Graduate Students

The South Asia Forum

The South Asia Forum offers spaces for UC Berkeley students to engage in interdisciplinary conversations on South Asia. Through reading groups, student-led research workshops, and the Young Scholars Research Symposium, these spaces will foster the growth of a new generation of South Asia scholars. The aim of this program is to provide a forum for undergraduate and graduate students to engage in scholarly dialogue and to foster the free exchange of ideas on shared research interests.

Please click on the links below for further information and application procedures for these three...

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, 2024 with the deadline for submission of application materials for travel to take place during the summer of 2024 (i.e., May through August 2024) or the 2024-25 academic year (i.e. August 2024...

The Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships

FLAS logoThe Institute for South Asia Studies invites graduate and undergraduate students at UC Berkeley to apply for the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships, which provide funding to students to encourage the study of critical and less commonly taught foreign languages in combination with area studies, international studies or international aspects of professional studies.

Awards are...

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: $10k) 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....

S. S. Pirzada Dissertation Prize on Pakistan

S. S. Pirzada Dissertation Prize on Pakistan

We invite submission of dissertations on Pakistan (or the region that is now Pakistan) in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Visual & Fine Arts, Law, and Public Health. Only dissertations submitted in English and at an accredited North American or Europe-based university will be accepted. The prize comes with a $2,500 award. For information about the current prize winner recipient click...

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...

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-...

Bruce R. Pray Graduate Student Conference 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 Conference Grant to UC Berkeley graduate students. Grants of up to $1000 are available ONLY...

The Padmanabh S. Jaini Graduate Student Award in Buddhist Studies

The Padmanabh S. Jaini Graduate Student Award in Buddhist Studies was established in 2009 with a generous gift from Professor Jaini that was matched by the Chancellor's Matching Gift Program This award supports high-achieving graduate students in Buddhist Studies at UC Berkeley and honors Professor Jaini's important legacy in the field of Buddhist Studies at UC Berkeley and beyond. Padmanabh S. Jaini is Professor emeritus of Buddhist Studies and co-founder of the Group in Buddhist Studies. For a list of past recipients of the Jaini Award,...

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...