The Africa Institute is a research institute and postgraduate school in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and part of Global Studies University. It defines its remit as the research, documentation, study and teaching of Africa and its diaspora within the humanities and social sciences.
Its fellowships program brings scholars to Sharjah for a full-time residency, where each fellow works on one research project and takes part in the scholarly life of the Institute. A single call covers four named fellowships: the Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship in African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies, the Ali A. Mazrui Senior Fellowship in Global African Studies, the Okwui Enwezor Postdoctoral Fellowship in Visual Culture, Performance Studies and Critical Humanities, and the Fatema Mernissi Postdoctoral Fellowship in Social and Cultural Studies.
The 2027 round opened on 6 July 2026 and closes on 30 September 2026. Senior fellows are in residence from September 2027 to June 2028; postdoctoral fellows stay through June 2029. Five fellows were appointed in the 2025 cohort.
Benefits & funding
- A full-time residency appointment at the Institute in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
- One academic year for the two senior fellowships; two academic years for the two postdoctoral fellowships.
- Fellows arrive in mid-August 2027 to settle residency and housing arrangements before the September start.
- Time is protected for a single research project, alongside the Institute’s scholarly programme and contact with academics working in the same field.
- The Institute does not publish the pay, housing, travel or insurance terms in its call. Applicants should confirm the package with applications@theafricainstitute.org before applying.
Eligibility
- Senior fellowships: scholars at associate professor or full professor level, or the equivalent outside the academy as authors and public intellectuals who have earned critical recognition.
- Postdoctoral fellowships: a Ph.D. awarded within the last five years.
- The proposed project must sit within African and African diaspora studies in the humanities or social sciences.
- No nationality, citizenship, residency or age requirement is stated in the call.
- The award is a full-time residency, so fellows relocate to Sharjah for the whole term.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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Education required
PhD
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Application process
- 1Decide which of the four named fellowships fits the project; one application route covers all of them.
- 2Prepare an abstract of up to 300 words and a project statement of 1,000 to 2,000 words.
- 3Prepare two writing samples, a letter of interest, a CV, and contact details for three referees. Each individual file must stay under 3 MB.
- 4Submit through the Global Studies University applicant portal linked from the program page by 30 September 2026, 11:59 pm Gulf Standard Time.
- 5Applications are reviewed in October 2026, with interviews for shortlisted candidates in mid-November 2026.
- 6Offers are sent by mid-December 2026. Questions go to applications@theafricainstitute.org.
Program timeline
Applications open for the 2027 cohort
Jul 6, 2026
Application deadline, 11:59 pm Gulf Standard Time
Sep 30, 2026
Applications reviewed
October 2026
Interviews with shortlisted candidates
Mid-November 2026
Offers announced
Mid-December 2026
Fellows arrive in Sharjah to arrange residency and housing
Mid-August 2027
Residencies begin
September 2027
Senior fellowships end
June 2028
Postdoctoral fellowships end
June 2029