Durham University Mohamed Ali Foundation Fellowship Programme 2027

The Mohamed Ali Foundation is a UK charity whose aims include advancing the education of the public in the history of the Islamic World, of Egypt and of the Mohamed Ali Family in particular, especially the period of reign of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II (1892-1914).

In 2018 the Mohamed Ali Foundation announced the launch of this Fellowship Programme, and which is established to devote scholarly attention to the Abbas Hilmi II Papers held at Durham University and to make the collection’s strengths more widely known to scholars. It is hoped that the fellows’ work will foster deeper understanding of an important period of Egyptian history, and of a transformative era in East -West relations.

The Mohamed Ali Foundation solicits applications to its 2027 Fellowship Programme, which is established to devote scholarly attention to the Abbas Hilmi II Papers held at Durham University and to make the collection’s strengths more widely known to scholars. Fellows will work on the collection to shed light on an important period of Egyptian history, and a transformative era in East-West relations.
Fellows will be early career (post-doctoral) or established scholars.  Making full use of the collection will require good reading knowledge of Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, French, and English. In this, the final year of the fellowship programme, the panel is particularly interested in applicants working on the following topics:

• Infrastructure in its social and political context;
• The use of new technologies in promoting and publicising the Khedive to a wide audience;
• Gender dynamics within the Khedival family and Egyptian society at large during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries;
• The Khedive's estate and holdings, with a focus on the management of these assets through such mechanisms as waqf;
• The nationalist movement and its relation to the Khedive;
• Political activism, especially by secret organizations using e.g. assassination as a means of protest.

The Fellowship, tenable jointly in IMEIS and Grey College, entitles the holder to full access during their residency to departmental and other University facilities such as Computing and Information Services and the University Library. Accommodation is provided at Durham during the Easter term (April- June 2027), but there is flexibility to arrange residencies in different terms to suit fellows’ availability, and fellows may be permitted to reside in Cairo or Istanbul for the duration of the fellowship and using the digitised collection which is freely accessible online. All fellows will visit Durham, if only briefly, in order to deliver their lecture in June. Lectures and other activities elsewhere during the fellowship will be encouraged.

Fellows who do reside at Durham will also be encouraged to take a full part in academic and collegiate life, delivering the already mentioned lecture and perhaps also contributing to seminars.

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineOctober 20, 2026
• Study LevelPostdoctoral Fellowships
• SponsorDurham University
• City to studyLondon
• School to studyDurham University
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

• Fellows will be awarded an honorarium upon completion of their fellowship, and accommodation and all meals will be provided for the duration of the fellowship; a research travel grant is also available to each fellow.

Requirements

• Fellows will be early career (post-doctoral) or established scholars. The nature of the collection will often require good reading knowledge of Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, French, and English. The online catalogue of the collection indicates the languages of each file of material.
• Fellows will research the Abbas Hilmi II Papers, on an agreed topic, and deliver a lecture at Durham University. Each lecture will ultimately form a chapter in a volume of high quality and original research to be edited by Dr Ghazaleh. In the interim the lectures will be published in the university’s Middle East Papers series. The breadth of material in the Abbas Hilmi II Papers will reward an interdisciplinary approach. In order to guide candidate fellows an outline plan of this volume is now provided in the fellowship application documentation. This is not intended to be prescriptive and the Advisory Panel will consider alternative suggestions so long as they are well-grounded in the Abbas Hilmi II Papers and this is evidenced in the application proposal.

Check also:
Free Ongoing Fully Funded Scholarships Guide 2026 (Download Now)

Application Deadline

How To Apply

Applicants are advised to familiarise themselves with the online catalogue of the Abbas Hilmi II Papers, or the collection itself, and to review the outline plan of the edited volume provided below. More detailed information on the fellowship programme is also provided.

Applicants are required to undertake the following:

1. Complete the Application Form
2. Send a copy of your Project Proposal (2-3 pages) alongside a copy of your CV (Curriculum Vitae) in support of your application to [email protected]

*Please note you will be required to complete both stages of this process in order for your application to be considered.

The deadline for 2027 Fellowship programme applications to be received is Tuesday 20 October 2026.  Enquiries can be directed to [email protected] 

For more information, kindly visit Durham University scholarship webpage.