Unique Regional PhD Programme in Soil and Water Management

Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania, is calling for applications for admission into a unique 4-year PhD programme with course work and research in the fields of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM), Soil Water Management (SWM) and Agricultural Land Resource Planning (ALRP). Courses related to soil fertility, plant nutrition, crop agronomy, soil health, soil-plant-water relations and soil organic matter dynamics and management are covered under ISFM.

Applicants must at a minimum hold a Master of Science (MSc) degree in the areas of soil, agricultural, earth, or environmental sciences; land and water management; or any other relevant field. The deadline for applications has been extended to 19th March 2012. Successful candidates will be informed within a week of the deadline, and studies will start in the 1st week of April 2012.

A limited number of scholarships are available on a competitive basis for candidates from Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. Qualified women candidates are particularly encouraged to apply. In case of equal qualification, female candidates will be given preference. Candidates with other sources of funding are also encouraged to apply.

The programme was developed with support from the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), in collaboration with stakeholders in the region, with a view to addressing common deficiencies in existing postgraduate training courses in the Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA) region. It is designed to produce graduates with appropriate knowledge and skills to carry out and manage agricultural research and dissemination of agricultural technologies, with a view to increasing and sustaining soil productivity and enhancing food security through sustainable land management and reliable soil water management systems.

The curriculum is formulated to address rural development paradigms and competences for all candidates – to foster innovations responsive to demands of small-holder farmers through the nurturing of high quality researchers, the output of impact-oriented research, and the maintenance of collaborative working relations among researchers, farmers, national agricultural research institutions, and governments. It includes courses designed to address agricultural education and extension, and courses to impart entrepreneurship and business management skills. All candidates are also to take cross-cutting courses in research methodologies, scientific writing and presentation skills, climate change mitigation and adaptation in agriculture, and communication & leadership for development.

Applicants should submit: the prescribed application forms; curriculum vitae; copies of degree certificates and transcripts; a brief concept note of the expected PhD research; and, references. Click on full advertisement, application form and referee form to access the appropriate documents. Applications should be addressed to:

Dr. Abel K. Kaaya
Regional PhD (Soil and Water Management) Programme Coordinator
Faculty of Agriculture, Sokoine University of Agriculture
P.O. Box 3001, Morogoro, Tanzania

Applications by e-mails should be sent to Dr Kaya on akaaya@suanet.ac.tz and copied to abelkaaya@yahoo.co.uk and Dr Ernest Marwa at emagesa@yahoo.com. Queries should be directed to the same email addresses.