Grants and scholarships

Call for Applications Dirk Smilde Scholarship 2024

The University of Groningen is delighted to announce Professor Hindy Najman as the fifth Dirk Smilde Fellow at the Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society of the University of Groningen. Professor Najman will work at the Faculty’s Qumran Institute during March and April 2024.

In addition to the Dirk Smilde Fellowship, the Qumran Institute is happy to announce the Dirk Smilde Scholarship for excellent PhD students, postdocs and early career researchers in the fields of Hebrew Bible, ancient Judaism and Dead Sea Scrolls.

The scholarship amounts to €1,000 a month. Regarding the duration of the scholarship, we offer a maximum of three months.

The recipient of the scholarship will participate in the Dirk Smilde Research Seminar led by Professor Najman as well as the intellectual community of the Institute and the Faculty. The proposed project should fit within this year’s research theme of Thinking about Thinking in Ancient Judaism. The point of this seminar series is to understand how in ancient Judaism there is deep convergence across cultures in the Persian and Hellenistic period which is exhibited in the extant textual traditions as well as in the material cultures. We can see integration of Jewish thinking with Babylonian and Persian intellectual culture, as well as an integration and influence of Hellenistic and Greek thinking in distinctively Jewish thinking. What is remarkable is the integration and reflection of this convergence of cultures as early as the second half of the 1st millennium BCE.

The Dirk Smilde Research Seminar aims to create a stimulating environment for students and young researchers to learn to do independent research and to share their work with international peers and a visiting professor who is a leading international scholar.

To apply, please submit the following materials no later than 28 January 2024:

1. A letter of interest, also mentioning the duration of the stay in Groningen
2. A brief CV
3. A description of the proposed research project
4. Max. 2 published or unpublished works related to the project
5. Two references 

Applications for the scholarship should be submitted to Dr. Arjen Bakker: a.f.bakker rug.nl.

This scholarship was established by Jan Overmeer. The scholarship is specifically for Research Master’s students in the fields of Hebrew Bible, early Judaism and Dead Sea Scrolls.

Specifications

• € 1,000
• for excellent Dutch and international students (both EU and Non-EU), wishing to specialize in the fields of Hebrew Bible, early Judaism and Dead Sea Scrolls
• deadline non-EU/EEA students: 1 March
• deadline EU/EEA students: 15 May
• you can apply for the scholarship only after you have received an admission offer from the University of Groningen for the Research Master's Programme or after you have enrolled in the Research Master's programme.