Funding and Prizes

All eligible MMES MPhil applicants are automatically considered. No additional application is required.

The scholarship was established in 2007 for the Middle East Centre’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations. Generous alumni support allowed the Centre to make five awards for postgraduate study on the modern Middle East. The scholarship was suspended in 2012 until 2017, when it was re-launched as part of the Middle East Centre’s sixtieth anniversary celebrations. The re-launched scholarship is an annual award for the MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies. The MPhil (originally the BPhil) was established by Mr Albert Hourani CBE in 1961. It was Oxford’s first taught course in modern Middle Eastern studies.

Original scholarship:

• 2007–2008 – Farid Boussaid
• 2008–2009 – Hatsuki Aishima
• 2009–2010 – Naysan Rafati
• 2010–2011 – Laia Soto Bermant
• 2011–2012 – Katja Zvan

Re-launched Scholarship:

• 2018–2020 – Malika Yates
• 2019–2021 – Tom Coyne
• 2020–2022 – Francesca Vawdrey
• 2021–2023 – Adam Abdalla
• 2022–2024 – Paulina Maziarska
• 2023–2024 – Ema Kuyumdzhieva
• 2024–2026 – Efe Erciyaz

All eligible MMES DPhil applicants are automatically considered. No additional application is required.

This was the Middle East Centre’s first endowed scholarship. The Fund was established in 1990 through a generous donation from Mr and Mrs F E McCone. They were introduced to the College by their friend Dr John Bailey, former Bursar of the College. Mrs McCone is the widow of Dr Nadim Pachachi of Iraq and the fund was established in memory of their son, Ali, who was killed in a car accident.

The first trustees were Mr and Mrs McCone, Dr Bailey, Dr Derek Hopwood, and Rev Campbell Paget. Its original purpose was to help postgraduate students in need of financial support during their research.

In 1999, Mrs Roberta Pinnell, a close friend of the McCones, bequeathed
the proceeds of the sale of her home to the Ali Pachachi Fund. The trustees decided to establish an annual one-year doctoral scholarship, that would become one of the Middle East Centre’s most coveted awards.

In 2020 it became a three-year scholarship.

One year:

• 2000–2001 – Samer El-Karanshawy
• 2001–2002 – Samer El-Karanshawy
• 2002–2003 – Lucie Ryzova
• 2003–2004 – Ibrahim al-Marashi
• 2004–2005 – Mezna Qato
• 2005–2006 – No award
• 2006–2007 – Dominic Coldwell
• 2007–2008 – Avi Spiegel
• 2008–2009 – Abdel Razzaq Takriti
• 2009–2010 – No award
• 2010–2011 – Chauncy Harris
• 2011–2012 – Nadia Oweidat
• 2012–2013 – Victor Willi
• 2013–2014 – Nicholas Simcik-Arese
• 2014–2015 – Rory McCarthy
• 2015–2016 – Adel Hamaizia
• 2016–2017 – Reema Fadda
• 2017–2018 – Yasmina Abouzzohour
• 2018–2019 – Sophie Chamas
• 2019–2020 – Sofia Frankford

Three years:

• 2020–2023 – Eirik Kvindesland
• 2021–2024 – Ziad Kiblawi
• 2022–2025 – Azim Wazeer
• 2023–2026 – Jamshid Jamshidi

Deadline for submissions: 25 May 2025

The Middle East Centre is pleased to invite submissions for the 2025 Azizeh Sheibani Essay Prize in Iranian and Persian-speaking World Studies.

The winner or winners will be invited to dine with the judges at High Table in St Antony’s College, and will receive an award of £400 or, should two winners be chosen, £200 each.

The prize is open to two categories, graduate and undergraduate students. These categories will be judged separately. A prize will not necessarily be awarded in both categories. The prize(s) will be awarded to the best essay(s) in Iranian and Persian-speaking World Studies, in any discipline of the humanities or social sciences. Essays may be on any chronological period: ancient, medieval or modern. Essays should make use of primary sources and will be assessed on the basis of the strength and originality of the research or argumentation.

Essays should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words in length, including footnotes and references. Applicants may choose the most suitable form of citation, though all submissions should be written to the highest academic standard.

The criterion for eligibility is that entrants must be currently registered for a degree at Oxford, or have been so registered in the previous academic year. Essays must not have been published elsewhere, including online.

Winners of the prize are not eligible to enter again.

Results will be announced in sixth/seventh week, with the prize awarded in seventh/eighth week.

All submissions should be sent as a PDF file by email to Dr Stephanie Cronin stephanie.cronin@ames.ox.ac.uk by 25 May 2025.

The prize was established in 2010 through the generosity of Dr Soraya Tremayne and is named in her mother’s honour.

• 2010-2011 – Edward Posnett (Christ Church) and Reza Zia-Ebrahimi (St Antony’s)
• 2011-2012 – Zahir Bhalloo (Wadham)
• 2012-2013 – Leonardo Davoudi (St Antony’s) and Maziyar Ghiabi (St Antony’s)
• 2013-2014 – Hugo Jackson (St Cross)
• 2014-2015 – Mohsen Mostafavi (St Hugh’s)
• 2015-2016 – Zep Kalb (St Antony’s) and Fitzroy Morrissey (Wadham)
• 2016-2017 – No award
• 2017-2018 – Marc Czarnuszewicz (Wadham) and Nancy Ko (Magdalen)
• 2018-2019 – Ella Cohen Haddon (Wadham) and Anuj Amin (St Anne’s)
• 2019-2020 – No award
• 2020-2021 – Undergraduate Award Matthew MacGeoch (Wadham) | Graduate Award Shutong Liu (Linacre) and Meghan Clorinda Montgomery (Regent’s Park College)
• 2021-2022 – Undergraduate Award Faycal Mallek (Christ Church) | Graduate Award Jan Tomek (St Antony’s) | Honourable mentions Kelly Skinner (Mansfield College) and David Roddy (St Antony’s)
• 2022-2023 – Joshua Hall (Wadham) and Munazza Ebtikar (St John’s College)
• 2023-2024 – Ashkan Hashemipour (St Antony’s) and Martin Dixon (Magdalen)

Deadline for applications: 30 May 2025

The Middle East Centre is pleased to invite applications for the Hadid Doctoral Studentship for the 2025-26 academic year. The Hadid Studentship is available to continuing doctoral students in any faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences working on the modern Middle East.

Guidelines for applications to the Hadid Studentship are as follows:

1. Applicants must be current students who have transferred to DPhil status. Preference may be shown for candidates who have confirmed DPhil status.
2. The studentship is for one year, but recipients of the studentship may apply again in subsequent years.
3. The Studentship may not be held concurrently with other major awards such as the AHRC Doctoral Award or Clarendon Bursary.
4. The successful applicant should be in residence for the academic year, and may be asked to support the activities of the Middle East Centre during Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity Full Term.

The award will be made on the basis of academic excellence, though preference may be shown for candidates with demonstrated need, without regard to nationality. All applications will receive equal consideration regardless of college affiliation at the time of application, though a successful candidate from outside St Antony’s will be required to transfer to St Antony’s College at the time of taking up the award. The value of the Hadid Studentship in 2025-26 will be £8,500, and the Centre hopes to make two awards.

Applications should include the following:

1. Current curriculum vitae.
2. Brief statement detailing any currently-held studentships and listing all forms of support for which you have applied this year.
3. Letter of reference from the thesis supervisor.
4. Thesis proposal of no more than 1,500 words in length.

These must be sent by 30 May 2025​ to: The Director, the Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, Oxford OX2 6JF. Submissions via email are preferred but hardcopy submissions are also acceptable. Please send email submissions to mec@sant.ox.ac.uk.

The scholarship was created by Foulath Hadid (Honorary Fellow) to mark the Middle East Centre’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations in 2007. Three generous benefactors provided the funding for the original endowment of £250,000. These were Foulath Hadid and his longstanding friends Mr Jack McCrane and Sheikh Ghassan I Shaker (Honorary Fellow).

• 2008-2009 – Reem Abou El Fadl
• 2009-2010 – Nadia von Maltzahn
• 2010-2011 – No award
• 2011-2012 – Nadia Bou Ali
• 2012-2013 – Dörthe Engelcke
• 2013-2014 – Djene Bajalan
• 2014-2015 – Jonathan Haim Furas
• 2015-2016 – Rowena Binti Abdul Razak
• 2016-2017 – Zep Kalb
• 2017-2018 – Emre Caliskan
• 2018-2019 – Jalal Imran
• 2019-2020 – Hande Yalnizoglu
• 2020-2021 – Fuchsia Hart
• 2021-2022 – Sawsene Nejjar
• 2022-2023 – Yasmine Zarhloule
• 2023-2024 – Andreas Bjorklund and Dominic Gerhartz
• 2024-2025 – Hande Altinay and Irem Yildiz

Deadline for applications: 9 May 2025

The Oxford Committee of the Hazem Ben-Gacem Tunisia-Oxford Cooperation Programme invites applications for Arabic Language Training Bursaries in both Modern Standard Arabic and Tunisian dialect.

These bursaries are for study in the summer of 2025 in any accredited language programme in a Tunisian university, including the Bourguiba Institute of Modern Languages.

Preference will be given to students with demonstrated need, and/or to those with academic interests in Tunisia and North Africa.

Applicants do not need to be students of St Antony’s College, but preference will be shown to applicants pursuing Arabic language training for research purposes or to meet teaching requirement at postgraduate or undergraduate levels. Each bursary will provide a stipend of £1,000, and up to five bursaries will be awarded for the summer of 2025.

These bursaries may be held in combination with other scholarships, so long as financial need can be demonstrated.

Applications must include:

• A cover letter naming the programme in Tunisia and the dates of attachment. Applicants should set out any research interests in Tunisia and North Africa, as well as any financial case they wish the committee to consider.
• A copy of the student’s CV and Oxford academic record, including language training undertaken, options, and thesis research topic.
• A letter of reference from the applicant’s University Supervisor.

All application materials should be sent by email to tunisia-oxford@sant.ox.ac.uk. The deadline for all applications is 9 May 2025.

• 2024 – Jared Martin and Chirz Hassoumi

Deadline for applications: 28 April 2025 (first round)

The Oxford committee of the Hazem Ben-Gacem Tunisia-Oxford Cooperation Programme invites applications from academics based in the University of Oxford (including advanced DPhil students) in the fields of humanities or social sciences for its Collaboration and Research Grants under the Oxford Visiting Researcher Programme. All candidates must be current members of the University of Oxford at any stage of their career.

The scholarship is intended to support field research in Tunisia, collaborative research with Tunisian scholars or joint workshops and conferences. Applications are sought for a maximum of £5,000. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with the first deadline of 28 April 2025, until available funds are used up.

Application:  

All applicants must provide the following materials:

• A research proposal of 1200 words in length, in English, setting out the project and identifying resources and individuals in Tunisia with whom you plan to collaborate.
• An initial budget, including any additional funds from other sources.
• A timeframe for the project, including time to be spent in Tunisia.
• An academic curriculum vitae for the Oxford applicant.
• A letter of support from the supervisor or mentor in the case of a DPhil student or postdoc.

All application materials should be sent by email to tunisia-oxford@sant.ox.ac.uk by 28 April 2025.

Deadline for applications: 28 April 2025

The Oxford committee of the Hazem Ben-Gacem Tunisia-Oxford Cooperation Programme invites applications from doctoral students registered at any university in Tunisia in the humanities or social sciences for research studentships to be held at the University of Oxford.

Each studentship will be for ten weeks and will coincide with one of the three Oxford terms: Autumn (4 Oct – 13 Dec 2025); Winter (10 Jan – 21 March 2026); or Spring (18 April – 27 June 2026).

Each studentship will provide funding for visa and travel expenses between Tunis and Oxford, Oxford fees, and living expenses. Free accommodation will be provided in St Antony’s College student housing.

Each student will be assigned an Oxford research supervisor and will be integrated into the academic life and events of the Middle East Centre and of St Antony’s College, as well as the broader University of Oxford for the duration of their visit.

Requirements:

All candidates must demonstrate research fluency (i.e. strong reading, speaking and listening skills) in English. Candidates must be advanced doctoral students who have already conducted significant research and writing on their doctoral subject.  All candidates must have an excellent academic record.

Application:

All applicants must provide the following materials:

• A cover letter in English explaining how one term’s research in Oxford would contribute to the applicant’s doctoral study. In preparing this letter, please consult the Oxford University website, and the website of the relevant faculty in Oxford, to find the resources you would want to use while in Oxford.  Candidates should also suggest the names of Oxford faculty in their subject area with whom they would want to work.  Candidates should note their availability for the Autumn, Winter or Spring terms.
• A research proposal of no more than 1500 words in length, in English, setting out the sources, the methods, and the contribution that the doctoral thesis makes.
• A one-page curriculum vitae, providing details on all university studies (providing for each degree the name of the university and department, dates of attachment, thesis title, and overall result), research presentations, publications, and academic-related work.
• Transcripts of previous university study at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.
• The name and contact details of the student’s doctoral supervisor who might be asked to provide a confidential reference (the letter of reference may be in English, French or Arabic).

All application materials should be sent by email to tunisia-oxford@sant.ox.ac.uk. The deadline for applications is 28 April 2025.

• Michaelmas Term 2024 – Ms Oumaima Bouaziz (Ecole Supérieur des Sciences et Technologies du Design, Manouba University), for her thesis ‘Designing Sacredness: Study of Contemporary Mosques in Tunisia’
• Hilary Term 2025 – Ms Donia Kaffel (Faculty of Arts and Human  -Sciences of Sfax), for her thesis ‘Linking Adverbials in Tunisian Academic Writing: A Corpus-Based Study of Cohesion and Conjunction Across Genres and Disciplines’
• Trinity Term 2025 – Mr Ayoub Mejri (Institut Supérieur de Gestion, University of Tunis), for his thesis ‘Fragmented Journeys Undertaken by Sub-Saharan Migrants in Tunisia’

Deadline for applications: 28 April 2025

The Oxford Committee of the Hazem Ben-Gacem Tunisia-Oxford Cooperation Programme invites applications from research-active faculty in the Humanities and Social Sciences for the Tunisian Visiting Faculty Programme for 2025-2026.

Each academic visitorship will be for ten weeks and will coincide with one of the three Oxford terms: Autumn (4 Oct – 13 Dec 2025); Winter (10 Jan – 21 March 2026); or Spring (18 April – 27 June 2026). Academic visitors will be elected Academic Visitors of St Antony’s College, Oxford.

Each academic visitorship will provide funding for visa and travel expenses between Tunis and Oxford, Academic Visitor fees at St Antony’s College, and living expenses. Free accommodation will be provided in St Antony’s College housing.

Requirements:

All applicants should hold a PhD or equivalent. They must demonstrate research fluency (i.e. strong reading, speaking and listening skills) in English. Candidates should be research-active employees of a Tunisian university or recognized research centre.

Application:

All applicants must provide the following materials:

• A cover letter in English explaining how one term’s research in Oxford would contribute to your research. In preparing this letter, please consult the Oxford University website, and the website of the relevant faculty in Oxford, to find the resources you would want to use while in Oxford. Candidates should also suggest the names of Oxford faculty in their subject area with whom they would want to work. Candidates should note their availability for the Autumn, Winter or Spring terms.
• A research proposal of no more than 1500 words.
• An academic curriculum vitae with full list of publications.
• A letter of reference from your head of department, dean, or university president confirming permission to take ten weeks’ sabbatical leave in Oxford.

All application materials should be sent by email to tunisia-oxford@sant.ox.ac.uk. The deadline for applications is 28 April 2025.

All eligible MMES MPhils are automatically considered. No additional application is required.

The Prize was established through a generous gift from Dr Walter Zander, a former Senior Associate Member of St Antony’s College. The first prize was awarded in 1988.

1988 – Paul Kingston (St Antony’s)

1989 – No award

1990 – No award

1991 – Andrea Nüsse (St Antony’s)

1992 – Martin Bunton (St Antony’s)

1993 – Nigel Meir (St Antony’s)

1994 – Nadia Sayyid Ali (St Antony’s)

1995 – Fayyaz Nurmohamed (St John’s)

1996 – Samuel Robinson (Christ Church)

1997 – Zayde Antrim (St Antony’s) and Philip Hart (Hertford)

1998 – Kevin Rosser (St Antony’s)

1999 – Paul Sedra (Hertford)

2000 – Will Hanley (St Hugh’s)

2001 – Rachel Scott (St Antony’s)

2002 – Leonard Wood (St Antony’s)

2003 – Dominic Coldwell (St Antony’s)

2004 – Jean Paul Ghobrial (St Antony’s)

2005 – Reem Abou-El-Fadl (St Antony’s)

2006 – Zachary Schauff (St Cross) and George Weyman (Wadham)

2007 – Alex Bienert (Worcester)

2008 – Ben Stainer (St Antony’s)

2009 – Hussein Omar (Magdalen)

2010 – John McManus  (Wadham)

2011 – Katelyn Finley (St Antony’s)

2012 – Jacob Amis (St Antony’s)

2013 – Maziyar Ghiabi (St Antony’s)

2014 – No award

2015 – Max Gallien (St Antony’s)

2016 – Sophie Frankford (Wadham) and Will Ryle-Hodges (St Antony’s)

2017 – Sila Ulucay (St Antony’s)

2018 – no award

2019 – Samir Haroon (St Antony’s)

2020 – Hannah Cowdell (St Antony’s)

2021 – Leah Wolfe (St Antony’s)

2022 – Haneen Zeglam (St Antony’s)

2023 – Inger Mørdre (St Antony’s)

2024 – Ashkan Hashemipour (St Antony’s)