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Deadline date
Amount
A contribution towards fees and living costs

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Thanks to the generosity of the Shapoorji Pallonji endowment for scholarships in Zoroastrian studies at SOAS there are a number of awards available for UK/EU and Overseas fee-paying students.

The Shapoorji Pallonji Scholarships will provide a contribution to fees and living costs calibrated according to merit and availability of funds. The MPhil/PhD scholarship is offered for 3 years. Master’s scholarships are available for one year only (or over two years if part-time).

The SOAS Shapoorji Pallonji Institute of Zoroastrian Studies would like to spread the net widely and invites students who approach Zoroastrianism from different disciplinary backgrounds, for example, historical, linguistic, anthropological or from within the study of religions to apply.

Eligible programmes

New admissions (beginning in 2025/26) for full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years) taught master’s degrees in the following subjects:

Full-time MPhil/PhD (new admissions, beginning in 2025/26) in the following subject areas:

  • Zoroastrianism, both ancient and modern
  • Zoroastrianism with Avestan, Pahlavi, Persian or Gujarati languages.

Candidate criteria

  • This scholarship is open to Home and Overseas fee status applicants.
  • Applicants for the MA scholarship must possess or expect to be awarded a First-Class Honours degree from a UK university or international equivalent. Applicants with a non-UK master’s degree must be in the top rank as evidenced by references and transcripts. Applicants with a 2.1 may also apply but will not be given preference.
  • Applicants for the MPhil/PhD scholarship must possess or expect to be awarded a First-Class Honours master’s degree from a UK university or equivalent. Applicants with a non-UK master’s degree must be in the top rank as evidenced by references and transcripts. Applicants with a 2.1 may also apply but will not be given preference.
  • Scholarship applicants must have applied to SOAS but are not required to have received an offer of admission by the scholarship deadline. An unconditional offer will need to have been received by the time the relevant panel meets to discuss scholarship applications.
  • Applicants must meet the English language condition of their offer of admission to study at SOAS, if applicable. If your offer is conditional on English, please arrange your English test and ensure you meet the English requirements as soon as possible.
  • Please note that this scholarship does not cover funding for pre-sessional courses.
  • Applicants for the MPhil/PhD scholarships must have demonstrated in the research proposal of their application for admission that their research is in one of the following subject areas: i) Zoroastrianism, both ancient and modern ii) Zoroastrianism with Avestan, Pahlavi, Persian or Gujarati languages.
  • Applicants for the MA scholarship must complete the compulsory 60-credit dissertation in Zoroastrianism and the 30-credit module: Zoroastrianism, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. In addition to this, applicants may wish to take one further 30-credit language module (e.g., Avestan language module).

Candidate assessment

  • Candidates will be assessed based on their academic merit, personal statement, and areas of proposed study by a Selection Panel.
  • The assessment of your application will be based on the information provided in your scholarship application and in your online application for admission. The panel will review details such as degree results, personal statement and other relevant information.
  • You must submit a complete application of your programme as soon as possible and then submit an application for this scholarship in order to be considered. Please note that complete applications for admissions can take up to 4 weeks to be considered by the Department, although this duration can vary depending on the time of the year. You should be prepared to wait up to 6 weeks in busy periods. 
  • You will need to have an unconditional offer for your programme by the time the Scholarship Panel meet.
  • Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Scholarship application procedures

To apply for this scholarship, applicants should follow the following steps:

Step 1: Apply for your programme

  • To apply for a master’s degree programme, please see Taught Masters applications
  • To apply for an MPhil/PhD programme, please visit our Doctoral school
  • Guidance for applying to a Research Programme and information on makes a complete application can be found on the How to Apply webpage.

Important: Applicants for the MPhil/PhD scholarships must have demonstrated in the research proposal of their application for admission that their research is in one of the following subject areas: i) Zoroastrianism, both ancient and modern ii) Zoroastrianism with Avestan, Pahlavi, Persian or Gujarati languages.

Step 2: Apply for the scholarship by 12:00pm (midday) UK local time on 21 March 2025

Notification of results

The scholarship shortlisting and awarding period is expected to be completed by the end of May at the earliest. Successful candidates will be contacted first, and once all awards have been allocated, unsuccessful candidates will be notified.

Should no suitable candidates be nominated by the panel, this award will reopen for applications in April 2025. Please check this webpage for updates during this period to confirm whether the award is open for applications or contact the Scholarships Team at scholarships@soas.ac.uk.

Enquiries

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