Studentships and Prizes
The Hadid Doctoral Studentship
*Applications for the 2024-25 academic year have now closed*
The Middle East Centre invites applications for the Hadid Doctoral Studentship in Trinity Term each year. Details of how to apply for the 2025-26 academic year will be published here in Trinity Term 2025. The Studentship is available to continuing doctoral students in any faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences working on the modern Middle East.
The History of the Hadid Studentship for DPhil Studies
The Hadid 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 – Foulath Hadid and his longstanding friends Mr Jack McCrane and Sheikh Ghassan I. Shaker (Honorary Fellow). Awards are made each year in recognition of financial need and academic excellence. While students may apply from any Oxford college, they need to migrate to St Antony’s to take up the award.
Previous Hadid Scholars
- 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 – Irem Yildiz and Hande Altinay
Azizeh Sheibani Essay Prize in Iranian and Persian-speaking World Studies
*Submissions for the 2024 prize have now closed*
The Middle East Centre invites submissions for the Azizeh Sheibani Essay Prize in Iranian and Persian-speaking World Studies in Trinity Term each year. Details of how to submit an essay for the 2025-26 academic year will be published here in Trinity Term 2025. The prize has two categories, for graduate and undergraduate students.
The History of the Azizeh Sheibani Essay Prize in Iranian Studies
The Azizeh Sheibani Essay Prize in Iranian studies was established in 2010 through the generosity of Dr Soraya Tremayne and named in her mother’s honour. The prize is awarded to the best essay(s) in Iranian studies, in any discipline of the humanities or social sciences. The essays are assessed on the basis of the originality of research and argumentation. Where appropriate, the judges try to assist authors with the publication of the winning essay in a suitable journal.
Previous winners of the Azizeh Sheibani Essay Prize
- 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 Undergrad 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)