Fellowships, Grants and other Awards

Applications due (by midnight) on Friday, April 5, 2024

Graduate students are invited to submit a single application in order to be considered for the following four fellowships, which are all administered by the Center for Jewish Studies:

To be considered for any of these (Joss, Gross, Berman, Prell) send the following to jwst@umn.edu:

• Letter of application, referring to the "2024 Jewish Studies Graduate Fellowships," max. 2 pages. Include information on your scholarly background, career goals, and how this support will advance your research agenda
• Detailed project description, including research project title (up to 3 pages, single-spaced, 12-point font; also include information on the current status of the project, and whether or not it is to form the basis of your dissertation).
• A budget detailing your estimated expenses. Fellowships will be awarded for use after July 5, 2024 and must be spent by the end of the 2024–2025 academic year
• Current CV
• Graduate transcript
• Letter of recommendation from advisor sent directly to jwst@umn.edu

Jerome L. Joss Graduate Student Research Grant

Amount:TBD

Funds are available for graduate students who are formulating, researching, or writing publishable papers or dissertations in which the focus of inquiry is in the field of Jewish Studies. Students must be working in some specific area of academic Jewish Studies. These funds are intended to provide timely and flexible support for research needs at any stage of graduate work. 

Grants may be used to defray special costs related to research, such as expenses for travel, equipment, specialized books and materials, presenting a paper at a scholarly conference, and extensive photocopying.

Eligibility Requirement

MA or PhD student conducting graduate research that goes beyond specific course requirements and that would contribute to publishable quality papers or doctoral dissertations.

Theresa and Nathan Berman Graduate Fellowship in Jewish Studies

Amount: $1,000-$2,500

Support to full-time graduate students doing research in an area of Jewish studies and who demonstrate potential in their field. Funding is for summer fellowships and may be extended to the following academic year. Funds will be awarded competitively based on the quality of the proposal.

Eligibility Requirements

• Full-time graduate students seeking a PhD who are enrolled at the University of Minnesota, for the 2024–2025 academic year
• Priority will be given to students who are in the dissertation phase or immediate pre-dissertation phase (post oral preliminary exams at time of award), but we will also consider applications from MA students
• Applicants have demonstrated outstanding academic promise and potential in their fields and propose to write a dissertation that will make a contribution to the field of Jewish studies
• Willingness to share research results with an appropriate audience
• Grants may be used to defray special costs related to research, such as travel expenses, equipment, specialized books and materials, presenting a paper at a scholarly conference, and extensive photocopying

Leo and Lillian Gross Scholarship in Jewish Studies

Amount: $1,000

Eligibility Requirements

Full time graduate students completing research in Jewish Studies who are in good academic standing and have demonstrated financial need. The award shall be used for tuition assistance and/or the purchase of research materials. 

Professor Riv-Ellen Prell Research in the Study of Jewish Cultures Fellowship

Amount: $1,000-$1,500

This fund will support research, which will include travel to conferences, archives, libraries and fieldwork, as well as acquisition of scholarly materials. Preference will be given to scholarship at the intersections of Jewish culture and gender, identity, popular culture, and politics. Interdisciplinary and comparative studies will also be priorities.

Eligibility Requirements

• Full-time graduate students for the 2024–2025 academic year
• Willingness to share research results with an appropriate audience
• Grants may be used to defray special costs related to research, such as travel expenses, equipment, specialized books and materials, presenting a paper at a scholarly conference, and extensive photocopying

Goldenberg Prize for Outstanding Essays in Jewish Studies

Amount: $500

Graduate students at the University of Minnesota are invited to submit a research paper in the field of Jewish studies. The paper may investigate any time period, from antiquity to the present day. Papers must have been written during summer 2023, fall 2023, or spring 2024.

Application Requirements

Papers must be sent to to the Center for Jewish Studies (jwst@umn.edu) and must be typed, double-spaced, and include a cover sheet stating:

• Name, address, phone number, e-mail address, title of the paper, and purpose of writing the paper (graduate seminar, conference, publication in scholarly journal, etc.).

Eligibility Requirement