Wits-Edinburgh Sustainable Africa Futures Doctoral Programme

Wits-Edinburgh Partnership

The Wits-Edinburgh Sustainable African Futures (WESAF) doctoral programme, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, aims to provide research training to equip students (primarily academics already holding tenured positions) to complete interdisciplinary doctoral research on areas related to sustainability in the African continent. 

The blended programme is designed to enable students to complete primarily online master's followed by a primarily online doctorate.

The Masters by Research and PhD programmes combine in-person elements including sustainability schools (in-person schools focussed on enhancing knowledge in the field of sustainability research) in South Africa and contact sessions in Edinburgh alongside workplace-based internships.

The PhD supervision is jointly delivered online by academics from both Edinburgh and Wits.

Sustainability-focused doctoral studies

The programme recruited an initial cohort of 48 Fellows from faculties from 14 African higher education institutions to complete sustainability-focused doctoral studies.

Following an initial online Masters by Research, to front-load the development of critical research skills and delivered full-time, 24 of these Fellows are now completing their PhDs either full-time or part-time.

Through its cohort approach and emphasis on advanced research design and methods training, the programme will produce a powerful cohort of African research specialists committed to addressing Africa’s sustainability challenges on its own terms.

Related Links

View the African higher education institutions below:

Partner institutions

Read further information on the programme below:

Wits-Edinburgh Sustainable African Futures (WESAF) Doctoral Programme

Contact us

For more information, contact our WESAF Programme Coordinator, Megan Douglas: m.douglas@ed.ac.uk