Senior and Postdoctoral Fellowships Program - The Africa Institute
Full-time residencies in Sharjah, UAE
The Africa Institute, Global Studies University is a globally oriented center for research, documentation, study, and teaching of Africa and its diaspora in the humanities and social sciences. It hosts a series of senior and post-doctoral fellowships, awarded through its Research Fellowships Program.
Conceived as a research-based think-tank and a postgraduate studies institution, the Institute offers both masters and Ph.D. programs dedicated to training a new generation of critical thinkers in African and African diaspora studies and evolving a new model for academic research, teaching and documentation in the field.
In advancing these goals, The Africa Institute has inaugurated senior fellowships named in honor of the late Toni Morrison, an acclaimed literary icon known as the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature, and the esteemed late professor of African studies Ali A. Mazrui. In addition to these, there are two postdoctoral fellowships named for the scholar, curator, and art critic Okwui Enwezor and for world-renowned Moroccan scholar Fatema Mernissi.
Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship in African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies
This fellowship is named in honor of the late Toni Morrison, a prolific woman of letters whose contributions to world literature, the humanities, and the understanding of the African American experience, expand beyond her novels and into incisive texts in cultural studies and critical theory. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award (1977), Pulitzer Prize (1988), Nobel Prize in Literature (1993) to name a few of her several prestigious accolades. She is a unique voice that encourages individuals and entire nations to contextually imagine the black experience through powerful lyrical prose that continues to inspire old and new artists alike. By all measures, Toni Morrison is one of the most important thinkers of our time. Read more about the namesake scholar, Toni Morrison.
Eligible applicants include the level of Associate or Full Professors in their home institutions, or independent authors and public intellectuals who earned critical recognition for their writings in all related fields to African and African diaspora and culture. This is a full-time, one-year residency based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, typically running from September to June.
Ali A. Mazrui Senior Fellowship in Global African Studies
Named in honor of the esteemed late Professor Ali A. Mazrui – whose contributions to the field of African Studies have left a remarkable and transformative impact on the world – this fellowship is open to senior scholars whose work shows emphasis on African and African diaspora studies and their intersections with social sciences and the humanities. Read more about the namesake scholar, Ali A. Mazrui.
Eligible applicants include well-recognized scholars at the level of associate or full professors in their home institutions, or independent authors and public intellectuals who earned critical recognition for their writings in all related fields to African and African diaspora studies. This is a full-time, one-year residency based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, typically running from September to June.
Okwui Enwezor Postdoctoral Fellowship in Visual Culture, Performance Studies, and Critical Humanities
Named in honor of the late Okwui Enwezor, the famed scholar, curator, and art critic, whose contributions to the disciplines of art history, art criticism and cultural studies have left a groundbreaking and dynamic impact, this fellowship is open to emerging scholars whose work focuses on visual and performance studies and intersections with discourses of art history, performance studies, and critical humanities. Read more about the namesake scholar, Okwui Enwezor.
Eligible applicants must have earned their doctoral degree (Ph.D.) within the last five years, prior to assuming the fellowship. This is a full-time, two-year residency based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, typically running from September to June.
Fatema Mernissi Postdoctoral Fellowship in Social and Cultural Studies
This fellowship is named in honor of the world-renowned Moroccan scholar, the late Professor Fatema Mernissi, whose contributions to gender, feminism, sociopolitical change and Islam, have been critical and transformational. Read more about the namesake scholar, Fatima Mernissi.
The fellowship is open to emerging scholars in the field of social sciences with specific emphasis on gender, feminism, and cultural studies and visual cultures, as long as they intersect with African and African diaspora studies. Eligible applicants must have earned their doctoral degree (Ph.D.) within the last five years, prior to assuming the fellowship. This is a full-time, two-year residency based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, typically running from September to June.
Open Call 2027
Applications for the 2027 Research Fellowships Program are now open.
Application deadline: Wednesday, September 30, 2026
For questions or technical assistance, email applications@theafricainstitute.org.
