CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: THE PROFESSOR BABATUNDE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS RESEARCH GRANT FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDIES*

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, NIGERIA

Closing Date: December 20, 2021

We are pleased to announce the inaugural Professor Babatunde Agbaje-Williams Research Grant for Postgraduate Studies (Agbaje-Williams Grant). This grant program will provide a maximum of N500,000 annually over the next five years. Successful applicants will use the grant to conduct original research that will lead to a dissertation in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan. The research may involve fieldwork or laboratory analysis. Applicants may ask for any amount up to N500,000. The awarded grant amounts will vary depending on research plans.

Eligibility: M.Phil/Ph.D., and Ph.D. students currently enrolled in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology (part- or full-time) and already have their proposals presented and approved by their dissertation/thesis committee.

Review Criteria: The review shall be based only on the merit of the proposal. It is not tied to the general financial condition of the student. Applicants are urged to write their proposal with non-experts in mind. Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria.

Are the project goals and design clearly and adequately stated?
Are the proposed activities related well to a specific question, problem, or hypothesis?
Has the applicant documented the significance of the project?
Does the applicant show sufficient familiarity with recent developments in the field and/or provide a context for “their” research, especially with reference to the existing scholarship or other works of this nature?
Does the applicant demonstrate “their” ability to carry out the project?
Does the applicant clearly explain the (appropriate) process and/or methodology?
Is the proposal written with textual accuracy and intelligible to an audience outside the proposer’s discipline?
Is the budget cost-effective?

Application: Interested applicants should contact Professor Raphael Alabi at raphael_alabi@yahoo.com for the application form.

Submission: The completed application must be submitted by email to raphael_alabi@yahoo.com and ogundiran@uncc.edu not later than 11:59 pm (WAT) on December 20, 2021. A late or incomplete application will not be reviewed.

Notification: All applicants will be notified of the review committee’s decisions by January 10, 2022.

The goals of the Professor Babatunde Agbaje-Williams Research Grant for Postgraduate Studies are to:

1. Promote research excellence and cultivate scholarly rigor in the postgraduate students of archaeology and anthropology at the University of Ibadan.
2. Elevate or improve the quality of postgraduate research projects and lay the groundwork for a successful archaeological and anthropological career in academics or other professions.
3. Provide resources that might not otherwise be available to postgraduate students for conducting original and impactful field and/or laboratory research.
4. Develop grant-writing skills and habits in postgraduate students.
5. Continue and multiply the legacy of Professor Babatunde Agbaje-Williams’s lifelong career as a mentor and teacher par excellence.

About Professor Babatunde Agbaje-Williams:

Professor Babatunde Agbaje-Williams is a leading Nigerian archaeologist and anthropologist. He earned his B.A. in Anthropology at Beloit College (USA), M.A. Anthropology at Brown University (USA), and Ph.D. in Archaeology at the University of Ibadan. He taught at Ibadan for thirty-five years, both in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Institute of African Studies (1977-2012). He also taught at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) between 1984 and 1988. He was appointed as a Research Associate at the DuSable Museum of African-American History and The Field Museum of Natural History, both in Chicago, in 1996-98. Agbaje-Williams is a tireless field archaeologist renowned for his groundbreaking research on the Oyo Empire and pioneering research in the central Yoruba region. Most importantly, he mentored several students during his active academic career. Many of his students are now leaders in their respective fields. Professor Agbaje-Williams is currently based in Chicago, spending time with his family and working on various writing projects.

*This grant program is made possible by anonymous donors to mark the 50th anniversary of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.