The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Global Academy is an interdisciplinary initiative that sustains essential research collaborations and knowledge production among scholars in the humanities and social sciences from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and their counterparts outside the region.

The Global Academy supports scholars working in two broad thematic areas: governance, accountability, and the rule of law; and fairness and economic equality. The Global Academy conceives of these two areas in interdisciplinary terms, and invites scholars to apply from the humanities and social sciences, from comparative literature, history, and Islamic studies to political science, anthropology, economics, and beyond.

Scholarships have been awarded for the 2023-2024 academic year. Please check back in the spring of 2024 for the next funding cycle. The Global Academy awards scholars in the field of Middle East Studies $5,000 grants to further their research and collaboration with MENA-focused scholars in North America.

The MESA Global Academy Fellows Panel meets virtually in 2020.

Global Academy Scholar Issam Eido presents his research.

Competitive fellowships are available for displaced scholars from the MENA region, primarily those currently located in North America, whose work is broadly focused on Middle East Studies. Eligibility criteria are: 1) a PhD or equivalent in a field in the social sciences or humanities (graduate students will not be considered); 2) a primary institutional affiliation in the MENA region prior to displacement; and 3) a publication record indicating scholarly productivity (in English, French, a native MENA language, or principal research language of the field).