional development. Field research would normally be carried out in IWMI's research sites. This means that the student, university supervisors and IWMI should enter into discussions at an early stage of development of the student's research proposal.

IWMI will normally expect the student to spend sufficient time doing research to gain a deep understanding of the subject. For field researchers, this would normally involve a full year of field work. Before the end of her or his period of support, IWMI will expect the student to prepare at least one journal-length article whose quality will be sufficient for consideration to be published as an IWMI Research Report; co-authoring of papers with university professors, IWMI staff, and national partners is strongly encouraged. Where university rules permit, several such articles submitted to refereed journals or IWMI's Research Report series may form the basis for the Ph.D. dissertation itself.

IWMI staff will identify topics and formulate proposals for research that fits the ongoing research program in the adopted IWMI Research Themes, and 'advertise' these vacancies as "Ph.D. Scholarships." IWMI will also consider proposals from Ph.D. students who have their own topic in mind; but a major criterion for acceptance is that it must fit directly into our program.

Criteria for Selection

All applications are subject to a formal review by IWMI scientists and finally by the Capacity Building Review Committee, chaired by the Director General. The fellowship program is highly competitive and applications are not a guarantee of admission to the program.

Applications are received all year through, but reviewed and evaluated three times a year (April, August and December) depending on the availability of funds. For consideration by the Capacity Building Review Committee, applications should be received the latest by the first week of the preceding month.

How to Apply?

In brief, you will need to submit, preferably electronically,

• a completed application form
• a brief proposal of your research project
• an estimated budget and work plan
• your CV
• documentary evidence of acceptance to a university.

A major criterion for selection is that your proposed research should fit-in with IWMI's research agenda. Your university should also agree for an IWMI scientist to be your supervisor for the research phase and sit on the dissertation committee.

Download Application Form [WORD] [PDF]

Download Information Leaflet [PDF 389Kb]

When completing the application indicate clearly the support sought from IWMI for each period, and also any other source of support that you may have. Even though not compulsory, we strongly prefer partnerships/co-sharing of costs.
Please note that we do not cover tuition fees or living costs overseas during the course work period.

If you have any questions or would like to have an informal discussion about working with IWMI on your Phd contact David Van Eyck d.vaneyck@cgiar.org, Training & Capacity Building Officer