Lagos offers 50% scholarship for LASU diaspora studies programme

The Lagos State Office of Diaspora Affairs has offered a 50 per cent tuition scholarship to students admitted into a new Master of Diaspora and Migration Studies programme at Lagos State University.

The scholarship, for the 2025/2026 academic session, is part of a collaboration between the agency and LASU to develop specialised expertise in migration, diaspora engagement and related policy areas.

Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Office of Diaspora Affairs, Jermaine Sanwo-Olu, said the initiative was designed to strengthen the institutional capacity required to manage Lagos’ growing relationship with its diaspora and respond to emerging migration trends.

Sanwo-Olu said the idea for the programme and the Centre for Diaspora and Migration Studies was developed in collaboration with LASU during his doctoral studies.

He said, “The initiative reflects Lagos State’s commitment to building stronger institutional structures for engaging its diaspora and responding strategically to emerging migration realities.”

“For Lagos, diaspora engagement and migration are not peripheral issues. They are central to our development ambitions. We are looking at how we can better harness the knowledge, skills, investments, networks and global connections of Lagosians and Nigerians across the world, while also strengthening our capacity to understand and respond to migration trends.”

He added, “This Centre will provide the research, policy and knowledge platform required to move that agenda forward.”

Explaining the scholarship, Sanwo-Olu said the 50 per cent tuition support was intended to widen access to specialised training in an area he described as increasingly important to global development.

He said eligible candidates would be selected through a screening process and that the programme was open to graduates, academics, government officials, diplomats, development and humanitarian professionals, diaspora affairs officers and migration practitioners.

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Professionals working in related fields, including governance, maritime affairs, heritage and the blue economy, are also eligible to apply, he said.

According to Sanwo-Olu, applicants must possess at least a second-class lower degree, or its equivalent, in a relevant discipline, while relevant professional experience would be an advantage.

The programme followed the approval of the proposal by the LASU Senate and the establishment of the Centre, according to the statement.

Former LASU Vice-Chancellor, Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, said the initiative could help bridge the gap between academic research and policy in diaspora engagement, migration governance and human mobility.

Olatunji-Bello said migration and diaspora relations increasingly influence economic growth, labour markets, investment, knowledge transfer and international relations, making capacity development in the field particularly relevant to Lagos.

She said, “Diaspora and migration have become critical dimensions of contemporary development, with far-reaching implications for education, investment, innovation, human capital and international relations.”

“The proposed Centre provides an important opportunity for LASU to bring its academic expertise to bear on these issues while creating a platform where research can translate into practical policy and development outcomes.”

The full-time master’s programme will run for three semesters and require a minimum of 36 credit units.

Its curriculum covers diaspora communities and identities, migration governance, refugee and displacement management, labour migration, human trafficking, urban mobility and policy development, drawing on disciplines including history, sociology, law and economics.