Alumni Grants

Since 2014, APSA has awarded over $228,000 in small grants through the MENA Workshop Professional Development Grants program. Made possible by Carnegie Corporation of New York, the grants program is an effort to support the continued professional development of workshop alumni, facilitate networking, and encourage collaboration with scholars and institutions across the MENA region.

Applications for the 2023 alumni grants are now open. See the Call for Applications for detailed information. Applicants are encouraged to e-mail menaworkshops@apsanet.org in advance of the deadline with questions and/or a draft proposal for review.

APSA offers the following two types of grants to MENA Workshops alumni:

Individual Research Grants: These research grants aim to support MENA Workshop alumni with their current and on-going work. Up to $1,000 per participant is available to alumni of the present year’s workshop program only. Funding can be used to support individuals conducting field research, or presenting at a regional academic conference, workshop or symposium relevant to their current research. The field research and/or conference must take place in the Arab Middle East & North African states, and preferably in coordination with a university, research institute, or scholarly association. Applications will be reviewed by the APSA staff and approved by the MENA Steering Committee. Applications which outline concrete steps for incorporating feedback from the workshop or conference and preparing their presentation for submission to a peer reviewed outlet (or, for PhD students, inclusion of the paper as a part of the doctoral thesis/dissertation) will be given preference.

Collaborative Grants: These grants are open to alumni from all MENA Workshops 2013-2023. They support alumni-initiated academic opportunities that encourage scholarly activity with other researchers, institutions, and networks in the Arab MENA countries. Multiple awards – contingent on funding availability – of up to $3,500 may be offered. The collaborative grant applications must have at least one alumnus of the APSA MENA program residing in the Arab MENA region. APSA encourages partnering with alumni from the other workshop cohorts, as well as non-workshop scholars.

The grant can be used to support collaborative research projects or to host a mini-workshop/ short course at a university or research institute in the Arab MENA region. Examples include: a writing workshop for scholars preparing manuscripts for publication; a seminar on teaching methods, tools and best practices; a masterclass to examine an aspect of pedagogy; a panel presentation on a topical theme in political science. Applications will be reviewed by APSA staff and approved by the MENA Steering Committee.