Postgraduate scholarships for Muslim students to level-up

Are you a Muslim who’s keen on advancing your studies? There are several organisations and universities that offer scholarships for Muslims to increase their representation in certain fields of study, and not merely in Islamic studies.

Here are three organisations that offer annual scholarships for Muslims to pursue their higher education across a variety of areas. Some are still accepting applications; bookmark the others to apply next year.

Aziz Foundation

The Aziz Foundation offers master’s scholarships to British Muslims to bring positive change to their communities and beyond.  The scholarship awards cover tuition fees only to Muslims who qualify for home fees at UK universities. 

Among the partners of the Aziz Foundation including the City University of London, SOAS University of London, The University of Sheffield, the University of Sussex, and the University of Birmingham, among others.

Masters courses will be awarded in the following subject areas only: law, policy (public policy, politics, etc.) and media and journalism.

It notes on its website: “We recognise that Muslims make an invaluable contribution to the fabric of this country and we wish to live in a Britain where Muslims are valued and empowered to fulfil their true potential and continue making positive contributions to their communities and beyond.”

They add: “As an organisation, we are driven to reduce these equality gaps through our scholarships programme and other initiatives, which aim to increase access to postgraduate education and opportunity.”

Click here for key scholarship dates.

Islamic Scholarship Fund

ISF aims to increase American Muslim representation in media, politics and government. ISF-supported fields include:

• Film (acting, film and television production, theater, media)
• Media Studies (writing, journalism)
• Journalism (print and digital journalism)
• Law and related fields (law, human rights studies)
• Public Policy and Related Fields (international relations/affairs, political science, public policy, public administration)

The Scholarship Program deadline falls on April 5, 2021.

ISF also offers other programmes, including film grants, congressional internships, and congressional fellowships. Only the former is currently still receiving applications at the time of writing.

Islamic Development Bank Scholarship Programme

The IsDB Scholarship Programme is formally announced in December for the next September/October intake each year. The deadline for submission is at the end of February.

The Bank funds and implements its scholarship programmes as part of its overall efforts to develop the human resources of its member countries and those of the Muslim communities in non-member countries, notes its website.

IsDB offers a number of scholarships, including for master’s and PhD students in fields such as agriculture, diversity and ICT. As each programme has its own eligibility criteria, students will need to visit the scholarship portal to read the eligibility criteria of the programme of their choice before applying.