African Graduate Research Fund

Greetings from the African Graduate Student Research Fund committee! Even in the best of circumstances, graduate school is challenging. Graduate students at African universities, as well as African citizens studying overseas, face significant and additional challenges. Conducting scientific fieldwork in Africa is expensive, and the logistical challenges of studying wild mammals can be daunting. Thus, we are dedicated to supporting research by African graduate students who are conducting groundbreaking research in pursuit of their degrees.

Our program provides $1,500 research grants to African graduate students for their research projects. We provide money for the equipment and travel expenses that are essential to the success of studies in field biology. Eligibility for our grants requires that (1) applicants must be citizens of an African country, (2) must be currently enrolled in a graduate program at an accredited university, and (3) must be conducting fieldwork on wild mammals in Africa.

Since the AGSRF program’s inception in 2013, we have funded projects based in Tanzania, Kenya, and Madagascar. Past AGSRF awardees have investigated issues including disease transmission between livestock and African buffalo, how forest cutting influences parasites of fruit batss, the effects of humans on predation risk of antelopes, and the spread of a skin disease amongst giraffe populations. Each year, we receive dozens of proposals representing many highly qualified students and projects, but due to budget constraints we have been able to fund less than 5% of the applications we receive.  We are determined to continue supporting the careers of budding scientists in Africa, and money raised by this campaign will be used to fund additional projects in the future.

AGSRF awardees are selected by a committee within the American Society of Mammalogists . This society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of scientific research on mammals across the globe. The ASM was first established in 1919, and currently has approximately 2,500 members, most of whom are scientists associated with either universities or professional agencies. The ASM disseminates scientific research through peer-reviewed publications, the Journal of Mammalogy and Mammalian Species, as well as through an annual conference that brings hundreds of mammalogists together to discuss new findings and future research directions.  AGSRF awardees receive not only monetary support for their projects, but a foot into the door to this professional community, which can lead to important connections and future funding opportunities later in their careers.

Your support for our campaign will provide funds for additional grants to be issued to highly deserving students with exciting, important research projects. Donors will be updated annually with reports on the most recent awardees and descriptions of their projects, allowing you to see your money in action, and to know the names and stories of the individuals you have helped. Thank you for your time in reading about our campaign!