Overview
The Department of Religious Studies offers a number of prizes to stimulate excellent student research.
Eligibility: Term papers, capstone projects, and honors theses that are produced:
(1) by declared RELS majors,
(2) by matriculated RELS graduate students,
or (3) by any student in a class that is listed or cross-listed as RELS.
Students may modify the work before submitting it for consideration for the prize. Further eligibility requirements are listed below.
Deadline: The submission deadline for all prizes is the first Monday after Spring Break.
Ibn Sina Prize
The Ibn Sina Prizes are given for excellent student writing in Islamic Studies. The prizes recognize undergraduate and graduate students who make original contributions to the academic study of Islam and Muslim societies, broadly defined. Submissions will be evaluated on the basis of their originality, caliber of research and quality of writing.
Each prize carries a $1000 cash award and is open to all current students at the University of Pennsylvania. The annual prize is intended to be given to one undergraduate and one graduate student each year. In exceptional circumstances it could be given to two graduate students or two undergraduates.
To apply for the Ibn Sina Prizes, please send the following materials to the current Graduate Chair (listed in the footer of this page). Applications are due by Monday, March 17, 2025.
- A cover letter describing the research project and its suitability for the prize.
- A current CV.
- A copy of the thesis or research paper.
The Ibn Sina Prizes are made possible by the generous support of the Islamic Studies Student Support Fund of the Ibn Sina Foundation. For more information, contact Professor Jamal J. Elias, Director, Penn Forum for Global Islamic Studies (jjelias@upenn.edu).
Israel Goldstein Prize
$1,000 will be awarded annually to each of two Penn students (typically one undergraduate and one graduate) who have completed research evaluating religion as a force of social progress in the United States. The project should ideally focus on Philadelphia and must have culminated in a paper. Undergraduate projects that may be expanded into honors theses are welcomed. The prize will be awarded at the end of the spring semester and will be announced in the Commencement Program. In exceptional circumstances, the prize may be given to two undergraduates or two graduate students; in very rare cases three prizes may be awarded in the same year.
To apply for the Israel Goldstein Prize, please send the following materials to the current Graduate Chair (listed at bottom of the homepage). Applications for the award are due by Monday, March 17, 2025.
1. A cover letter describing the research project and its suitability for the prize.
2. A current CV.
3. A copy of your paper.
The Graduate Chair may request hard copies of these documents from finalists.
Merle Saunders Schaff Memorial Prize
This annual award of $500 is offered each spring for the best written work demonstrating creative thinking on any subject related to the archaeology of Ancient Israel or to Judaic religious thought through the Middle Ages.
Eligibility: This prize is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.
To apply for the Schaff Prize, please send the following materials to the current Graduate Chair (listed in the footer of this page). Applications for the award are due by Monday, March 17, 2025.
1. A cover letter describing the research project and its suitability for the prize.
2. A current CV.
3. A copy of your paper.
The Graduate Chair may request hard copies of these documents from award finalists.