Funding
The Center for and Department of Middle Eastern Studies along with the College of Liberal Arts offer many scholarships to assist undergraduate students in funding their education.
Khurshid Ahmad Memorial Fellowship
The Khurshid Ahmad Memorial Fellowship is intended to supplement a student’s summer study of a Middle Eastern language in the Middle East. Established by CMES MA alumna Sophia Ahmad in honor of her late father, the award is open to both undergraduate and graduate students in Middle Eastern Studies. Review the 2024 Call for Applications which includes instructions on how to apply.
Eligibility: Priority will be given to students undertaking study of Arabic, Kurdish, or Turkish. Applicants must have taken at least two semesters of Arabic or Turkish at UT. Applicants who will undertake study of Kurdish are exempt from this requirement as the language is not offered at UT. The recipient must use the fellowship to study a Middle Eastern language in the Middle East (no requirements for the specific program) and their financial need will also be evaluted.
Deadline: May 10, 2024
Stipend: $500
Dan C. Danciger Scholarship in Hebrew Studies
The Danciger Scholarship is awarded annually to students demonstrating achievement in and commitment to Hebrew studies. Award recipients must enroll in at least one Hebrew course in the semester following the notification of award. Students interested in the Danciger Scholarship should complete the application below and submit all required materials to DMES by October 25, 2023.
Eligibility: Undergraduate and graduate students in good standing at UT
Stipend: $100-$1,000
Deadline: Weds, Oct 25, 2023
Application: Apply Here
Continuing Persian Fellowship
The Continuing Persian Fellowship is designed to support undergraduate students who progress from PRS 611C: Intensive Persian II to PRS 322K: Intermediate Persian.
Eligibility: Undergraduate students who have earned at least an A- in PRS 601C and 611C
Stipend: Varies
Deadline: TBD
Application: coming soon
Arabic Flagship Program
Funding from the National Security Education Program and The Language Flagship enables The University of Texas Arabic Flagship to offer merit-based funding for accepted Flagship scholars for intensive summer study at the UT Arabic Summer Institute and for summer and year-long study abroad programs in Meknes, Morocco.
Eligibility: Undergraduate students admitted to the Arabic Flagship Program.
Stipend: Varies by the program (summer domestic, summer abroad, year abroad)
Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies
The Schusterman Center offers several funding opportunities for students, including the Israel Studies Dual Language Fellowships of up to $1,000 for students pursuing at least four semesters of both Hebrew and Arabic study, Israel Studies Travel Fellowships of up to $2,000 for students going abroad to study Hebrew or perform research in Israel, and Hebrew Language Scholarships of up to $1,000 for any non-native speaker enrolled in Hebrew classes.
Persian and Turkish FLAS
While CMES does not currently offer FLAS Fellowships, students studying Persian and Turkish may apply for the FLAS through other centers on campus., such as: CES for Turkish, CREES for Persian/Tajiki and Turkish, and SAI for Persian.
Funding outside of UT Austin
Undergraduate Research Funding
American Academy of Religion Undergraduate Research Grant for undergraduates who are doing research on religion under a faculty member of the AAR.
Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) Fellowships
CASA offers advanced level training in Arabic language and culture to qualified American students at the Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman, Jordan or the Arab American Language Institute in Morocco (AALIM) in Meknes, Morocco (pending the security and funding for each location). Applicants to the CASA programs must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and should have a minimum of 3 years of formal instruction in Arabic prior to joining CASA.
2024 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program and CLS Spark
The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program offers funded language instruction in 14 Critical Languages. Nine of these languages have no pre-requisites to go and learn abroad. Of the languages with pre-requisites to go abroad, we offer virtual beginning- level instruction in Arabic, Chinese, and Russian through CLS Spark.
