Frank F. Conlon South Asia Fellowship

The 2024-25 application cycle will open in fall 2024. 

The South Asia Center at the University of Washington announces the competition for the Frank F. Conlon Fellowship in South Asian Studies. We invite applications from graduate students in all disciplines, including international students, who are engaged in the study of South Asia and who will be enrolled at the University of Washington during the 2025-26 academic year. The award will be based on academic merit and financial need.

Professor Emeritus Frank F. Conlon taught history, international studies and comparative religion at the University of Washington from 1968 to 2002. An acknowledged authority in the field of South Asian history, Professor Conlon’s book, A Caste in a Changing World: The Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmans, 1700-1935, has won critical acclaim. Professor Conlon was the Director of the South Asia Center at UW for 12 years and played a key role in establishing the South Asia MA degree and the undergraduate South Asia track at the Jackson School of International Studies. He was formerly the President of H-Net and is well known in his continuing volunteer work as an editor for H-ASIA, the interdisciplinary Asian Studies discussion list which he co-founded in 1994. Professor Conlon continues to have an active research agenda and is working on multiple projects including bringing the story of the Chitrapur Saraswats up to the present and a history of Bombay.

The Frank F. Conlon Endowed Fellowship in South Asian Studies honors Professor Conlon’s contributions as a memorable teacher, who “linked the everyday details of the lives of South Asians to a broad idea of ‘civilization’ as a dynamic and changing phenomenon that shapes human lives and is shaped by human agency” and as a devoted educator, “who inspired his students to appreciate their learning about the history and culture of this vital area of the world, both for its inherent importance and as a mirror to a better understanding of their own culture and human legacies”. The fellowship is funded by generous donations from Ann and Harry Pryde, Marc H. Pryde, Natalie A. Pryde, and Frank and Joan Conlon.

Award:

• Approx. $9,000 stipend for academic year award (3 quarters)
• Graduate appointee health insurance
• Non-resident portion of tuition waived (recipient is responsible for in-state tuition fees)

Eligibility:

Graduate students in any discipline, including international students, who are engaged in the study of South Asia. Awarded on the basis of academic merit and demonstrated financial need as determined by the UW Office of Student Financial Aid. Applicants must submit a FAFSA or a WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid).

All applicants to the M.A. in South Asia Studies are automatically considered for the Frank F. Conlon Fellowship in South Asian Studies, and need not submit a separate fellowship application. All other applicants––including current UW graduate students and those applying for admission into programs other than the M.A. in South Asia Studies––must apply following the instructions below.

Application Deadline: TBD Winter 2025

Apply Now: For application instructions, visit Apply for SAC Funding

Recent Conlon Fellows