Grants

Book Publishing Support Grant

The Application is now CLOSED.

Once a year the World Union of Jewish Studies will give Book Publishing Support Grant, for early career scholars without research funds, and who have never held a tenured position at a university.

Early career scholars, who are current WUJS members (The link for 2025-2028 membership dues can be found here), and are required to fund at least part of the expenses of the publication; may apply for the book publication grant.

The grants will be paid directly to the publishing houses of the successful applicants.

All applicants must submit the following in the form linked here:

1. CV.
2. A short book description (up to two pages).
3. A signed contract with the publishing house.
4. One (1) letter of recommendation for the book (that can be also sent directly to the WUJS e-mail address: [email protected]).
5. If the book is an adaptation of a doctoral thesis, please submmit the readers’ reports.

Additional documents will not be considered.

Only books that have not yet been published are eligible for the grant.

The last day to apply for the grant is Wednesday, 22.10.2025.

Ulpan Scholarships Summer 2025

THE APPLICATION IN NOW CLOSED!

The application will close on April 22, 2025.

Ulpan Scholarships for intensive Hebrew language programs in Israel (summer 2025) are available for BA, MA and PhD students, and early career scholars of Jewish Studies.

These scholarships have been funded through the generous support of the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe.

Applicants may apply to any of the Summer Ulpan programs offered by the following universities:

Applicants may apply for up to 1,500 GBP towards their tuition and housing costs and, in cases where housing is not required, the remainder of the grant may be used towards flight tickets at the discretion and under the conditions of the World Union of Jewish Studies.

In order to be eligible to receive an Ulpan Scholarship from WUJS, applicants must be:

  • EU citizens or citizens of another European non-EU member country (Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Gibraltar, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom).
  • Based at a European University.
  • One of the following:
    • BA students, who have completed at least the first two years of their degree and intend to pursue graduate degrees in Jewish Studies.
    • MA/PhD students, researching a topic within the field of Jewish Studies.
    • Early career scholars of Jewish Studies, who received their doctoral degree no more than five years ago.
  • Able to demonstrate the relevance of Hebrew language skills to their research interests.

Applicants for Ulpan Scholarships will have to apply BOTH to the educational institution for the study program as well as to the World Union of Jewish Studies for the grant. Successful candidates will receive the grant on condition that they are accepted to the Ulpan program. They will be required to participate in the program and submit a final report and certificate of completion of the course to the World Union of Jewish Studies.

For the application form, click here.

Ephraim Urbach Grants

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN!

The International Ephraim E. Urbach Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Jewish Studies is funded and administered by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture (MFJC) in cooperation with the World Union of Jewish Studies. The Urbach Fellowship is aimed at assisting recipients of the PhD within the past three years in launching their scholarly careers through publication of their first book and furthering research in their areas of specialization.

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Applicants can be nominated by the Head of the Department at which their PhD was awarded, or by their Dissertation Supervisor. The Fellowship is designed for scholars who completed their dissertations with distinction, and who show promise of achieving distinguished academic careers.  For further information about the letter of nomination and details of the program please visit the website.

Applications are evaluated by an international panel of experts and committees of the World Union of Jewish Studies and the MFJC. Final action will be taken by the MFJC Board of Trustees in June 2026.

The Fellowship provides a stipend of up to $15,000 for one year. Past recipients include applicants from programs at: Bar-Ilan University, Ben Gurion University, Brandeis University, Ecole Pratique des Hautes, Etudes, Paris, Hebrew University, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York University, Stanford University and the University of Geneva.

Nominations letters (with the applicant’s name and contact information) and further inquiries, please send to [email protected].

For more information, click here.

Call for Applications: Collaboration in the field of Jewish Studies for the academic year 2023/24

The grant is now CLOSED – for special cases, please contact us by email until Nov. 30, 2023.

The World Union of Jewish Studies is seeking to collaborate with research institutions and individual scholars in organizing conferences, workshops, and guided tours in the field of Jewish Studies for the academic year 2024/25.

Proposals may draw on the academic and logistic, as well as financial resources of the World Union of Jewish Studies.

Applicants must submit the following:

1. Project Abstract (including clarification about the value of the project for the advancement of Jewish Studies, target audience, and expected number of participants).
2. Detailed budget proposal (expenses and other sources of funding).
3. A short paragraph (up to 100 words) elaborating how the World Union of Jewish Studies is expected to support the project (financial support only, or additional assistance with organization and academic content).
4. Schedule for the planning and preparations
5. CV of the main organizer/s.

Click here to apply.

The form is open for applications throughout the year.
We advise you to submit your request as early as possible, as soon as you have the required information about the event.

For questions and comments, contact the World Union of Jewish Studies at [email protected]

The Matanel Prize for Jewish Thought

Awarded for best original book in Jewish Thought, published in Hebrew in the past three years (2020-2022).

The winners of 2022 are:

Prof. Avraham (Rami) Reiner, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev on his book, Rabbenu Tam: Interpretation, Halakhah, Controversy.

Prof. Oded Israeli, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev on his book, R. Moses b. Nachman (Nachmanides): Intellectual Biography.

The Application is now CLOSED.

The prize of  USD 25,000 is awarded for the best original book in Jewish Thought, published in Hebrew in the past three years (2020-2022), which is suitable for a wide readership. The book should be at least the second one published by the author who is expected to be also involved in social and educational activities.

Authors and publishers may submit nominations.

Applicants are required to fill out the application form (in Hebrew), and must submit the following:

  1. CV (English or Hebrew)
  2. List of main publications (up to 2 pages)
  3. Two letters of recommendation that explain why the book deserves the prize. The recommendations may be sent directly to the World Union of Jewish Studies [email protected].
  4. Five copies of the book must be sent to:

The World Union of Jewish Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rabin World Center of Jewish Studies, Mt Scopus, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel

No further documents will be considered.

The submission deadline is Sunday, May 1, 2022.

The upcoming Matanel Prize for Jewish Thought is expected to be awarded during the 18th World Congress of Jewish Studies in Summer 2022 (8-12 August).

The publisher shall ensure that the winning books are decorated with a wrap-around band indicating “Matanel Prize for Jewish Thought 2022″.