Awards & Fellowships

The El Beih Paper Prize was established by USC alumnus Mohamed El Beih to recognize the best undergraduate student paper in Middle East Studies. Submissions for the 2022 prize will be accepted between September 1 and October 15, 2022.

The awardee will be announced at the department’s holiday party at the end of the fall semester. For more information, contact Professor Ramzi Rouighi (rouighi@usc.edu).

2022 Recipient – John Klopotowski

2021 Recipient – Coco Zhang

2020 Recipient – Zachary Hrenko

2020 Honorable Mention – Sofia Cortes

2019 Recipient – Emily Wulf

2018 Recipient – Paxton Lambright

2018 Honorable Mention – Ciara Taylor

The Department of Middle East Studies recognizes students who have demonstrated academic excellence in the study of the Arabic language. Nominations are made by Arabic language faculty to the MDES Awards Committee.

The awardees will be announced at a departmental ceremony in May 2023. For more information, contact Professor Ramzi Rouighi.

2021 Awardees – Hana Ayoub, Domenic Camicia, and John Klopotowski

2020 Awardees – Hannah Kang and Jamie Schlegel

2019 Awardees – Paxton Lambright and Rawan Masri

2018 Awardees – Monica Leung and Nickolas Wrobleski

The Department of Middle East Studies recognizes students who have demonstrated academic excellence in the study of the Persian language. Nominations are made by Persian language faculty to the MDES Awards Committee.

The awardees will be announced at a departmental ceremony in May 2023. This award is partly funded by a generous contribution by the Gramian-Emrani Foundation. For more information, contact Professor Ramzi Rouighi.

2021 Awardees – Danial Hashemi and Melody Jebraili

2020 Awardees – Bijan Hosseini and Kaveh Mahdavi

2019 Awardees – Nastaran Far and Keon Ghodrati

2018 Awardees – Campbell Mattix and Bardia Soltani

The Department of Middle East Studies will be accepting applications for a Summer 2023 Foreign Language Scholarship. Applicants must be either a major or minor in our department or currently enrolled in Arabic or Persian language classes, have a minimum GPA of 3.3, and may not be graduating seniors.

Please submit a one page description of your summer plans to MDES@usc.edu by March 1, 2023 to be considered for Summer 2023.

This certificate attests to students’ linguistic competency in at least two foreign languages. To qualify, students must meet foreign langauge requirement in two or more foreign languages and at least two courses counting toward the certificate must be taken at USC with a grade of B or better. For more information, go to https://dornsife.usc.edu/center-for-languages-and-cultures/clc-certificate.

Dornsife Scholars are students whose academic achievements underscore the relationship between excellence in the core disciplines of Letters, Arts, and Sciences (either in the Humanities, Social Sciences or Natural Sciences) and the aspiration to have a positive impact on the world. Dana and David Dornsife are internationally renowned philanthropists with the highest regard for education. Dornsife Scholars will be expected to demonstrate a comparable commitment to educational excellence and the advances that allow for improving the lives of people and addressing pressing global challenges. For more information, go to https://dornsife.usc.edu/dornsife-scholars-program.

The Fisher Fellowship Program is the first program at USC Dornsife that enables students with financial needs to fully participate in the enrichment opportunities that are at the heart of the college. Students selected for this program will receive funding which may be used over a three-year period to participate in academic programs that involve international travel, field research, and service to various communities. For more information, go to https://dornsife.usc.edu/fisher-fellows-program.

Established to provide scholarship assistance to undergraduate middle-income students majoring or minoring in foreign languages. For more information, go tohttps://dornsife.usc.edu/scholarship-descriptions.

The SOAR program provides funding to Dornsife undergraduates for participation as a research assistant in a faculty member’s project. The purpose of SOAR is to connect students with faculty members and their research; it allows all students to be mentored one-on-one by USC faculty, introduces students early in their academic careers to the process of serious scholarly inquiry, and fosters valuable relationships between students and faculty. For more information, go to https://dornsife.usc.edu/soar.

SURF and SHURE are opportunities for USC Dornsife students to pursue research in conjunction with Dornsife faculty members, either on or off campus, during the summer semester. The purpose of SURF/SHURE is to connect students with faculty members and their research; it allows all students to be mentored one-on-one by USC faculty, introduces students early in their academic careers to the process of serious scholarly inquiry, and fosters valuable relationships between students and faculty. For more information, go to https://dornsife.usc.edu/surf-shure.

The Academic Achievement Award (AAA) provides a tuition benefit to students who are pursuing multiple undergraduate degree objectives, have at least sophomore standing, and have earned a cumulative USC GPA of at least 3.750. AAA allows Fall or Spring registration of up to 21 units at the standard full-time tuition rate.

The purpose of the award is to allow highly motivated students with excellent academic records to complete multiple undergraduate degree objectives without adding to their time-to-degree. For more information, go to https://ahf.usc.edu/awards/aaa/.

The Warren Bennis Scholars Program is a university-wide initiative offered by the Office of the Provost through the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab at the Marshall School. Each year, twenty students across academic disciplines are selected at the end of their sophomore year to participate in the two-year leadership program. Scholars receive intensive leadership training and access to top USC professors. For more information, go to https://ahf.usc.edu/awards/bennis-scholars/.

The annual USC Libraries Research Award recognizes excellence and creativity in the use of USC Libraries’ research collections and services. Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit papers or projects they have completed at USC in a for-credit class or through independent study during the spring, summer, or fall semesters of the current academic year. In addition to their papers, a Reflective Essay of 500-1000 words is required. For more information, go to http://libguides.usc.edu/researchaward.

The Office of the Provost will provide a limited number of fellowships for undergraduate research each academic year in the fall, spring and summer terms. Each undergraduate student funded by the program will receive a stipend in the amount of $3,000 to support research in any academic field for a period of not less than eight weeks at 20 hours per week during the awarded term. All full-time USC faculty engaged in research are eligible to serve as faculty supervisors. For more information, go to https://undergrad.usc.edu/experience/research/undergrad_research/.

The purpose of the Academic Research Fund is to provide support for undergraduate students who conduct research projects, attend academic conferences, and pursue other research-oriented academic interests. For more information, go to http://usg.usc.edu/funding/.

The USC Africa Student Fund is a scholarship intended to support undergraduate student travel to African countries for study, research, service-based learning and internships. Students who have identified a project or program are invited to apply with this funding in mind. Winners may receive full or partial funding to help cover airfare costs associated with their proposed project or program. For more information, go to https://ahf.usc.edu/awards/africa/.

The Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows Program provides a unique undergraduate government service experience. The Program’s mission is to expose students to government work and its impact. While not all Schaeffer Fellows will pursue a career in government, the Program creates the opportunity for participants to become engaged citizens and develop an informed view of government service and operations. Schaeffer Fellows are selected from four elite universities – Harvard, Princeton, UC Berkeley, and USC. For more information, go to https://ahf.usc.edu/awards/schaeffer/.

A commencement honor, the Discovery Scholar distinction honors students who excel in the classroom while demonstrating the ability to create exceptional new scholarship or artistic works. Like sailors on an unexplored sea, Discovery Scholars blaze new paths, rather than simply following the course charted by others. For more information, go to https://ahf.usc.edu/commencement-honors/discovery/.

A commencement honor, USC Global Scholars extend their learning by spending at least ten weeks in other countries around the world. No matter what you are studying at USC, these Global Learning Outcomes can help you get the most from your time abroad by encouraging you to see the global impact of your education. For more information, go to https://ahf.usc.edu/commencement-honors/global/.

A commencement honor, the Renaissance Scholar distinction honors students whose broad interests help them excel academically. Like Leonardo da Vinci, who was equally adept in the arts and the sciences, Renaissance Scholars are students whose majors and minors are from widely separated fields of study. For more information, go to https://ahf.usc.edu/commencement-honors/renaissance/.