What is the Islamic Civilization Initiative?

The Islamic Civilization Initiative is a subset of US Student Fulbright grants designed to encourage projects that will enhance knowledge and understanding of Islam and the Islamic world, broadly defined. The Initiative's eligibility criteria have been kept fairly broad in order to accommodate the widest possible range of disciplines, fields of study, and countries.

Is fluency/proficiency in Arabic a prerequisite for applying for one of these grants?

Not necessarily. However, applicants will need to review the language requirements for the country (-ies) to which they plan to apply. They should also keep in mind that language study as a supplement to the research project is encouraged under this Initiative.

What types of projects have been funded under this Initiative?

Since its inception in 2001/2002, the Initiative has funded grants in a wide range of different disciplines, including Anthropology, Near/Middle Eastern Studies, Comparative Literature, Ethnomusicology, History, Law, Religion, and Sociology. Candidates in Photography and Painting/Printmaking have also received Islamic Civilization grants. (A list of Islamic Civilization projects is available elsewhere on the newsletter website.)

What is the screening process for Islamic Civilization applications? And if a candidate is non-recommended for one of these awards, could s/he be considered for a standard Fulbright grant?

A committee of Islamicist scholars conducts the first round of screening. The applications of those candidates who they recommend will be forwarded on to the prospective host countries for final consideration. Non-recommended applications may be transferred to the country and regional committees for consideration for standard Fulbright grants, if the Islamic Civilization Committee believes they are qualified, but do not fit the definition of Islamic Civilization. Otherwise, those not recommended will not be reviewed by a country or regional committee.

How many IC grants will be available during the 2005/2006 program year?

We expect to offer approximately 35-40 grants during the next program year.

I’ve noticed that Islamic Civilization candidates are expected to submit a post-grant outreach plan along with their applications. How detailed should this plan be, and what types of activities should I consider?

The statement of proposed research and/or study while overseas will be the most important part of the application. Nevertheless, the Islamic Civilization Committee will take the post-grant outreach plan into serious consideration, so applicants will need to give it serious thought and provide as much detail as they can. Among the activities that candidates may wish to consider for their post-grant outreach are:
-- presentations at academic and professional conferences;
-- videos and photographic slide shows to be used with K-12 schools, community groups, and similar groups 
--  publishing articles in college and local newspapers, academic journals, etc.