Thanks to the generosity of community supporters, the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies offers grants of $4,000 to support graduate research related to Jewish studies at the University of Washington.

Every year, a cohort of graduate fellows participate in a series of workshops offering professional development, research advice, and mentorship from faculty and staff. Fellows present their research publicly, through a research presentation and an online article. Learn more about the program and the current cohort of graduate fellows, and apply, on the graduate fellows portal.

Applications for 2023-2024 fellowships will be due on June 1, 2024.

Please contact jewishst@uw.edu with any questions related to the application process, eligibility, or requirements.

Stroum Center opportunity grants of up to $2,500 are offered to support current UW undergraduate and graduate student experiences with language study, research, and conference travel related to Jewish studies.

Grants are offered in two cycles: grants for experiences in winter/spring, and grants for experiences in summer/autumn.

Deadline to apply for winter/spring experiences: November 15, 2024.
Deadline to apply for summer/autumn experiences: April 15, 2025.

For UW undergraduate students, the primary goal of the Stroum Center opportunity grants is to support undergraduate experiences in Jewish studies through UW-approved study abroad experiences. Priority is given to candidates studying a language of historical or contemporary importance to Jewish Studies. Accredited academic domestic opportunities will also be considered (e.g., Middlebury Language Schools). Students can also apply funding towards MODHEB 105: Intensive Elementary Modern Hebrew, taught at the UW during the summer full-term.

For UW graduate students, Stroum Center opportunity grants are intended to help support research, conference attendance, and further study in topics related to Jewish Studies. This research and study can be done domestically or abroad.

Students may apply for opportunity grant funding multiple times.

Read about past recipients’ experiences.

Apply for an opportunity grant >

The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies Paper Prize for Excellence in Holocaust Scholarship is given annually for an outstanding UW undergraduate student paper related to Holocaust studies. The paper must be a work that critically engages with the central themes, lessons and ideas of the Holocaust in the time period leading up to, during, or in the aftermath of the Second World War.

We welcome papers that examine other cases of genocide, but the Holocaust and/or scholarship on the Holocaust must figure centrally in the argument. The paper may have been written for a UW class, for a UW-approved study abroad class, or for a UW independent study. Papers must have been written during the current or immediately past academic year.

Papers are accepted on a rolling basis. Submissions for the 2023-2024 year will close in late spring 2024.

Submit a paper or read about past paper prize winners.

Hayim Katsman received his Ph.D. in international studies from the University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies in 2021. Hayim was devoted to humanity, dedicating his dissertation to “all life forms that exist between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.” He was a brilliant academic, a talented gardener, a car mechanic, a peace activist, a citizen of the globe, and a natural teacher – who welcomed and encouraged others to learn about his complicated birthplace, Israel. Hayim was killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in his home in Kibbutz Holit.

This annual scholarship of up to $7,500, named in Hayim’s honor, is intended to support study by students on any topic in Israel studies that is in keeping with Hayim’s ideals of supporting deeper understanding and mutual respect across political, cultural, and religious differences in the Middle East. The ideal candidate will demonstrate Hayim’s capacity for critical reflection, compassion, and public engagement.

Applications for this funding will be accepted again starting in spring 2025. More details will be available in winter 2025.

Applicants should expect to submit a reference, a one-page project proposal, and a detailed budget (up to $7,500).

The Hazel D. Cole Fellowship provides financial assistance to a deserving doctoral or postdoctoral fellow in Jewish studies. The two-year, in-residence fellowship is open to doctoral or postdoctoral students affiliated with any institution, and may be used as a dissertation completion fellowship or for post-doctoral work in any field of Jewish studies. It provides a stipend of $62,500, plus benefits, for each of the two academic years.

Applications for the fellowship will reopen in fall 2025 for the 2026-2028 fellowship. Finalists are typically notified in early winter, with final notifications in late winter. Learn more on the Hazel D. Cole Fellowship page.

Looking for additional funding sources? Check out the Jackson School’s list of available scholarships and fellowships, its comprehensive database of international studies-related funding, or theWashBoard.org scholarship matching service.

If you are interested in funding for language study be sure to check out the Foreign Language Area Studies fellowships (FLAS fellowships), which are contingent on funding from the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the eight National Resource Centers of the University of Washington. Individuals wishing to receive FLAS funding for Hebrew language study can apply both to the Center for Global Studies and the Middle East Center on their application.

Boren Awards are also available for individuals who wish to study Hebrew. Undergraduate, graduate, and summer fellowship options are available.