PhD Positions at the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) in Social and Agricultural Sciences

PhD Positions at the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) in Social and Agricultural Sciences

Call for applications

Application Deadline: 15 February 2015.
Scholarship Start: 1 May 2015.

The ICDD is an interdisciplinary and international scientific network of excellence with the head office located at the University of Kassel (Germany) and partner universities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It co-operates closely with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and various NGOs. The ICDD is funded by the programme “ex)/(ceed – Higher Education Excellence in Development Cooperation” launched by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In the framework of its Graduate School of Socio-Ecological Research for Development, the ICDD invites students from ODA recipient countries (countries eligible for Official Development Assistance of the OECD) to apply for a PhD scholarship position in a particular academic field at an ICDD partner university:

• Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil, in economics,
• University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana, in development studies,
• Egerton University (EGU), Kenya, in agricultural science,
• University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Pakistan, in agricultural science, 
• University of Kassel, Germany, in agricultural science,
• University of Kassel, Germany, in the social sciences,
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), India, in labour studies,
• University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), South Africa, in sociology.
  

The ICDD supports research in four main thematic areas to which PhD projects must relate:

1. Decent work along agricultural value chains
   
2. Organizing the informal economy
   
3. Extractivism and rural welfare
   
4. Rural-urban linkages: transformation processes, livelihoods, and social protection
   

Scholarship: PhD students of the ICDD Graduate School will be based at the partner university they chose (see above) and enrolled in its PhD training programme. Moreover, successful candidates participate in the annual PhD workshops of the ICDD Graduate School and get involved in the lively academic exchange and activities within the ICDD network.

The PhD scholarship will be awarded for three years. An extension for a fourth year is possible under certain conditions. The scholarships will cover a country-specific monthly allowance, tuition fees (if applicable), the participation in ICDD Graduate School activities as well as the opportunity to apply for field research funding. Final admission to the ICDD Graduate School is conditioned on the admittance to the PhD programme of the chosen ICDD partner university and a positive progress evaluation by the ICDD in the first scholarship year.

Application Requirements

• A completed or almost completed MA/MSc degree, with excellent results, in a discipline related to the above topics; the applicant’s last academic degree should not be more than six years ago; if an applicant already started with his/her PhD project, it should have started not more than three years ago
  
• A high proficiency of English (CEFR level: C1 or above), demonstrated by one of the following language certificates: TOEFL, with a minimum score of 550 PBT (paper-based test) / 80 IBT (Internet-based test); IELTS 6.5 or above; the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English or an equivalent (native speakers and applicants who have completed their first degree fully in English do not have to provide an English proficiency certificate)
  
• Academic or vocational experience in one of the disciplines related to the thematic field of development and decent work
  
• Citizenship of an ODA recipient country (countries eligible for Official Development Assistance of the OECD)
  

Application Procedure

1.) Online Application

Applications can only be submitted online: Click here to access the online application form

Apart from providing some personal information, information on your academic background etc., the following documents must be uploaded as PDF or WORD files at the end of the online application process:

• A detailed curriculum vitae (including the academic background, the list of publications [if applicable], professional experience, language skills, voluntary work)
• A preliminary PhD project proposal (about 2000 words, including topic, research question, short overview of the relevant literature, theoretical approach, research design and methodology)
• A summary of the Master thesis (about 1500 words)
• Scanned copy of an English proficiency certificate, if required
• Scanned copies of the following documents in the original language with translations attached, if the language of these documents is not German, English, French, Spanish or Portuguese:
  • The certificate and transcript of records of your recognised Master degree, listing all subjects and grades (if you have not yet completed your Master degree, please provide only the transcript and substitute the certificate with a letter from the programme coordinator testifying the date and likelihood of the successful completion of the course)
  • The certificate and transcript of records of your recognised Bachelor degree, listing all subjects and grades
  • Certificates for the completion of additional studies, listing all subjects and grades, if applicable
  • Scanned copies of certificates of previous professional/vocational experience, if applicable.

Please submit your complete application no later than 15 February 2015, 12:00 pm (GMT + 01:00).  

Applications submitted after this deadline cannot be processed.

2.)Two letters of recommendation: Apart from your application, two recent letters of recommendation must be provided from professors or course instructors qualified to assess your academic achievements. The referees must sign the letter and send it as a scanned copy from the referee´s email account to:

• phdreference[at]icdd.uni-kassel.de 

Alternatively, the letters of reference can be sent in a sealed envelope by post directly to:

Executive Director of the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD), University of Kassel, Kleine Rosenstr. 1-3, 34109 Kassel, Germany.

The letter of recommendation must also arrive at the ICDD no later than 15 February 2015.

If you are selected for admission, officially authenticated photocopies of all the documents and translations will have to be presented.

For further information contact the ICDD Graduate School staff

Phone: + 49 (0)561 804 7395

Email: phdapplication@icdd.uni-kassel.de