Mosafer Centennial Fund for Near Eastern Scholars

CNES is no longer accepting applications for AY 2024-25. Next application cycle will open in Spring 2025.

Awards support travel for research or conference presentations
The award will provide financial support to UCLA graduate students to attend conferences or travel for pre-dissertation and dissertation research. Applicants may be students from any discipline. Read more about this fund here.

AWARD AMOUNT

The award amounts vary and cannot exceed $5,000. The awards may be used during either summer or the academic year corresponding to the application cycle. For example, awards awarded for the AY 2024-25 can be used either in Summer 2024 or in Fall 2024/Winter 2025/Spring 2025.

APPLICATION

CNES is no longer accepting applications for AY 2024-25. 

HOW TO APPLY
All elements of the fellowship application are online and must be submitted by the advertised deadline. Letters of recommendation must also be submitted online by the advertised deadline. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered for funding. Any elements to be uploaded should be in DOC or PDF format, with the file extension appended.

Application Requirements:
1. Curriculum vitae (no more than three (3) pages of 12-point font)


2. Unofficial university transcripts


3. Proposed conference or research funded activities: Indicate whether award would support conference travel or research travel. Provide the dates (summer or during fall/winter/spring quarter) and location of the conference or research travel activity. For conference travel include an acceptance letter/email. 

4. Proposal: brief description of the research or conference travel proposed (no more than two (2) double-spaced pages of 12-point font). Describe the research project in terms that can be understood by an academic audience who may not specialize in your chosen field. For research travel include a detailed outline of the research agenda (e.g. weekly research activities, research locations such as archives and libraries, etc.) and explain how the grant would further the project. Explain how your research will address pedagogical concerns or generate innovative approaches to teaching and advance knowledge of MENA societies, histories, or cultures. 

5. Itemized budget (no more than one (1) page of 12-point font): include items such as international and in-country travel, visa fees, overseas housing, library or archival fees, etc. While the maximum award amount is $5000, the actual award amount is based on overseas project costs and justifiable project-related expenses and available funding.

6. Letter of recommendation: include one letter of recommendation from the applicant's principal faculty advisor or committee chair. The recommender should address the relevance of the proposed research for the applicant's dissertation project, as well as the applicant's overall academic and professional potential. All recommendations must be submitted through the online system by the advertised deadline. The applicant will provide the name and contact information of the recommender in the online application; once the application has been submitted, the recommender will receive an automated email from the system, instructing them where and how to upload their recommendation. Applicants should therefore ensure that they submit the application well in advance of the advertised deadline, and that they have provided the correct contact information for their recommender. A submitted application can be edited up until the deadline.

In order for funding to be disbursed, Mosafer fellow's research and travel plans must abide by UCLA COVID-19 Protocols and the student's research and travel abroad may require an approved Field Safety Plan.

CONTACT
Badema Pitic, CNES Assistant Director
E-mail: pitic@international.ucla.edu.