Schusterman Center for Israel Studies

The Schusterman Center funds full and partial fellowships for doctoral students focusing on Israel Studies in fields such as history, sociology, politics, Middle East studies, Israeli art, literature and culture. These fellowships—granted through individual departments—are renewable, after review, for up to five years. The Schusterman Scholar Fellowship includes a full tuition scholarship, health care benefits, and a stipend of up to $36,000 per year for new incoming students starting in Fall 2023.

Schusterman Scholars are primarily affiliated with their academic home departments. Each department specifies teaching and other doctoral requirements for Schusterman Scholars. All Schusterman Scholars need to demonstrate competence in modern Hebrew and/or Arabic. Furthermore, Scholars’ dissertations must focus on a topic relevant to Israel Studies. Service to the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies may be required.

Recipients of Schusterman Israel Studies Fellowships, known as Schusterman Scholars, are expected to participate in the bimonthly Schusterman Scholars Seminar. This seminar brings together Israel Studies doctoral candidates, along with relevant faculty and other advanced students, to explore issues in the field of Israel Studies. It is one of the ways in which our Israel Studies doctoral candidates form an intellectual community for their research and academic development. Schusterman Scholars are expected to participate in the seminar every year of their Fellowship.

Schusterman Scholars are given the opportunity to participate in the Summer Institute for Israel Studies, in which faculty members from across North America and the world participate in seminars at Brandeis and in Israel to enable them to design new courses in Israel Studies for their home universities. Further details can be found on the Institute's webpage. 

Doctoral candidates accepted by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences who are focusing on topics in Israel Studies are eligible to apply for a Schusterman Israel Studies Fellowship.

Prospective doctoral students should indicate in their applications for admission and in their personal statements that they would like to be considered for a Schusterman Israel Studies Doctoral Fellowship. Individual departments which plan to accept these candidates for admission will discuss the candidates with the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. An awards committee will then consider the application and award the Fellowships.

Doctoral candidates who are not awarded a Schusterman Fellowship may apply the following year for reconsideration.

The Schusterman Center offers grants for pre-dissertation and dissertation research in Israel Studies. Grants of $500-$1,000 will be awarded to cover travel expenses (such as airfare, meals, and lodging) research expenses (such as visits to archives and museums), and costs of data collection and processing. Schusterman Center doctoral students will be eligible for up to a total of $5,000 in research support from the Schusterman Center during the course of their five-year fellowship. Please visit the Graduate Research Grants web page for more information.

Please contact Associate Director for Administration Rise Singer at rsinger@brandeis.edu or 781-736-2152 to receive additional information on the Schusterman Israel Studies Fellowship.