{"id":1587,"date":"2024-07-09T12:19:35","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T16:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/?page_id=1587"},"modified":"2026-05-18T09:43:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T13:43:46","slug":"fellowship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Dr. Najmaldin Karim Research Fellowship in Kurdish Political Studies<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) is currently accepting applications for the Dr. Najmaldin Karim Fellowship aimed at undergraduate students at UCF. The fellow will work on a research project related to Kurdish politics, broadly defined, under the supervision of KPSP faculty in the spring 2026 semester. This research aims to produce a final paper worthy of publication, enrich the fellow\u2019s academic credentials, and provide a unique opportunity to gain in-depth insights into Kurdish politics. The fellow students will receive $1,000 for the semester. All financial aid rules and regulations apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong><u><strong>Application Requirements<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/strong><br>\u2022 A minimum GPA of 3.5<br>\u2022 A one-page letter of interest<br>\u2022 A writing sample (e.g., term paper submitted in a class)<br>\u2022 An unofficial copy of transcript<br>\u2022 A resume with two listed academic references<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u><strong>Submission Requirements<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Students should submit their application to Dr. Mehmet Gurses, Director of Kurdish Studies, at <a href=\"mailto:kurdish@ucf.edu\">gurses@ucf.edu<\/a> by October 31, 2025. A committee of UCF faculty will select the fellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\">Previous Fellows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Abigail English &#8211; Spring 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond Sovereignty: A Comparative Study of Paradiplomacy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-center\" style=\"grid-template-columns:36% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"784\" height=\"1024\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/Headshot-Abigail-English-6-784x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A young woman in a black pinstripe suit and glasses stands in front of a blue backdrop next to an American flag, smiling at the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-2460 size-full lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/Headshot-Abigail-English-6-784x1024.jpg 784w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/Headshot-Abigail-English-6-230x300.jpg 230w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/Headshot-Abigail-English-6-768x1004.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/Headshot-Abigail-English-6.jpg 1170w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 784px) 100vw, 784px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 784px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 784\/1024;\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>&#8220;<em>My time as the 2026 Dr. Najmaldin Karim Research Fellow was the perfect experience to finish my senior year at the University of Central Florida. Working closely with faculty, I had the chance to dive deeply into Kurdish political studies and undertake a long-term research paper, which many undergrads do not have the opportunity to pursue. It was challenging, interesting, and above all, a great way to get involved in Kurdish issues. Because of this experience, I would love the chance to one day visit Kurdistan, and I would recommend this fellowship to all of my peers in the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Farah Shah &#8211; Spring 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Hannah Hillsgrove &#8211; Spring 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Myli Sangria &#8211; Spring 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Hannah Barnes &#8211; Spring 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Mohammed Al-Awwad &#8211; Fall 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Sophia Griement &#8211; Fall 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Alexi Sadaka &#8211; Spring 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Jenna Dovydaitis &#8211; Spring 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Margaret Morgan &#8211; Spring 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Kellan Ritter &#8211; Spring 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Najmaldin Karim Research Fellowship in Kurdish Political Studies The Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) is currently accepting applications for the Dr. Najmaldin Karim Fellowship aimed at undergraduate students at UCF. The fellow will work on a research project related to Kurdish politics, broadly defined, under the supervision of KPSP faculty in the spring 2026 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"[]"},"class_list":["post-1587","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1587"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2476,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1587\/revisions\/2476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/politics\/kps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}