Second Round of Applications for the AMI Doctoral Scholarship Now Open

 Call for Applications

Al-Mahdi Institute (AMI), Birmingham, UK

Application Deadline: February 10, 2024

Al-Mahdi Institute (AMI) invites applications for the second round of the AMI Doctoral Scholarship award, aimed at supporting outstanding students engaged in the study of Imāmī (Twelver) Shīʿism. Recognizing the need to broaden the scope of this significant yet underrepresented area within Islamic studies, the scholarship aims to promote and encourage the study of Imāmī Shīʿism in academia.

The scholarship is open to international doctoral candidates, particularly those in the UK and North America, and offers a £3,000 grant to students writing their thesis in the English language.

Despite being one of the largest minority denominations, Imāmī Shīʿism is still a relatively small area of focus within Islamic studies. It is the aim of the AMI Doctoral Scholarship to promote and encourage the study of Imāmī Shīʿism in academia.

The Scholarship is open to students of all nationalities successfully admitted to a doctoral program at universities based primarily – but not exclusively – in the United Kingdom and North America and who are writing their thesis in the English language. For students on doctoral programs in the United Kingdom, the Scholarship is available at any point from the first year of the program. For students based at universities in North America, the Scholarship is available at any point after comprehensive exams have been successfully completed.

The value of the scholarship is £3,000.

AMI welcomes applications from students working on the following fields of research:

– Imāmī Shīʿī theology

– Imāmī Shīʿī law and legal theory

– Imāmī Shīʿī exegeses of the Qur’an

– Imāmī Shīʿī Hadith studies

– Imāmī Shīʿī engagements with Qur’anic studies

– Imāmī Shīʿī engagements with ethics

– Imāmī Shīʿī engagements with philosophy

– Imāmī Shīʿī engagements with mysticism (Sufism)

– Studies concerning the life and thought of the Prophet, the twelve Imāms, and other members of the ahl al-bayt; particularly that of women (such as Khadīja, Fāṭima, and Zaynab, amongst others)

– Studies related to the life and thought of the Companions of the Prophet and Imāms who advocated the centrality of the ahl al-bayt in their theological and political positions (such as Salmān, Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī, Hishām b. al-Ḥakam, Zurāra b. Aʿyan et al)

– Intellectual history of Imāmī Shīʿī thought

– Imāmī Shīʿī thought across different time periods and regions (Baghdad, Ḥilla, Qum, Jabal ʿĀmil, Iṣfahan, Najaf, Karbala, Lucknow, etc)

– Diversity in Imāmī Shīʿī thought

– Imāmī Shīʿī liturgical sources and thought

– Contribution of Imāmī Shīʿī thought to Islamic civilization

However, topics which fall outside the scope of these specified topics may still be considered at the discretion of the committee, providing they are still related to the study of Imāmī Shīʿism.

 Applications open on 10 November, 2023 and close on the 10 February 2024.

More information on: Al-Mahdi Institute