Abbasi Off-Cycle Research & Conference Grant Program

The Abbasi Program is pleased to launch the Abbasi Off-Cycle Research & Conference Grant Program, offering funding for continuing undergraduate, co-terminal, and graduate students pursuing projects related to Islam and Muslim-majority or Muslim-minority communities and societies.

This program supports one-time research projects or conference travel on these topics.

Eligible expenses may include ad-hoc research costs (e.g., tutors, research materials, language courses) or conference participation, provided the applicant has first sought funding from their home department. Research and conference topics must address historical or contemporary issues in Muslim-majority or Muslim-minority contexts, including non-Muslim minorities and contexts. These grants are intended for off-cycle, one-time projects outside the regular Summer Research & Travel Program application period.

Research awards, including funding for language study in support of research, may be up to $5,000, subject to the program's budget, while conference support may be up to $750, reimbursed in accordance with university policies and following the university travel policy guidelines. Applicants must first seek departmental support and justify the need for additional funding by explaining why department funding was unavailable and demonstrating how the grant will advance the program’s mission, benefit the university, and support their research objectives.

This off-cycle program complements the Abbasi Program's existing Summer Research & Travel Grants, which offer awards of up to $6,000 for similar research endeavors. A student may receive each of the Summer Research & Travel Grant and the Off-Cycle Grant only once during their degree program.

The projects this program intends to fund include, but are not limited to:

Intensive Language Study: The proposed course of language study must be integral to the applicant’s research objectives. Priority will be given to training in languages not offered on campus or for advanced training in languages where the student has exhausted campus resources. This study may be pursued at language schools or with private tutors, provided that proper invoices are documented.
Fieldwork or Advanced Research Projects: For example, in the event of unexpected research expenses during a student's dissertation fieldwork (e.g. the need to purchase a new dataset or access a specific database that wasn't initially anticipated, unexpected need for printing or scanning large amounts of documents at archives, a significant change in the study sample size, requiring more resources than initially budgeted, hiring a tutor for a language that is required for the dissertation research, beyond the summer language study), these funds may supplement the student’s departmental grants.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with decisions made within two weeks of submission. There is no deadline for this program. After submitting your application, please email Halil Yenigun at yenigun [at] stanford.edu (yenigun[at]stanford[dot]edu). You may also discuss your project and intention to apply with him before submission.

Apply

Application procedure

To apply, visit tinyurl.com/AbbasiOffCycleApp, click the "Apply" button above, or use this link. Complete the form with your academic background, project details, reference information, and a cover letter, then upload the required documents:

Your CV.
Budget estimate for your proposed activity based on the budget estimate template.

Eligibility

Undergraduate, co-term, and graduate students at Stanford are eligible to apply. Applicants must be continuing students for the duration of grant project or study (i.e. graduating seniors may be ineligible). Preference will be given to students in Islamic studies-related degree programs (e.g. Islamic Studies minor, MELLAC, and M.A. and Ph.D. programs in the humanities and social sciences).

Allowable expenses

The grant may be used for lodging, conference meals, and other approved costs related to research, training, or conferences, as well as the purchase of research materials, research-related services (e.g. duplication costs, production of questionnaires/surveys, human subject costs, data entry, transcribing interviews, running focus groups); and other costs associated with training (e.g. tuition, registration fees, tutoring costs).

Note: Travel is subject to the university's travel policy at the time of the grant project. Please check the latest regional and country-specific travel advisories, as well as Stanford International Travel Assistance Program.

The grant may not be used for the purchase of equipment (e.g. computer, recording equipment) and software.

Requests must be for expenses that are not covered through other sources of funding. Applicants may, and are encouraged to, simultaneously apply for other sources of funding, but may not accept multiple sources of funding for the same expenses. The itemized budget should clearly list confirmed and/or pending funding sources.