Chevening Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) Fellowship Program, 2025
Applications are open for the Chevening Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) Fellowship Program 2025/2026. This fellowship program offers a fully funded opportunity for mid-career professionals to engage in a unique academic experience in the UK. The program is for individuals advancing a deeper understanding of Islamic culture and contemporary Muslim societies. This fellowship allows participants to conduct self-directed research over five months.
The program includes two fellowships in collaboration with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. These are the Chevening OCIS Fellowship and the Chevening OCIS Abdullah Gül Fellowship, specifically for Turkish citizens. Fellows will immerse themselves in an academic environment at OCIS, where they will interact with scholars from diverse disciplines focusing on the Islamic world. This interaction fosters dialogue on various topics, such as Islamic history, classical Islamic sciences, economics, public health, and the experiences of Muslims in the West.
The fellowship, starting in October 2025, requires participants to reside in Oxford for the duration of the award. Fellows will develop their research projects before their arrival, and OCIS will assist with accommodation options.
Eligibility for the Chevening OCIS Fellowship Program
The Chevening OCIS Abdullah Gül Fellowship is available to applicants from Turkey.
To be eligible for a Chevening OCIS Fellowship, you must:
- Demonstrate the potential to rise to a position of leadership and influence
- Demonstrate the personal, intellectual and interpersonal attributes reflecting this potential
- Be a citizen of Afghanistan (please see note below), Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Philippines, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan
- Return to country of your citizenship at the end of the period of the fellowship
- Hold a postgraduate level qualification (or equivalent professional training or experience in a relevant area) at the time of application
- Have significant professional and/or academic research experience (at least five years)
- Have a good working knowledge of English to be assessed in your application form and if you are invited to interview
- Not hold British or dual-British citizenship
- Not be an employee, a former employee, or relative* of an employee of His Majesty’s Government, or have been within the last two years from the opening of Chevening applications (including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, all British Embassies/High Commissions, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade and the UKVI), the British Council, a sponsoring UK university, or a staff member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
* Note: Immediate relatives are defined as parents or step-parents, siblings or step-siblings, children or step-children, spouse, civil partner or unmarried (where the couple have been in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years).
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Benefits
- Five-month period of research at OCIS.
- Living expenses for the duration of the fellowship.
- Return economy airfare from home country to the UK.
- Allowance package for research-related activities.
- Access to a programme of cultural events and activities organised by the FCDO and the Chevening Secretariat.
Programme structure for the OCIS Fellowship Program
Fellows will engage in five months of self-directed research, focusing on their projects related to the culture and civilization of Islam and contemporary Muslim societies. During this time, they will have the chance to connect with a multidisciplinary group of scholars who specialize in the Islamic world. This network will allow fellows to discuss a wide range of topics, such as Islamic history, sciences, economics, public health, and the experiences of Muslims in the West.
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Through these interactions, fellows will contribute to the Centre’s goal of fostering dialogue and collaboration within the global academic community. The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), which bridges the Western and Islamic worlds of learning, will host the fellowship, starting in October 2024.
Before arriving in the UK, fellows will need to develop a research project to focus on during their fellowship. Additionally, they must reside in Oxford throughout the award period, with OCIS offering guidance on accommodation options.
Application Timeline
Though, this timeline may change hence the importance of applying on time:
| Applications open at 12:00 BST | 6 August 2024 |
| Applications close at 12:00 GMT | 5 November 2024 |
| Applications are sifted against eligibility criteria | From 6 November 2024 |
| Reading Committee assessments: Independent reading committees assess all eligible applications. Their scores and rankings are then passed back to local British embassies/high commissions. |
Mid-November 2024 to January 2025 |
| Applicants shortlisted for interviews:
Once the embassy/high commission has reviewed the applications, they produce a shortlist of those who they will invite to interview. Notifications will then follow. |
Mid-February 2025 |
| References and education documents deadline | 19 February 2025 |
| Candidates from all over the world go through an interview process by panels at British embassies and high commissions. | 26 February to 25 April 2025 |
| Results announced | From May 2025 |
| 2025/26 Chevening Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (& Abdullah Gül) Fellowship runs | October 2025 to March 2026 |
Application Deadline
The tentative deadline to apply for the Chevening Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) Fellowship Program is November 5, 2024.
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