Graduate Research Grants

The Brandeis-Genesis Institute offers grants for thesis, pre-dissertation and dissertation research in Russian Jewish studies. Grants up to $2000 will be awarded to cover travel expenses (such as airfare, meals, and lodging), research expenses (such as visits to archives & museums), purchase of research materials, such as microfilm (but excluding books), as well as costs of data collection and processing.

Eligibility and Requirements

All students enrolled in recognized doctoral or masters programs in the U.S. and overseas are eligible to apply. Overseas applications are welcome.

The awards offered by the Brandeis-Genesis Institute to students pursuing Masters degrees will not exceed $1,000 and may cover up to 100% of the total project cost

The awards offered by the Brandeis-Genesis Institute to students enrolled in PhD. programs will not exceed $2,000 and may cover up to 100% of the total project cost. We encourage applicants to seek matching funds for their projects and specify the availability of matching funds on the application form where appropriate. Brandeis University students are encouraged to submit proposals for matching funds to the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies in their respective research fields.

The grantees are expected to complete their projects within one or maximum two academic years. Upon completion of the project, award recipients will be expected to submit a report documenting their use of the funds and their research findings.

Selection Criteria

  • originality and creativity of the research proposal
  • importance of the proposed project to the applicant’s field of research
  • appropriateness of the primary-source collections and institutions in which the applicant proposes to conduct research. 

Brandeis-Genesis Institute research award recipients will be selected by a Committee of Brandeis University faculty. Applicants may be called for an interview at the committee’s discretion.

Deadline and Proposal Submission Guidelines

Proposals should be submitted by December 15, 2013. Proposals submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed. Proposal should be submitted by email bgi@brandeis.edu with Graduate Research Grant in the subject.

Decisions will be announced by March 15, 2014.

Each proposal must include the following items:

  1. Complete application form (download below)
  2. Curriculum Vitae
  3. Short writing sample
  4. Letter of recommendation from an academic/scholar in the field of research

Download the Application Form. Please make sure that you have the latest version (version XI or higher) of Adobe Reader. Earlier versions might not support the application form. You can download the latest version of Acrobat Reader for free on the Adobe website