Webinar series: Preparing for graduate study abroad for African students
Each year, J-PAL Africa runs a three-part webinar series providing information on pursuing graduate study abroad. The first webinar provides guidance on how to prepare for a graduate program in Economics abroad while the second and third webinars provide information on how to put together a competitive application for a Masters or PhD program in Economics, Public Policy or related fields in North America and Europe.
For those interested in applying to graduate programs in economics or a related field in 2026, we would encourage you to join our upcoming webinar on preparing for graduate study abroad, happening on 12 February, 4-5 pm GMT+2. Please register here.
Recordings of previous webinars are available here.
Webinar 1: How to prepare for graduate study abroad
This first instalment in the series targets Africans who would like information on pathways to acquire the skills and experience that sets one up for graduate study abroad and strengthens one's application. This year our webinar features Dr. Arinze Nwokolo, J-PAL invited researcher and Assistant Professor at the Lagos School of Business; Dr. Alexandra Tapsoba, Economist and Researcher at University Joseph Ki-Zerbo in Burkina Faso; and Dr. Nkechi Owoo, J-PAL invited researcher and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana. This webinar will take place on the 12th of February 2025, from 4-5pm GMT+2. Please register here.
Webinar 2: Putting together a successful application, North America edition
The second instalment of the Pre-PhD webinar series targets prospective African students who are preparing to apply to PhD programs in North America. The 2024 edition featured a panel of admissions faculty from a number of schools including McGill University, Princeton University, Tufts University, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Delaware, Yale University, University of Virginia, and Cornell University. At the end of the webinar, breakout sessions give attendees a chance to ask questions directly of admissions faculty. This year's webinar will take place in late 2025.
Webinar 3: Putting together a successful application, Europe and UK edition
The third and final instalment of the Pre-PhD webinar series targets prospective African students who are preparing to apply to Masters or PhD programs in Europe. In 2024 the webinar featured a panel of admissions faculty from University of Louvain, Trinity College Dublin, Stockholm University, NOVA School of Business and Economics, CERDI at the University Clermont Auvergne, University of Potsdam, Oxford University, Tinbergen Institute and ETH Zurich. At the end of the webinar, participants had a chance to ask questions directly of admissions faculty in breakout groups. The 2025 version of the webinar will take place later in the year.
Resources
Below we provide links to a number of written resources that may be helpful in the application process. They were last updated in February 2024 and may not be comprehensive, but we hope they will serve as a useful starting point in your PhD application journey.