James Mew Scholarships in Arabic & Rabbinical Hebrew

Subject Area: Arabic, Rabbinical Hebrew
Chair: Professor Tahera Qutbuddin - tahera.qutbuddin@ames.ox.ac.uk 
Administrator: Trust funds administrator - trustfunds@ames.ox.ac.uk

Previous Awards:

• Conference at Exeter College  - "The exegetical value of the Masora: Pointing and accentuation in historical perspective"
• Arabic Language Teaching 
• One on one tuition for 30 hours/week in the Sibawayh Center, Cairo
• Funds towards study of Arabic in Syria 
• For student applications, the Board of Management would like references from both language and subject tutors (one of each)
• For student applications, the Board of Management would like language tutors to be specific about applicants' progress and how further study abroad will  be of benefit (e.g. do they need to acquire spoken Arabic/Hebrew? or do they need to learn a specific branch of the written language for their research? or do they simply need to strengthen the skills they have been taught at Oxford?)
• For student applications, the Board of Management would like subject tutors/lecturers, or prospective supervisors, to be specific about academic achievement and how further language study will enhance it, with particular reference to the research project, if the candidate is at a stage where this is relevant 

Regulation

Statutes 2000, Title XVI, section XXII, pp. 142-3. Part 41: James Mew Scholarships in Arabic and Rabbinical Hebrew

41.1. The main object of the endowment shall be the encouragement of the linguistic study of Arabic and Rabbinical Hebrew, and awards from the endowment shall not be made for any other subject.

41.2. There shall be two scholarships, called the James Mew Arabic Scholarship and the James Mew Rabbinical Hebrew Scholarship respectively, each tenable for one year from the day of election.

41.3. The scholarships shall be awarded solely for proficiency in the linguistic study of either Arabic or Rabbinical Hebrew.

41.4. In each year an election shall be made either to a James Mew Arabic Scholarship or to a James Mew Rabbinical Hebrew Scholarship or to both, if candidates of sufficient merit present themselves.

41.5. (1) The scholarships shall be open to those who have qualified for a degree of this or another university and who have on the day appointed for the examination not exceeded the twenty-sixth year from the date of their birth, except that those who have qualified for a degree at another university shall become matriculated members of this University before entering into tenure of a scholarship.

(2) No candidate shall be eligible for election to an Arabic Scholarship whose vernacular language is Arabic, or to a Rabbinical Hebrew Scholarship whose vernacular language is Hebrew.

41.6. There shall be a board of management consisting of:

(1) the Vice-Chancellor;

(2) the Regius Professor of Hebrew;

(3) the Laudian Professor of Arabic;

(4), (5) two persons appointed by the Board of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, and holding office for two years and being re-eligible.

41.7. (1) The board shall every year appoint not more than four examiners, who shall examine candidates and elect the scholar or the scholars.

(2) Each examiner shall be paid out of the income of the fund for his or her services such sum as the board shall determine.

(3) The aggregate of the payments made on any one occasion to the examiners in each language shall not exceed one-twelfth of the net annual income of the fund.

41.8. (1) The examination shall be conducted, after not less than one month's notice, at such place and time as the examiners, with the approval of the Vice-Chancellor, may determine.

(2) It shall be wholly in writing, and shall be occupied exclusively with the linguistic study of Arabic or Rabbinical Hebrew as the case may be and not with questions of history, Biblical or other.

41.9. Every scholar during his or her tenure of the scholarship shall pursue such a course of study or research as the Laudian Professor of Arabic or the Regius Professor of Hebrew, as the case may be, shall approve, and shall for this purpose reside for eight weeks within the University in each of the three university terms, unless he or she desires to study elsewhere with the permission of the board.

41.10. (1) Each scholar shall receive a total emolument of £100 or such larger sum, not exceeding the value of one year's net income of the fund after the expenses of management and the examiner's fees have been deducted, as the board may determine, having regard to any other emoluments accruing to the scholar and to the state of the fund.

(2) The total emolument of each scholar shall be payable in such instalments as the board may determine, and so long as the scholar conforms to the requirements of section 41.9 above.

41.11. Neither of the two scholarships shall be awarded to the same person a second time.

41.12. Any surplus income arising in any year may at the discretion of the board be applied in one or more of the following ways:

(1) for the award, on the recommendation of the examiners for the scholarship, of James Mew Exhibitions in Arabic or Rabbinical Hebrew to candidates for the scholarship (if they are qualified under section 41.5 above) whose work, though not of sufficient merit for the award of a scholarship, is of a standard sufficient to justify an award from the fund; the value and tenure of such exhibitions to be determined by the board;

(2) for the award from time to time, under regulations to be made by the board, of one or more James Mew Prizes for essays on subjects concerned exclusively with the literature of Arabic or Rabbinical Hebrew;

(3) for the award, on the recommendation of the examiners in the Honour School of Oriental Studies, of one or more James Mew Senior Prizes, and, on the recommendation of the moderators in the First Public Examination in Oriental Studies, of one or more James Mew Junior Prizes, to those candidates whose performance in Arabic or in Rabbinical Hebrew the examiners or moderators judge to be of special merit;

(4) for making grants at the discretion of the board, subject to the consent of the Board of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, for any purpose concerned with the encouragement of the linguistic study of Arabic or Rabbinical Hebrew.

41.13. The board of management may from time to time make regulations, not inconsistent with this Part, for carrying any of the provisions of this Part into effect.

41.14. Congregation may from time to time amend this Part so long as the main object of the endowment, as defined in section 41.1 above, is always kept in view.

Standing Order

Committee for the James Mew Fund

The committee shall consist of the Regius Professor of Hebrew ex officio, the Laudian Professor of Arabic ex officio and two other members appointed by the Board of Oriental Studies, holding office for two years and being re-eligible.

The committee shall make or recommend grants for any purpose concerned with the encouragement of the linguistic study of Arabic or Rabbinical Hebrew. The committee shall be empowered to make grants up to £600 provided that such grants are reported to the next meeting of the board. For grants of over £600, the committee shall submit recommendations for the board’s approval.

[Note: the Vice-Chancellor must be consulted on matters relating to James Mew Scholarships in Arabic and Rabbinical Hebrew - see Statutes, 2000, pp.142-143.]

Committee Members

• Professor Tahera Qutbuddin 
• Dr Alison Salvesen 
• Dr Mohamed-Salah Omri