Career outcomes of PhD holders in Africa: Protocol for a scoping review

The purpose of this paper is to outline a protocol for a scoping review that will map current research on PhD holders’ career outcomes in Africa. The aim of the scoping review is threefold. First, it seeks to examine the predominant conceptual and theoretical frameworks, as well as the methodological approaches, used in existing research. Second, the review aims to assess the extent to which academic and non-academic careers are addressed within the current literature. Lastly, the scoping review intends to identify the systemic, institutional, and individual-level conditions that contribute to shaping research careers. Four electronic journal databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles in English that focused on the African context: Web of Science, Scopus, the Sabinet Social Sciences and Humanities Journal Database, and Education Research Complete. No restrictions were placed on publication year, with searches including studies published up to 2025. The abstracts and titles of the sources resulting from this search will be screened against the established eligibility criteria, and data will be extracted and analyzed from those sources that meet the inclusion criteria. The findings from this scoping review will be useful for research leaders, as well as those responsible for the professional development of researchers who seek to establish career development initiatives. This review will also point out research gaps in career-related literature on PhD holders in Africa.