The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Extends Grant To Support Doctoral Training In The Humanities At The University Of Ghana

Starting July 2, 2021 - Ending July 2, 2022 Expired

THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION EXTENDS GRANT TO SUPPORT DOCTORAL TRAINING IN THE HUMANITIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

The Board of Trustees of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation at its Board Meeting held in June 2021 approved a proposal from the University of Ghana to provide a grant of $800,000 to support doctoral training in the Humanities. The grant will be used to support 13 PhD students for the next four years. The new grant is a renewal of an earlier grant provided for the University in 2017 to support 15 masters and 10 PhD students in the Humanities. The grant provides stipend, support for research and participation in international conference, and visit to a Mellon partner institution in Africa for a period of at least 3 months.

The Board’s decision to extend the grant is largely due to progress made by the earlier cohort of grantees of the award, and the satisfactory management of the project to date. Out of the 15 masters students granted support in 2017, 13 have successfully completed their studies, while the remaining two students are due to complete their studies soon. Funding for the 10 PhD students is expected to end in October 2021, but already two students have submitted their theses and one has successfully passed his oral examination.

The Principal Investigators of the project have expressed gratitude to the Foundation for their confidence in the project team and their readiness to support the humanities agenda at the University of Ghana. They also thank the Vice-Chancellor for his interest in and support for the project, Heads of participating Departments and Institutes as well as supervisors of the students who have worked with the project team since 2017. It is expected that some of the PhD students whose studies are being funded through the project, would eventually become faculty in the University of Ghana.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, in addition to this project, is also providing support for other projects at the University of Ghana. These include: Re-invigorating Humanities Research for faculty; support for the establishment of a Centre for Teaching and Learning Innovation; Building Capacity for Early Career Humanities Scholars; and the Women and Political Participation in Africa project.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the largest supporter of the arts and humanities in the United States of America. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through its grants, the Foundation seeks to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive.