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ISITA Fellowship for Publicly Engaged Graduate Students

Announcement and Call for Applications

With invocations from Timbuktu to Zanzibar, from Fez to Cape Town, from Cairo to Kano, the intellectual and cultural legacy of Islamic Africa has been imprinted on the very DNA of religious identity in America since the foundations of the nation. However, the flowering of African Islam's deep roots within American contexts, both past and present, is often overlooked or misrepresented in American discursive spaces,including within the American Muslim community itself. 
 
Northwestern University’s Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa (ISITA), the only university research institute in the United States devoted to the study of Islam in Africa, aims to enrich American public religious discourse by making the resources of the African Islamic intellectual tradition more readily available to public intellectuals and future community leaders.   

Established in 2026, the ISITA Fellowship for Publicly Engaged Graduate Students supports US-based graduate research projects that would significantly benefit from engagement with ISITA’s specialized expertise and Northwestern University’s resources on Islam in Africa.   

Each year, ISITA will select one fellow to spend one week on Northwestern University’s campus in Evanston, Illinois, developing their research project. In addition to interacting with Northwestern faculty and graduate student communities, they will have access to the rich resources of the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies. This is one of the largest separate African Studies libraries in existence, housing a significant collection of Arabic manuscripts from West Africa.     

In the fellowship’s initial iteration (2026-27), ISITA partners with the Los Angeles-based Bayan Graduate School and its partner, the Claremont School of Theology. This partnership recognizes their groundbreaking work in training the next generation of religious leaders and community activists in the public sphere, whether prison or hospital chaplains, religious counselors, imams or reverends.

Funding

  • ISITA will award one annual grant, up to a total of $3,000.   
  • Grant funds may be for transportation and accommodation expenses, as well as a modest stipend for living expenses during a one-week residency in Evanston, IL. 

Eligibility Criteria

  • Graduate students enrolled at either Bayan Graduate School or the Claremont School of Theology, in any degree-granting graduate program, are eligible to apply.   
  • Research conducted during the fellowship period should contribute to the student’s graduate thesis or dissertation.   
  • To be eligible, the applicant must be residing in the United States at the time of the application and residency.  
  • There are no restrictions on the applicant’s nationality or religion.   
  • Applicants should demonstrate how their academic project will benefit from exposure to or enhanced knowledge of African Muslim intellectual, spiritual, or artistic heritage through a residency with ISITA.   

Expectations

  • Fellows are expected to be in residence in Evanston in the Spring Quarter of 2027, with the exact dates to be negotiated upon acceptance of the fellowship. 
  • Fellows should plan to participate in the intellectual life of ISITA and Northwestern University by presenting their work to the campus community and/or meeting informally with faculty and students during their stay.   
  • Fellows are provided opportunities to engage with various student groups – such as the Muslim Cultural Student Association or the Black House – who may be interested in their work. 
  • Upon completion of the residency, fellows will be required to submit a brief report [1-2 pages] summarizing how the residency impacted their research projects and their academic or professional life.  

A complete application has four components:

  • The applicant's curriculum vitae.
  • A cover letter from the applicant, providing an overview of the thesis project and a clear articulation of how Northwestern University/ ISITA-related resources could benefit the student’s research.  Mentioning specific materials that the applicant plans to consult in the library or faculty members or students with whom they would like to meet will strengthen the application.
  • The names and contact information for two references (name, email address, and position or title). 
  • A preliminary budget (see the "Budget Instructions" tab for guidance).

All materials must be submitted to ISITA Associate Director Rebecca Shereikis
(r-shereikis@northwestern.edu) by 11:59 PM (Central Standard Time) on October 15, 2026. 
Please write ISITA Fellowship Application – [Applicant's Last Name] in the subject line and attach the aforementioned documents as Word or PDF files. 

Questions about the application process may be directed to r-shereikis@northwestern.edu.

At the application stage, we request only a preliminary budget. Once ISITA has awarded a fellowship, staff will work with the awardee to finalize the budget before determining the amount of the award.   

Below is a template where you may enter estimated expenses in the four allowable budget categories: 1) travel, 2) airport transfer (if applicable), 3) accommodations, and 4) meals and incidentals stipend.  Please use a similar format for your budget request, following the instructions below. 

allowable budget categories
Category Dollar Amount Notes
1. Travel
2. Airport Transfer
3. Accommodations $1404 6 nights at $234/night
4. Meals & Incidentals Stipend $598 $69 x 2 for first and last day of travel; $92 x 5 for remaining 5 days
Total Budget Request Maximum award is $3,000
  • Note that some fields are pre-filled, using the U.S. General Services Administration Daily Lodging and Meals and Incidentals rates.   
  • Travel: Provide estimated costs for roundtrip air, bus, or train fare; or private automobile mileage (reimbursed at $0.76/mile) from your location (in the US) to Chicago/Evanston IL.  
  • Airport Transfer: An Uber, Lyft, or taxi from O’Hare airport to Evanston, IL is estimated at $60 one way. 
  • Accommodations: Applicants should plan to stay 6 nights in Evanston, preferably with arrival on a Sunday and departure on a Saturday.  ISITA will directly book and pay for the awardee’s hotel accommodations (as an estimate, we are using the U.S. General Services Administration Daily Lodging rates).   If you plan to use no-cost accommodation (such as staying with a friend or family), please put $0 in the “Accommodations” category.