The Asian Sphere: Trans-Cultural Flows Program
The Asian Sphere: Trans-Cultural Flows Program
An Inter-University and Interdisciplinary Graduate Program
Call for Enrollment of Doctoral Students (2021-22)
The Asian Sphere offers a unique opportunity for outstanding candidates at the PhD level to enroll in an international multidisciplinary inter-university graduate program focusing on the Asian continent.
The Asian Sphere is a joint Israeli program of the Hebrew University and the University of Haifa funded by the Humanities Fund of the Council for Higher Education in Israel and Yad Hanadiv. It is a structured graduate program of excellence that focuses on various aspects of the entire Asian continent as a continuous civilizational zone. It addresses cross-regional contacts and processes among Asian societies, cultures and states, as well as between Asia and other continents throughout history until present time. The program’s courses are taught in English.
Apart from a dynamic and exceptional environment of learning and research, the program offers scholarships for outstanding graduate students. The scholarships for PhD students are of the amount of 60,000 NIS per year for three years.
The Asian Sphere accepts students from different disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including Asian Studies, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Archaeology, Geography Political Science, International Relations, Cultural Studies, History, Art History, Religious Studies, Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology, Economics, Media Studies, Gender Studies, and Environmental Studies,. Research topics are open and can deal with past or current societies. The core of the Asian Sphere teaching activity revolves around advanced seminars on trans-regional, trans-continental and trans-cultural themes, mostly taught by two or more internationally renowned scholars. In addition, students who are accepted to the program will participate in a yearly academic retreat, research trips in Israel and abroad, academic conferences and other activities.
For further information, visit our web site: http://asian-sphere.huji.ac.il/
Criteria for the selection of candidates for the Asian Sphere Program scholarship:
- Proven academic excellence.
- Preliminary research topic and interest that address cross-Asian topics, such as analysis of contacts or comparison between two or more regions or cultures in Asia.
- Candidates should secure in advance the agreement of potential advisor(s) of their proposed thesis, either from the University of Haifa or the Hebrew University.
Registration for the Asian Sphere Program:
Interested individuals are requested to send one electronic and one printed copy of the following documents (in English whenever applicable) until the deadline below.
The electronic copy should be in one file.
- Curriculum vitae.
- Report of grades (BA, MA).
- Abstract of Master’s thesis.
- A Writing sample in English.
- A document describing one’s research interests, presenting the research questions that interest the candidate, the research context, the research methodology and how the research topic is related to the goals and scope of the Asian Sphere Program (up to 500 words).
- Two letters of recommendation to be sent separately to the program coordinator at AsianSphere@gmail.com
- A written consent from the intended thesis advisor(s) at one of the two universities.
Requirements of the Asian Sphere Program and Renewal of the Scholarship:
- Doctoral students must participate in our two core courses and at least two of the program’s interdisciplinary seminars (12 course credits all together) as well as actively participate in the program’s yearly academic retreat and other activities.
- Annual renewal of the scholarship will depend on demonstrated progress of the Asian Sphere fellows and on continued recommendation from their thesis advisor.
- To pass from the first to the second year, Ph.D. students will have to participate in at least two of the program’s seminars, successfully write at least one seminar paper, complete their Ph.D. proposal which will be approved by their advisor(s), and successfully advance from stage A to stage B in their doctorate program.
- To pass from the second to the third year, Ph.D. students will have to submit a report on their academic progress and complete at least one chapter of their dissertation approved by their advisor(s).
- Ph.D. students will be encouraged to submit research articles to refereed journals and required to present at least one paper in an international conference held during either the second or the third year of the program.
For additional information regarding terms of acceptance, registration, and the program in general, please contact Prof. Nissim Otmazgin, or Prof. Michal Biran, or Prof. Reuven Amitai, or Prof. Gideon Shelach at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Prof. Rotem Kowner, or Prof. Itzchak Weismann, or Dr. Nimrod Baranovitch at the University of Haifa.
All the documents should be sent to the Asian Sphere Scholarships Committee
by April 15, 2021 to these two email addresses: