Since 2015, scholarships from the Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens Memorial Fund have supported UC Berkeley undergraduate and graduate students in their study of the Middle East through dissertation and language grants.
2023 Scholars
Steffi Lang Ph.D. candidate, Comparative Literature: Intensive Arabic language study
Rabat, Morocco
Emily Reich Ph.D. candidate, Education: Dissertation fieldwork on educational bureaucracy in Israel and Palestine
Jerusalem, Israel and West Bank
Daniel Solomon Ph.D. candidate, History: Intensive Hebrew language study
Haifa, Israel
2022 Scholars
Charlotte McClelland Senior, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures/Economics: Intensive Arabic language study and research assistance at the Syrian Refugee Life Study
Amman, Jordan
Maurice Ruttiman Senior, International Business and Diplomatic Relations: Intensive Turkish language study
Istanbul, Turkey
Madeline Wyse Ph.D. candidate, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures: Dissertation research on the intertwining of literary worlds in commentarial traditions of the Qur'an and Torah
Cairo, Egypt
2021 Scholars
Nesma Gewily Ph.D. candidate, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures: Intensive Persian language study
Beirut, Lebanon
Riad Kherdeen Ph.D. candidate, History of Art: "Spectral Modernisms: Decolonial Aesthetics and the Art of Resistance in Early Post-Protectorate Morocco"
Casablanca, Morocco and Beirut, Lebanon
Ahmad Rashid Salim M.A. student, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures
Maryam Sedaghatpour Ph.D. candidate, Integrative Biology: Dissertation fieldwork on plant biodiversity and preservation in Syria and Lebanon
Beirut, Lebanon
2019 Scholars
Zaki Alattar Senior, Business/Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures: Thesis research on the restructuring of the Iraqi banking sector after 2003
Iraq and UAE
Basit Kareem Iqbal Ph.D. candidate, Anthropology/Critical Theory: Dissertation research on the charitable practices of Muslim relief workers and refugees in Jordan and Canada in the wake of the Syrian civil war
Amman, Jordan
Abe Jellinek Sophomore: Intensive Arabic study and volunteer work at a refugee support organization
Amman, Jordan
Gregory Waters M.A. student, Global Studies: Research on the Syrian civil war and extremist groups' use of social media
2018 Scholars
Suher Adi Senior, Political Science/Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures: Thesis research on the interplay between gender-informed group identity, labor formations, political preferences, and the role of women in Palestinian society
Palestine
Nour El Rayes Ph.D. candidate, Ethnomusicology: “Radical Ethnography of the Popular: Alternative Music in Lebanon”
Lebanon
Brent Eng Ph.D. candidate, Anthropology: Dissertation research on political economy and agriculture in the Lebanese state
Lebanon
Hannah Hill Junior, Peace and Conflict Studies: Thesis research on generational waves of terrorism in the Middle East
Jerusalem, Israel
Noam Shoked Ph.D, candidate, Architecture: Research on the intersections of religion, law, and the built environment in the West Bank
Palestine
2017 Scholars
Hannah Ellis Senior, Political Science: Intensive Arabic study
Amman, Jordan
Sarah Klein Junior, Political Science: Intensive Arabic study
Rabat, Morocco
Sawsan Morrar MA student, Journalism: Reporting on water resources
Jordan
2016 Scholars
Ceren Baysan Ph.D. candidate, Development Economics: “Voter Information and Politician Public Platform”
Turkey
Mina Benothman Sophomore, Political Science: Mideast Wire Tunisia Exchange Program
Tunis, Tunisia
Taylor Kennemore Senior, Middle Eastern Studies: Thesis research on art as subversion in the United Arab Emirates
Sharjah, UAE
Candace Lukasik Ph.D. student, Anthropology, “Dissent and Authority in the Modern Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt”
Cairo, Egypt
William James Stewart Senior, Middle Eastern Studies: Thesis research on Islamic State
Amman, Jordan and Erbil, Iraq
Greg Waters Senior, Political Economy: Jordanian foreign fighters in the Islamic State
Amman, Jordan
2015 Scholars
Holly Cramer Senior, Middle Eastern Studies: Intensive Arabic Study, American University of Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon
Lana Salman Ph.D. candidate, City and Regional Planning: “Decentering Politics: Peripheral Urbanization and the Remaking of Class Relations in Tunisia”
Tunis, Tunisia