Sandwich PhD Programs: Splitting Research Between Two Universities

How a sandwich PhD works

In a sandwich PhD, you register for your doctorate at your home university and complete the degree there. During the program, you travel to a partner university, often better equipped for a specific method, lab technique, or dataset your research needs, for a defined stretch of time.

You return home to finish writing and defend your thesis. The degree you graduate with comes from your home university alone, the partner institution is a placement, not a joint degree in most versions of the model.

The arrangement works well for research that needs equipment, archives, or supervisors your home department does not have, without requiring you to relocate for the whole PhD or give up your registration and job at home.

TETFund's sandwich program in Nigeria

Nigeria's Tertiary Education Trust Fund runs a sandwich placement specifically for science-based PhD candidates who are confirmed academic staff at a beneficiary institution. Under TETFund's intervention guidelines , eligible scholars travel abroad for bench work, the hands-on lab component of the research, for a period of three to twelve months while remaining registered for their PhD at their Nigerian university. The program excludes online or part-time degrees, and scholars cannot be sponsored to study at the university where they already work.

Reported annual funding under the scheme has run around NGN 1,500,000 for science-based disciplines and NGN 1,200,000 for other fields, covering tuition and living costs, though TETFund revises figures periodically, so confirm the current rate with your institution's TETFund desk officer before you budget around it. Completed dissertations from the program go back to the sponsoring institution, and TETFund's book development arm considers strong ones for publication support.

DAAD's in-country and in-region scholarships

Germany's DAAD runs an In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme for Sub-Saharan African students that funds full masters or PhD study within Africa rather than a move to Germany. In-country awards fund study in your own country, in-region awards fund study in another Sub-Saharan African country, and both build sandwich placements into the funding for PhD candidates who need a period at a partner institution for part of their research. Benefits typically include a monthly stipend, tuition, research allowance, travel costs, and health insurance for in-region scholars, over roughly three to four years.

Application windows differ by region: calls for East and West African universities usually open around September with deadlines in December or January, while calls covering Southern Africa typically open early in the year with deadlines around June. Check the DAAD scholarship database for the specific university partnerships open in a given cycle, since not every African university has an active DAAD in-country agreement.

What you need before you travel

• A written co-supervision agreement between your home supervisor and the partner institution's supervisor, setting out what work happens where

• Confirmation your home university will recognize the work done abroad as part of your registered thesis, not extra unrecognized research

• A visa suited to a research stay, arranged well before your placement dates, since study or short-term research visas can take weeks to process

• A clear return date and re-registration plan at your home university so the sandwich period does not quietly extend your total PhD timeline

Why it matters for African research capacity

Sandwich models let African universities keep their strongest PhD candidates registered and eventually working at home institutions, instead of losing them entirely to a full PhD abroad that often ends in the researcher staying in the host country. You get access to equipment, data, or expertise unavailable at home, while your home department keeps you as a future staff member and your research stays connected to a problem relevant to your own country.