Dara Goldman Award

The Dara Goldman (1971-2022) Memorial Scholarship supports graduate research. Preference is given to students researching the intersection of Spanish Caribbean Studies and Jewish Studies who need travel support.

Gendell Family and Shiner Family Fund

Awarded annually to an outstanding graduate student completing a dissertation in the field of Jewish Studies and/or Holocaust Genocide and Memory Studies. Made possible by the generosity of the Gendell and Shiner families, the full fellowship also comes with a tuition waiver. Preference will be given to students who have not received funding from the Gendell-Shiner or other sources that have supported one or more semesters of dissertation level research (i.e. tuition waiver and 50%+ fellowship, or equivalent).  

Hebrew Award

Awarded on an ad hoc basis to the outstanding Hebrew language student in the Program in Jewish Culture and Society. Nominations are made by the faculty.

Karasik Scholarship for Study Abroad

This scholarship is open to all graduate students in Jewish Studies and Holocaust, Genocide, Memory Studies who plan to conduct research abroad or study language abroad. Preference is given to students who have not yet received a full award from PJCS/HGMS.

Okla Elliott Travel Scholarship

To honor former Comparative Literature and Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies PhD student, Okla Elliott, who passed away unexpectedly in 2017. After graduating from UIUC, Okla went on to become an Assistant Professor at Misericordia University. After he died, another Comparative Literature Ph.D., Anya Hamrick (now an Assistant Professor at NYIT-Nanjing), began a GoFundMe campaign in order to provide travel funds for graduate students to go to HGMS related conferences or to conduct HGMS relevant research.  In honor of Okla, HGMS students have been awarded funds to...

Richard Abrams Award

The Richard Abrams Endowed Scholarship is awarded to full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students. The scholarship is open to students enrolled in Jewish Studies courses, with preference given to the Program’s minors and majors. Richard Abrams has long been invested in undergraduate education and supporting the study of Judaism and Jewish culture. He is an alumnus of the Gies College of Business Accounting Program at the U of I (class of 1963) and the founder and chairman of Surety Capital Corporation. Abrams’ hope for the endowed scholarship at his alma mater is that it will support our...

Ronald Filler Scholarship

Awarded twice annually to outstanding advanced undergraduate students in the Program in Jewish Culture & Society. Made possible by the generosity of Ronald Filler, the scholarship comes with a cash prize. Nominations are made by the faculty. One winner is named in the fall and one in the spring. 

Travel and Research Stipends

A limited number of travel and research stipends are awarded to graduate students affiliated with the Program in Jewish Culture and Society on an ad-hoc basis. The stipends are in amounts up to $400 and come with the expectation of regular participation in the Program's events.  Students applying for a travel and research stipend need to send a 300-word statement, a budget, and a CV to the Program in Jewish Culture and Society. Applications can be submitted...