Graduate Fellowships

Morvarid Guiv Graduate Fellowship in Zoroastrian Studies

The Morvarid Guiv Graduate Fellowship in Zoroastrian Studies was established at the Pourdavoud Institute in 2018, thanks to a gift from the Trust of Morvarid Guiv. It is named after the late Iranian philanthropist Morvarid Guiv and endeavors to support graduate students working on all aspects of Zoroastrian studies at UCLA. The gift secured additional matching support from the UCLA Chancellor’s Centennial Scholars Match program.

The Zoroastrian religion is one of the oldest world religions and was the dominant faith of the Iranian World (including Asia Minor and Central Asia) prior to the rise of Islam. The Fellowship enables UCLA’s long-established doctoral Program of Iranian Studies to attract and train new generations of experts exploring the many facets of this influential, ancient Iranian religion that continues to thrive today—further reinforcing UCLA as the premier destination for scholars working on ancient Iran.

Graduate students awarded the fellowship will benefit from the presence of a strong faculty specializing in ancient Iran and the ancient world at the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, and from the unparalleled resources of the Pourdavoud Institute.

2020-21 Recipients

2021-22 Recipients

2022-23 Recipients

Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fellowship for Excellence in Persian Studies

The Division of Humanities invites nominations for the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fellowship for Excellence in Persian Studies. This fellowship is intended to support one graduate student each year from across the humanities or social sciences who has an approved dissertation topic focusing on Persian/Iranian studies.  The fellowship provides $17,000 in direct support and may not be used to cover fees or tuition. The fellowship recipient will be permitted to apply for a second year of support, but the second year is not guaranteed. The recipient will be required to provide a letter outlining progress during the fellowship year and  any notable accomplishments produced as a result of the fellowship. The eligibility criteria are as follows: enrolled  at UCLA full-time and having completed the course work for the Ph.D. program within the Humanities or Social Sciences, have an approved dissertation topic focusing on Persian/Iranian studies,  have maintained a minimum GPA of 3.0 throughout Ph.D. studies, and have demonstrated a strong interest and excellence in Persian/Iranian studies.

The call for nomination each academic year is sent through the department Student Affairs Officers. A committee comprised of faculty representatives from humanities and social sciences will review and rank applicants and award notifications will be sent to departments  Please click here for information on this divisional fellowship.

Other Fellowships

The Pourdavoud Institute will occasionally grant a number of Graduate Fellowships to deserving students admitted to the doctoral Program of Iranian Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures in the fields relevant to Old Iranian Studies.  Additional Iranian Studies funding opportunities can be viewed here.