THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) said those interested in doctoral degree (PhD) scholarship have until April 30 to submit their application. SEARCA Director Gil Saguiguit Jr. said the scholarship provides research funds of up to $4,500 and the option to do a two-month internship at SEARCA with allowances for travel, stipend and insurance. He said Filipinos and those from other Southeast Asian countries–Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam – are eligible to apply for the scholarship. Applicants must be PhD students of agricultural universities or regular staff members of government agencies or non-profit development-oriented institutions. The scholarship gives priority to Southeast Asians enrolled in PhD programs of universities who are members of the SEARCA-initiated Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources . These are University of the Philippines Los Baños, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Institut Pertanian Bogor and Universitas Gadjah Mada in Indonesia and Kasetsart University in Thailand. Topic of the applicant's PhD research must be aligned with SEARCA's objective of inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development (ISARD) toward food security and poverty alleviation in Southeast Asia. SEARCA has been hosted by the Philippine government at the UPLB campus in Laguna since 2009.
