Funding

South Asia Art Initiative Awards

The UC Berkeley
South Asia Art & Architecture Dissertation Prize The UC Berkeley
South Asia Artist Prize

The South Asia Art Initiative at UC Berkeley invites submissions of doctoral dissertations for the annual UC Berkeley South Asia Art & Architecture Dissertation Prize. The prize will be awarded to an outstanding doctoral dissertation on the art, architecture, or visual cultures of South Asia and its diasporas from any discipline in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. The dissertation may focus on any time period from the...

Mir Research Fellowship in Urdu Studies

The Mir Research Fellowship in Urdu Studies, housed in the Institute for South Asia Studies, UC Berkeley, is an award to support University of California graduate students whose scholarship focuses on a topic related to Urdu.

Award Amount:

The award provides for one or more graduate research awards (max: $3k) on a topic related to the study of Urdu. Eligible recipients must be enrolled at a campus in the University of California system. Funds may be used towards flights and/or living and research expenses in Europe and/or South Asia....

The Telugu Society of America Summer Studies Research Award

The Telugu Society of America (TELSA) Summer Studies Research Award is an annual award established with a generous contribution from the Telugu Society of America (TELSA), a non-profit organization based in Claremont, California dedicated to the promotion of development of Telugu people, their culture and material conditions. The goal of the TELSA Award is to promote quality interdisciplinary undergraduate or graduate research...

The Hart Fellowship in Tamil Studies

The Hart Fellowship for Tamil Studies, established with a generous contribution from Professor George Hart and Professor Kausalya Hart, both cornerstones of Tamil Studies at UC Berkeley, supports graduate students pursuing research projects focusing on Tamil studies. The fund provides for grants of up to $2000 for research travel to South Asia (one will be awarded) and $500 for domestic conference travel or in-country library research (one will be awarded). Priority will be given to mid-career graduate students conducting research toward a Masters thesis or dissertation proposal. Graduate...

The Premchand Research Award in Hindi Studies

Premchand stampThe Premchand Research Award in Hindi Studies, housed in the Institute for South Asia Studies, UC Berkeley, is an award to support undergraduate or graduate research in Hindi literature. This award is funded by an anonymous donor and named in honor of Munshi Premchand (d. 1936), a towering...

The Bodha Pravaham Fellowship in Tamil Studies

The Bodha Pravaham Undergraduate Fellowship in Tamil Studies, established with a generous contribution from Professor George Hart and Professor Kausalya Hart, both cornerstones of Tamil Studies at UC Berkeley, supports undergraduate students pursuing research projects focusing on Tamil studies. The fund provides for grants of up to $900 for research travel to South Asia for UC Berkeley undergraduates (two will be awarded).

This award is only available for UC Berkeley undergraduates.

The application process will begin on February 1, 2026 with the deadline for...

The Bhushan & Santosh Khashu Award for Tagore Studies

The Bhushan & Santosh Khashu Research Award, established with a generous contribution from Dr. Bhushan Khashu and & his wife, Dr. Santosh Khashu, both prominent physicians and philanthropists from New York, supports graduate students pursuing research projects focusing on the life and legacy of Rabindranath Tagore. The award provides for one grant of $5000 for research travel to South Asia. Students may propose to conduct research in Santiniketan, West Bengal or at another location relevant to Tagore’s life. Priority will be given to mid-career graduate students conducting research...

The Bhattacharya Graduate Fellowships on Contemporary India

The Bhattacharya Graduate Fellowships will award UC Berkeley graduate students competitive grants for topics related to contemporary India of up to

$1000 for research travel to India (a total of two will be awarded) and $500 for domestic conference travel for presentations (a total of four will be awarded).

The application process will begin on February 1, 2026 with the deadline for submission of application materials for travel to take place during the summer of 2026 (i.e., May through August 2026) or the 2026-27 academic year (i.e. August 2026 through May 2027),...

Berreman-Yamanaka Award for Himalayan Studies

Himalayan Studies logoThe Berreman-Yamanaka Fellowship for Himalayan Studies' provides for an annual award of up to $1500 to UC Berkeley graduate students for research on topics related to Himalayan Studies across Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan.

Only UC Berkeley graduate students are eligible.

Please submit your...

Bruce R. Pray Graduate Student Relocation Grant

Bruce R Pray Grants logoThanks to the generosity of Professor Emeritus Bruce R. Pray (Department of South & Southeast Asian Studies), the Institute for South Asia Studies is able to offer the Bruce R. Pray Graduate Student Relocation Fellowship.

Three to four grants (each worth $3000) to assist incoming South Asia-...