Scholarships at SOAS University of London

Thanks to the generosity of the Shapoorji Pallonji endowment for scholarships in Zoroastrian studies at SOAS there are a number of awards available for UK/EU and Overseas fee-paying students.

The Shapoorji Pallonji Scholarships will provide a contribution to fees and living costs calibrated according to merit and availability of funds. The MPhil/PhD scholarship is offered for 3 years. Master’s scholarships are available for one year only (or over two years if part-time).

The SOAS Shapoorji Pallonji Institute of Zoroastrian Studies would like to spread the net widely and invites students who approach Zoroastrianism from different disciplinary backgrounds, for example, historical, linguistic, anthropological or from within the study of religions to apply.

Eligible programmes

New admissions (beginning in 2025/26) for full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years) taught master’s degrees in the following subjects:

• MA Iranian Studies

• MA Religion, Politics and Society

• MA South Asian Area Studies

• MA Middle Eastern Studies

Full-time MPhil/PhD (new admissions, beginning in 2025/26) in the following subject areas:

• Zoroastrianism, both ancient and modern

• Zoroastrianism with Avestan, Pahlavi, Persian or Gujarati languages.

Candidate criteria

• This scholarship is open to Home and Overseas fee status applicants.

• Applicants for the MA scholarship must possess or expect to be awarded a First-Class Honours degree from a UK university or international equivalent. Applicants with a non-UK master’s degree must be in the top rank as evidenced by references and transcripts. Applicants with a 2.1 may also apply but will not be given preference.

• Applicants for the MPhil/PhD scholarship must possess or expect to be awarded a First-Class Honours master’s degree from a UK university or equivalent. Applicants with a non-UK master’s degree must be in the top rank as evidenced by references and transcripts. Applicants with a 2.1 may also apply but will not be given preference.

• Scholarship applicants must have applied to SOAS but are not required to have received an offer of admission by the scholarship deadline. An unconditional offer will need to have been received by the time the relevant panel meets to discuss scholarship applications.

• Applicants must meet the English language condition of their offer of admission to study at SOAS, if applicable. If your offer is conditional on English, please arrange your English test and ensure you meet the English requirements as soon as possible.

• Please note that this scholarship does not cover funding for pre-sessional courses.

• Applicants for the MPhil/PhD scholarships must have demonstrated in the research proposal of their application for admission that their research is in one of the following subject areas: i) Zoroastrianism, both ancient and modern ii) Zoroastrianism with Avestan, Pahlavi, Persian or Gujarati languages.

• Applicants for the MA scholarship must complete the compulsory 60-credit dissertation in Zoroastrianism and the 30-credit module: Zoroastrianism, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. In addition to this, applicants may wish to take one further 30-credit language module (e.g., Avestan language module).

 Apply for the scholarship by 12:00pm (midday) UK local time on 21 March 2025