The Department of Art and Archaeology is pleased to invite applications to this bursary, created in recognition of the work of Dr Aida Sulayman Arif, an eminent archaeologist who completed her PhD at SOAS in 1960.

Throughout her long and distinguished career, Dr Arif served a number of different fellowships, lectureships, associate professorships and visiting professorships in some of the world’s most prestigious seats of learning. Her teaching and research took her to places as far afield as the University of Khartoum (Sudan), the University of Jordan, McGill University (Canada), King Saud University (Saudi Arabia) and Harvard University, Boston (in the United States). She participated in numerous archaeological digs and has many publications to her name.

Many of Dr Arif’s students went on to hold key posts in the Department of Antiquities in Jordan and some neighbouring Arab countries. She retired in 1991. (Dr Arif is the widow of the late Ahmad Mustafa Abu-Hakima - author of the ‘The Modern History of Kuwait’ - and fellow SOAS alumnus. The Ahmad Mustafa Abu-Hakima Bursary at SOAS has been named after him).

To celebrate Dr Arif’s invaluable contribution in the fields of art, archaeology and heritage, this bursary has been created to help one final-year PhD student of Art and Archaeology at SOAS fund the completion of his or her studies. The Bursary will be awarded by way of a £2,600 instalment at the beginning of the first semester, a £2,600 instalment at the start of the second semester and lastly an £800 bonus that will be awarded on completion - provided that the award holder finishes his or her thesis before the end of that academic year. Additionally the bursary will also include a partial remission of fees, set at 20% of the continuation fees.

Eligible Programmes

• PhD degrees at the Department of History of Art & Archaeology

N.B. Preference will be given to those students writing their dissertations in the field of Art & Archaeology of the Near and Middle East. Students of the Art and Archaeology of other regions and cultures will still be eligible to apply and may be awarded the Bursary in such circumstances when the applications of those candidates studying Art & Archaeology of the Near and Middle East are not deemed strong enough to merit the Bursary.

Candidate Criteria

• Applicants may be of any nationality and in need of the bursary to fund the completion of their thesis.
• The bursary is for full-time or part-time PhD students who will submit the thesis before the end of the academic session 2014/15. It is expected that the student who gets awarded this bursary will be enrolled on Extension of Writing up (continuation) status during the academic session 2014/15. Students on Extension of Writing-up status are required to submit the thesis for examination within a maximum of three terms or within the students prescribed SOAS deadline (whichever is sooner).
• Preference will be given to those students writing their dissertations in the field of Art & Archaeology of the Near and Middle East. Students of the Art and Archaeology of other regions and cultures will still be eligible to apply and may be awarded the Bursary in such circumstances when the applications of those candidates studying Art & Archaeology of the Near and Middle East are not deemed strong enough to merit the Bursary.

Candidate Assessment

• Candidates will be assessed primarily on academic merit. Financial need will also be taken into consideration.
• Selection will be made by a Selection Panel consisting of three academic members of the Department of Art & Archaeology: the Head of Department, a research tutor and one other person as nominated by the Head of Department.

Application Deadline

• Applications must be received no later than 17:00 (UK local time) on 24 April 2014.
• Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Notification of Results
Successful applicants will be notified by e-mail regarding the outcome of their application by the end of June. The successful candidates will also be notified by letter. If you have not heard from us by the end of June, you should assume that your application was unsuccessful.

Application Procedures
An application form is available for download here.

For enquiries, please contact:

Scholarships Officer
Registry
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London
WC1H 0XG

Email: scholarships@soas.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7074 5094/5091

• Kayoko Tsuda Bursary (Japanese Studies), School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
• Academy of Korean Studies Bursaries, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
• Graduate Scholarship in Archaeology, St Cross College, University of Oxford, UK
• Sochon Foundation Scholarship, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
• Professor Stuart Wilson Scholarship, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
• King Saud Foundation Prize, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
• Master Scholarships in History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, UK
• Ahmad Mustafa Abu-Hakima Bursary, SOAS, University of London, UK
• Yousef Jameel Scholarship in History of Islamic Art, University of Oxford, UK
• Kamran Djam Scholarships, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the above information is current and correct. However, applicants should contact the appropriate administering body before making an application, as details do change frequently.