Côte d'Ivoire Applicants Prioritised for Online UC Berkeley Fellowship Track

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) has opened applications for its 2027-2028 Visiting Fellowship, a 16-week programme for African researchers and practitioners working on impact evaluation. Applicants from Côte d'Ivoire and other African countries under U.S. visa restrictions are being prioritised for the online version of the fellowship rather than the in-person route in the United States.

Key facts

• Application deadline: 5:00 PM GMT on 17 January 2027
• Fellowship length: 16 weeks, in residence at UC Berkeley or online
• Two terms to choose from: Fall 2027 (August to December) or Spring 2028 (January to May)
• Two tracks: Practitioner and Academic
• Applicants must be from an East African or West African country
• Applications are submitted through CEGA's online application portal

What does the fellowship involve?

Fellows audit coursework, build skills in quantitative development research, take part in a personalised mentorship programme to develop their research ideas, and grow their research networks. The programme can be completed either in Fall 2027 or Spring 2028.

Applicants choose between two tracks. The Practitioner Track is aimed at professionals in African government ministries, think tanks or NGOs who want to strengthen their research skills, while the Academic Track is for early-career scholars planning an academic career. Each applicant also chooses whether to attend as a Resident fellow in person at UC Berkeley or as a Non-Resident fellow online.

Who is eligible?

Across both tracks, candidates must be fluent in written and spoken English and be strong communicators. They must be from an East African or West African country and have completed at least up to secondary school education in an African institution. Applicants need at least a Master's degree, current enrolment in a PhD, or a PhD completed within the last eight years, in economics, political science, statistics, epidemiology or public health, or another social science discipline.

Candidates must plan to return to an institution in East or West Africa after the fellowship. Scholars currently enrolled in a PhD programme outside the African continent may finish that PhD before returning.

Why does U.S. visa status matter?

Resident fellows must come from a country eligible for a J-1 visa — a U.S. exchange visitor visa — under current U.S. visa requirements: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles and Uganda. CEGA notes that this list is subject to change depending on U.S. regulations.

Non-Resident fellows will be prioritised from countries currently subject to U.S. visa restrictions: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

How do I apply?

Applications must be submitted through CEGA's online application portal by 5:00 PM GMT on 17 January 2027. The source does not state any application fee or funding details for the programme.

What this means for travellers

Researchers from Côte d'Ivoire who want to join this programme should plan on the Non-Resident, online format, since the in-person route requires a J-1 visa from a listed country. Anyone considering the Resident option should check whether their nationality appears on the J-1 eligible list before making travel plans, as CEGA says the list can change with U.S. regulations.

The application window closes on 17 January 2027, and the fellowship itself runs in either the August-December 2027 or January-May 2028 term.