2022-23 Applications for the Morvarid Guiv Graduate Fellowship in Zoroastrian Studies Open

Published: August 16, 2022

Call for Applications for the Morvarid Guiv Graduate Fellowship in Zoroastrian Studies

The Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World announces a call for applications for the Morvarid Guiv Graduate Fellowship in Zoroastrian Studies. This fellowship is awarded to outstanding graduate students whose works encompass different facets of Zoroastrian studies, that is, the Zoroastrian religion, its ancient history, languages, and scriptures.

Up to six successful applicants will be awarded with a Morvarid Guiv Graduate Fellowship in Zoroastrian Studies in the amount of $3,000, which shall be disbursed in $1,000 increments over the course of Fall Quarter 2022, Winter Quarter 2023, and Spring Quarter 2023.

Eligible recipients are any full-time, UCLA-enrolled graduate students in good academic standing whose work pertains to Zoroastrian studies. To apply, students should submit in a single, succinct PDF document the following as part of their application package:

  1. A cover page containing the student’s full name, UID, department, program of study, year of study, and email address;
  2. A paragraph explaining how this fellowship will support the student’s education and research for the upcoming academic year (2022–2023)—including courses the candidate proposes to take in Old Iranian and Zoroastrian studies;
  3. If the applicant has been the recipient of a Guiv Graduate Fellowship before, a short description of research supported by the Fellowship, including courses taken in Old Iranian and Zoroastrian studies;
  4. If applicable, a short summary of the student’s anticipated or current dissertation topic, including research plans and progress;
  5. A current CV.

This PDF application package should be submitted to Dr. Marissa Stevens, Assistant Director of the Pourdavoud Center, at stevensma@humnet.ucla.edu by Monday, September 5, 2022 at 5:00pm. Recipients shall be notified by Monday, September 19, 2021.

Recipients of this Fellowship will be required to submit to the Pourdavoud Center a one-page summary describing how this award benefited their research and education during the academic year 2022–2023, and detail, if applicable, dissertation progress made during the Fellowship tenure.

About the Morvarid Guiv Graduate Fellowship in Zoroastrian Studies

The Morvarid Guiv Graduate Fellowship in Zoroastrian Studies was established at the Pourdavoud Center 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 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.

Born in Iran, Morvarid Guiv and her husband Rustam Guiv were successful businesspeople who helped Zoroastrian communities by building schools, low-income residential projects, and Zoroastrian community centers. When they immigrated to the U.S., they founded Zoroastrian community centers in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

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 Center.