Wellcome Trust Masters Fellowships in Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 2015

The application deadline is 31st October 2014.

Wellcome Trust is inviting applications for masters fellowships to undertake research training at Master’s degree level. Research should be aimed at understanding and improving public health and tropical medicine of local, national and global relevance. Public health and tropical medicine cover a wide range of health problems, including communicable and non-communicable diseases. A Fellowship normally provides up to 30 months’ support. A period of 12 months should normally be dedicated to undertaking a taught Master’s course at a recognised centre of excellence, combined with up to 18 months to undertake a research project. The application deadline is 31st October 2014.

Study Subject(s): Research should be aimed at understanding and improving public health and tropical medicine of local, national and global relevance. Public health and tropical medicine cover a wide range of health problems, including communicable and non-communicable diseases. Topics include:

-demographic, social science and health economic studies

-epidemiological, field and community-based studies

-healthcare systems and policy research

-measurement of infectious and chronic disease burden

-population studies

-clinical trials and case-control studies

-studies of disease mechanisms in the natural host

-determinants of disease susceptibility and resistance

-immunity or resistance in natural hosts or vectors

This can include laboratory-based molecular analysis of field or clinical samples, but projects focused solely on studies in vitro or using animal models will not normally be considered under this scheme.

Course Level: Fellowships are available for research training at Master’s degree level.

Scholarship Provider: Wellcome Trust, UK

Scholarship can be taken at: Eligible host institution in low- or middle-income countries

Eligibility: The trust will consider applications that fall within the Public Health and Tropical Medicine Interview Committee remit. You should be:

-a national or legal resident of a low- and middle-income country and hold a first degree in subject relevant to tropical medicine or public health (clinical or non-clinical)

-at an early stage in your career, with limited research experience, but have a demonstrated interest in or aptitude for research.

-In general, Fellowships may be held in not-for-profit institutions that are able to sign up to our Grant Conditions. Institutions that have not previously received significant funding from us will be required to submit information to enable us to assess eligibility. Applications will not be considered by a decision-making committee until all eligibility checks have been completed.

-Fellows must be based in a low- or middle-income country for their research project. The Trust does not provide Master’s schemes for UK/RoI-based researchers.

Scholarship Open for International Students: Applicants of Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo, Rep., Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Arab Rep., El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, The Georgia,  Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Islamic Rep., Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Dem Rep., Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia,  Libya, Macedonia, FYR, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius,  Mexico, Micronesia, Fed. Sts., Moldova, Mongolia,  Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique,  Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,  Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, RB, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Rep., Zambia and Zimbabwe can apply for these masters fellowships.

Scholarship Description: 

This scheme strengthens scientific research capacity in low- and middle-income countries, by providing support for junior researchers to gain research experience and high-quality research training at Master’s degree level. Research should be aimed at understanding and improving public health and tropical medicine of local, national and global relevance. Public health and tropical medicine cover a wide range of health problems, including communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Number of award(s): Not Known

Duration of award(s): A Fellowship normally provides up to 30 months’ support. A period of 12 months should normally be dedicated to undertaking a taught Master’s course at a recognised centre of excellence, combined with up to 18 months to undertake a research project.

What does it cover? While undertaking a Master’s course, Fellows will receive:

-a stipend. Stipends are costed based on the Trust’s Masters students scales, determined by the location of the course (Inside London* – £17 000 per year; UK Outside London – £15 000 per year; Outside the UK – applicants are advised to check with the prospective training institution regarding living costs; Other – for individual cases where additional funding may be required, e.g. dependants accompanying the awardee, please contact the Trust for advice).

-*Inside London covers institutions within Greater London, for example London Universities.

-travel costs (e.g. outward and return airfares)

-support for approved tuition fees. Master’s course fees will be paid according to the rate charged by the training institution.

Masters training by distance learning is acceptable. The expectation is that the stipend levels awarded will be the net amount received by the student. If the stipend is liable for tax in the applicant’s country, please inform the Trust when the full application is submitted. The Trust will provide costs to cover the taxed portion of the stipend to make sure that each student receives a stipend equal to the advertised levels. The following costs are provided for the Fellowship:

-salary is provided for the duration of the Fellowship

-project-dedicated research expenses (e.g. consumables, small items of equipment, collaborative travel and support to attend scientific meetings, fieldwork and data collection)

-overseas allowances where appropriate

-collaborative travel costs where appropriate

-research management and support costs

-Flexible Funding Allowance

-an inflation allowance.

If the Fellow is already in receipt of a salary from the host institution, the host institution may use this salary to pay for a replacement member of staff while the Trust provides the Fellow’s salary/stipend for the duration of the Fellowship. It is not expected that the Fellow would receive a salary in addition to the one provided by the Trust.

Selection Criteria: Not Known

Notification: Final decision by Interview Committee will be in February 2015.

How to Apply: A full application form should be completed via the Trust’s eGrants online application system and submitted at any time before the published deadline. (Note: select ‘International’ in the ‘Funding Area’ drop-down menu, then ‘Fellowships and personal awards’ in the ‘Scheme Type’ menu, then select the ‘Master’s Fellowship in Public Health and Tropical Medicine’ form in the ‘Scheme Name’ drop-down menu to choose the full application form.) Please note that your host institution will need to be registered on eGrants before you can create a new application form. If your host institution is not on this list, you will need to contact eGrants Support for further information and allow sufficient time for your institution to be registered. The application should include details of your sponsor’s track record in training and a list of their other students at the institution. It must be supported by the head of the institution where the research will be based, and a career plan for the proposed candidate must be included. The full application will be reviewed by the relevant Interview Committee, which makes the final decision. Please note that candidates are not interviewed for these Fellowships.

Scholarship Application Deadline: The application deadline is 31st October 2014.