MESOPOTAMIAN FELLOWSHIP
2025/2026 Application Guidelines
Jaafar Jotheri (recipient of a Mesopotamian Fellowship), Stefan Smith and Ella Egberts in the Iraqi Western Desert in March 2024.
The Mesopotamian Fellowship provides support in the amount of $9,000 for a period of research lasting three months to a year. $1,000 of this Fellowship amount will be allocated for registration and travel support to the 2025 or 2026 ASOR Annual Meeting, where the successful applicant will be expected to present a paper on their research. This Fellowship is primarily intended to support field/research on ancient Mesopotamian culture carried out in the Middle East, but other projects such as travel to work on museum collections or archives related to ancient Mesopotamia will also be considered. Projects with a focused component on the involvement and acknowledgement of local public/scholars are particularly welcome. The award may only be used for allowable direct expenses. Indirect and/or overhead expenses are not permitted.
The Mesopotamian Fellowship is based on a July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 fiscal year. A recipient who does not use the fellowship for at least three months must forfeit part of the fellowship and return a prorated amount of the stipend. Fellowship time should be continuous, without frequent trips outside the Middle East.
Pre-doctoral students and post-doctoral scholars from any country are invited to apply. Scholars from the Middle East are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants must be ASOR members or be affiliated with an institution that is an institutional member of ASOR (see list of Institutional Members). Learn more about purchasing membership here.
Applications consist of a coversheet and a short proposal. Applicants should provide two recommendations.
- Coversheet – (Download here.) The coversheet should include contact information, project title, a brief abstract, and ASOR membership information (or a statement that the candidate is enrolled at an ASOR-member school.)
- Short proposal – The proposal should detail the research project to be pursued and outline plans for the fellowship period. It should also include appropriate documentation and a short bibliography. The proposal may include illustrations, if necessary. Illustrations or figures can be added to the end of the application. Please limit the number of high resolution images. The proposal should also include a statement explaining how the proposed activity is feasible and can be carried out safely in light of conditions currently in place in the project country, particularly in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. (No more than 1,500 words and a one page, single-spaced bibliography.)
- Recommendations – All applicants should provide two recommendations endorsing their proposals.
Applicants should submit their proposals as a .docx or .pdf attachment to Marta Ostovich (programs@asor.org) and ask recommenders to do the same with their letters. Applicants or recommenders who are unable to submit proposals or letters by email may send them to the address given below.
Each recipient must submit a written report within two months of the conclusion of the award period, according to ASOR guidelines. A portion of the stipend will be withheld until the report is received. An acknowledgment of ASOR support must be included in the published reports of the project.
The deadline for applications is January 13, 2025. Successful applicants will be notified by March 1, 2025.
View our list of past recipients.