TORONTO, CANADA – For the third year, the Zoryan Institute is now receiving applications for its Ph.D. Scholarship Program for 2007. Through a special fund contributed by Mr. and Mrs. Dikran and Sonia Bal of Montreal, the program is intended to assist Ph.D. students who are studying the Armenian Genocide, either directly or comparatively.

Previous winners of the Ph.D. Scholarship Program are Talar Chahinian-Mahroukian, who is doing her thesis at UCLA on Armenian writers in France between the two world wars, and Sévane Garibian, who is completing her thesis on the influence of the Armenian Genocide on international criminal law on genocide and crimes against humanity at l’Université Paris X and l’Université de Genève. It is young scholars, like these, who will ensure the continued existence of Armenian Genocide Studies.

Applicants must be currently enrolled full-time in an accredited Ph.D. program at a university in North America or Europe. They must be a Ph.D. candidate in good standing at the ABD stage, (i.e., all requirements for the PhD have been completed except for the dissertation).

To apply, applicants must submit the following:

1. A cover letter describing the students’ research and motivation for the subject of the thesis.
2. An academic resumé or curriculum vitae.
3. Official transcripts of graduate school marks.
4. Two letters of recommendation from professors--at least one from a dissertation advisor who is sufficiently familiar with the project and can attest to the candidate’s research skills and intellectual capabilities.
5. A six-page description of the thesis by the candidate, including theoretical approach to be used, methodology to be applied, and goals to be achieved, along with his/her assessment of the subject’s importance in the context of current scholarship.
6. A sample of a graduate paper related to the thesis topic or, if preferred, a chapter from the dissertation, 25-30 pages in length.

Applications and all correspondence must be submitted in either English or French. There are no restrictions as to the nationality of the applicant.

Please note that winning candidates’ attendance at the Genocide and Human Rights University Program in Toronto at the first opportunity is a pre-requisite for final approval for the scholarship, with tuition and expenses paid from the scholarship.

Applications must be received by February 28, 2007.

The amount awarded will vary according to each application, and will not exceed $10,000 per year or $20,000 per individual in total, over the course of four years. Students will be re-evaluated every year.

For more information, please contact the Zoryan Institute, 255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310, Toronto, Canada M3B 3H9, 416-250-9807, zoryan@zoryaninstitute.org.

The Zoryan Institute is the first non-profit, international center devoted to the research and documentation of contemporary issues related to Armenian social, political and cultural life. To this end, the Institute conducts multidisciplinary research, publication, and educational programs dealing with Armenia, the Armenian Genocide, and Diaspora, within a universal context