The Arabic, Islamic and Middle East Studies program and Ghent University support applications in a wide-range of fellowships to pursue research at doctoral and postdoctoral levels. We are especially keen to support early career researchers pursuing doctoral and postdoctoral research through the following funding schemes:
FWO PhD Fellowships
The Center for Arabic, Islamic, and Middle East Studies (CAIMES) supports exceptional candidates to apply for PhD fellowships funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) to pursue doctoral studies. The current research strengths of the program are focused on the following areas:
- The history of the Middle East, especially of Egypt and Palestine, historical Syria, and the Ottoman Empire, with an emphasis on issues concerning state formation, knowledge practices, historical consciousness, interdisciplinarity, sovereignty, religiosity and language and text structures.
- The anthropology of the Middle East, with an emphasis on issues concerning love, sexuality, materiality, identity, gender and modernity.
- The analysis and preservation of source materials relevant to the study of the languages, cultures, and societies of the Middle East with an emphasis on epigraphy, historiography, and documents in various languages
The Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) offers generous four-year fellowships for exceptional candidates to pursue a PhD at a university in Flanders. You need to check carefully the detailed guidance of the scheme to ensure you are eligible.
How to Submit an Expression of Interest:
The Center for Arabic, Islamic, and Middle East Studies (CAIMES) invites expressions of interest from candidates wishing to apply for an FWO PhD fellowship to come to Ghent. Please include in your expression of interest the following materials:
- A project description (maximum 3 pages) addressing the project aims, objectives, research questions, methodology and outcomes, and bibliography. It should include the name of one of the professors in the center as your potential supervisor. You should bear in mind when writing your expression of interest that it will be reviewed by staff, some of whom will be outside of your specialism.
- A transcript of your MA coursework
- A CV (maximum 2 pages). The CV should include details of your MA marks (GPA, results, etc.) and offer some contextualization of those marks within your MA program.
Please send these materials in a single PDF by 9:00am 3 November 2025 to middleeast@ugent.be. If selected, you will be provided with support to develop your application for the fellowship scheme deadline in March 2026 (call opens December 2025).
FWO Postdoctoral Fellowships
The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) funds postdoctoral fellowships at junior and senior levels for exceptional researchers to pursue independent research projects for three years. If you are interested in pursuing one of these fellowships, please contact the professor in the program whose research interests most closely align with the project you would like to pursue.
European Research Funding
The Arabic, Islamic, and Middle East Studies program has hosted four ERC research projects, and Ghent University has hosted more than 100 ERC research projects. The Arabic, Islamic, and Middle East Studies program supports the development of proposals for ERC Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, and Synergy grants, as well as Marie Skłodowska Curie (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships. If you are interested in bringing your project to our program at Ghent University, please contact one of the professors in the program.