Sylff PhD scholarship

Sylff Sussex PhD scholarship 2024 in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (2025)

What you get

The full scholarship is  for 3 years starting February 2025 and covers:

i)    full tuition fee waiver for UK fees

ii)   annual tax free living allowance at Research Council rates - currently £19,237 per annum for 2024-5

iii)   annual amount for research expenses

As a Sylff scholar you will be part of an international network of Sylff fellows and will be able to apply to the Sylff foundation for additional conference and networking funding.

Type of award

Postgraduate research

PhD project

The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff) Program

The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund, or Sylff, is a fellowship program initiated in 1987 to support students pursuing graduate studies in the humanities and social sciences. To date, endowments of $1 million each have been presented to 69 universities and consortia in 44 countries.  Sussex is the only UK university to benefit from this investment and our Sussex values of Kindness, Integrity, Inclusion, collaboration and courage are very much in line with those of the Foundation. The Sylff program aims to identify and nurture leaders who will overcome differences in nationality, language, ethnicity, religion, and political systems to tackle global issues, and whose high integrity and drive to address issues unique to their respective countries can make a real difference. About 16,000 students have received fellowships since the program's launch, and many of these Sylff fellows have gone on to become leaders in a variety of fields following graduation.

The scholarship can fund research in any discipline in the arts, humnanities and social sciences. You can see the type of projects undertaken by Sylff Fellows here.  The emphasis is on developing leadership skills to promote peaceful, sustainable, and socially inclusive development.

Eligibility

You are eligible to be considered for a Sylff fellowship if you are starting your PhD in January 2025 (ie.e. if you have not already registered for a PhD) and if you are classed as a UK student for fee purposes.  

Students liable for International fees or requiring a visa to study in the UK are not eligible to apply. 

 In addition, research proposals will be in any area of  the social sciences or arts and  humanities fields.

  Assessment Criteria

In line with the ethos of the Sylff Foundation and with our Sussex 2025 Strategy , we are looking for doctoral researchers who are committed to:

• Research with Impact -  research  which will create new agendas, contribute new knowledge and provide new ideas and solutions that will help to shape the world. We will challenge conventional thinking and discourses, offering inspiring and creative ways to understand and solve global issues.
• Research which seeks to engage for change - interacting purposefully with people, organisations and communities at a local, regional, national or international level with the aim of bringing benefits to society at large, the economy and to the many individuals who are part of our world.
• Academic excellence

We are interested in researchers who:

• Have the ambition and drive to reach the stated goals
• Have relevant work experience, or extra-curricular activity, in international affairs or community engagement

Number of scholarships available

one

Deadline

How to apply

Applicants will need to complete TWO applications in order to be considered for a Sylff scholarship:

1. Applicants will need to apply online for a relevant PhD at Sussex https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply      Deadline: Monday 25th November 12 noon
   
2. Applicants must also complete the online qualtrix form 

Deadline:  Monday 25th November 12 noon

When completing the online PhD application, applicants will need to provide i) a Research Proposal Outline and ii) an academic CV  iii) Degree Transcripts iv) two references.  You should mention SYLFF scholarship in the Finance and Funding Section .

You will need to provide your University of Sussex application number when completing the scholarship application form (the application number will be visible on the application portal 24 hours after submission).

Sponsors

The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff) (www.sylff.org) is a fellowship programme which supports students pursuing graduate studies in the humanities and social sciences.   The Sylff programme is a collaborative initiative of the Nippon Foundation, and the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research.  Endowments at institutions of higher learning serve as sustainable sources of fellowships that support the education of outstanding students with high potential for leadership.

Contact us

Please email pgr-scholarshipsp@sussex.ac.uk  if you have any queries

Timetable

Timeline

The deadline to apply for a PhD at the University of Sussex is:  Monday 25th November 2024 12 noon

The deadline to submit a Sylff application is:  Monday 25th November 2024 12 noon

All applicants will be informed of the outcome by: Monday 16th December 2024