Frequently Asked Questions

EXCEL-PHARM is a scholarship and academic mobility project in pharmaceutical and health sciences. It is coordinated by the University of Cape Coast (Ghana) together with partner universities in Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and Portugal, and is co-funded by the European Union under the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme.

There are two target groups. Target Group 1 is for applicants registered at, or holding a degree from, a consortium institution — most scholarships are awarded in this group. Target Group 2 is for applicants from outside the consortium institutions, where a smaller number of scholarships is available. In both groups you may only use the scholarship to study outside your own country. Priority is given to applicants from Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Senegal, and females, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups are particularly encouraged to apply.

The current call funds degree-seeking mobility — a full MPhil, MSc, or PhD degree taken at a partner institution. It is not for credit-only exchange, traineeships, or staff mobility; those mobilities are part of the project and are announced separately on the Available Mobilities page.

Yes. There are two separate applications and both are needed. First apply for admission to your chosen degree programme through that institution's own admission process, then apply for the EXCEL-PHARM scholarship on this website. Eligibility for the degree programme is decided by the institution, not by the scholarship committee. If you are awarded a scholarship but are not admitted to the programme, the offer is withdrawn and passed to a standby applicant.

The deadline for the current intake is shown at the top of the Apply page, together with the announcement for that intake. Applications that arrive after the deadline, or that are incomplete, are not considered.

You upload your CV (no longer than 4 pages), your degree certificate(s), your academic transcript(s), and the photo and bio-data page of your valid passport. Each document is uploaded separately as a PDF or a clear photo or scan, up to 10 MB each. Your motivation letter (maximum 350 words) is written directly in the form, so there is nothing to upload for it. PhD applicants also upload a one-page research concept note. If a document is missing or incomplete, the application will not be considered.

Yes. You can save your progress at any point and we email you a secure link to continue where you left off. That link is personal to your application — do not share it or forward the email to anyone.

The scholarship covers your tuition at the host institution, a monthly living allowance, travel between the home and host institutions, support towards research costs, and health insurance. The exact amounts, payment schedule, and conditions are set out in the scholarship agreement you sign, in line with the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme Call Document.

No. Applying is free at every stage. Neither EXCEL-PHARM nor any partner institution will ever ask you to pay a fee to apply for, process, or be awarded a scholarship, and we never ask applicants to send money to an individual. If anyone asks you to pay, please read our fraud warning and report it to us.

Selection is based on academic merit together with gender, geographic, and institutional equity across the consortium. Every applicant is notified of the outcome by email, and the names of successful applicants are published on this website. Successful applicants receive an award letter and sign its terms and conditions. If you are not selected, you may lodge an appeal within 10 days of the outcome.