The Barakat Trust’s grant applications programme for 2022 opened on 1 January 2022 and will close at midnight GMT on 31 March 2022. No applications received after that date will be considered.

Applicants will be informed of The Barakat Trust’s decision at the end of May 2022 (a month later than usual because of the early date of Ramadan in 2021).

Only consider applying if you meet the criteria in the Scope of Awards.

Please note there is a separate application form for each category. You will need to download the application form in Microsoft Word for the category of award you intend to apply to.

Each separate application form contains specific guidance to that category. Please ensure that you follow the guidance. Once you have completed the application form and have all the necessary supporting documents you will need to submit it applications@barakat.org by the deadline.

If you intend to apply to more than one category of award you will need to submit the appropriate application form for that category.

Only applications submitted using the correct application form will be considered.

Online Question and Answer sessions

Online Question and Answer sessions will be organised by The Barakat Trust to help answer any queries prospective applicants may have.

These will take place on the following dates:

  • 19 January 2022: Grants Programme 2022 Question and Answer Session 1 – English Only (3pm UK time)
  • 20 January 2022: Grants Programme 2022 Question and Answer Session 2 – Arabic Only (3pm UK time)
  • 16 February 2022: Grants Programme 2022 Question and Answer Session 3 – English Only (3pm UK time)
  • 17 February 2022: Grants Programme 2022 Question and Answer Session 4 – Arabic Only (3pm UK time)
  • 16 March 2022: Grants Programme 2022 Question and Answer Session 5 – English Only (3pm UK time)
  • 17 March 2022: Grants Programme 2022 Question and Answer Session 6 – Arabic Only (3pm UK time)

For all events Click Here to Register!

Types of Grants

A1. Barakat International Studentship

One scholarship of up to £20,000 to a Muslim student from the Islamic world who has already been accepted on a taught Masters courses in a subject relevant to the study of Islamic art, architecture, archaeology and material culture.

Where a student has been accepted on a two-year course, the grant may be awarded or renewed for the second year of the course, on the condition that the student is able to demonstrate outstanding performance during the first year of the course. Applicants must supply evidence of acceptance before any award can be made. The grant may be spent on fees or living expenses or a combination of the two.

A2. Barakat Postgraduate Student & Early Career Award

Postgraduate students, early career professionals, and early career scholars who were awarded a doctorate after 30 June 2015, may apply for grants with an upper limit of £1,500 towards the costs of travel for fieldwork, research and study relating to:

  1. the history of the art, architecture and material culture of the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE;
  2. the archaeological investigation of Islamic world;
  3. the conservation of artefacts, buildings and material culture produced in or for the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE;
  4. libraries, museums and other public institutions exhibiting the art and material culture of the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE;
  5. education and training associated with (1) to (4) above;
  6. conferences, exhibitions and publications associated with (1) to (4) above.

Note: Applicants are advised that awards may no longer be paid directly to individuals. Awards may be paid in one of two ways: (i) either to the institution to which an applicant belong or at which an applicant is applying to conduct research or to study, in which case a representative of the institution to which payment will be made will be required to affirm the cooperation and support of the institution on the Application Form; (ii) or on the recipient’s behalf directly to the supplier of accommodation (e.g. the hotel) and travel (e.g. the airline).

A3. Barakat Major Awards Including Conservation and Conservation Training

Established scholars attached to research institutions, curators, and heritage professionals may apply for awards with an upper limit of £10,000 for fieldwork, research, study, exhibitions, conservation and documentation projects, and  training of professionals in fields associated with history, heritage, conservation and archaeology relating to:

  1. the history of the art, architecture and material culture of the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE;
  2. the archaeological investigation of Islamic world;
  3. the conservation of artefacts, buildings and material culture produced in or for the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE ;
  4. libraries, museums and other public institutions exhibiting the art and material culture of the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE;
  5. education and training associated with (1) to (4) above;
  6. conferences, exhibitions and publications associated with (1) to (4) above;
  7. digital and digitisation projects, that focus on making collections of the Islamic world more accessible;

Note: Applicants are advised that awards may no longer be paid directly to individuals, and must instead be paid either to the institution to which an applicant belongs, or to the institution at or through which an applicant is applying to conduct research or to study. A representative of the institution to which payment will be made will be required to affirm the cooperation and support of the institution on the Application Form.

All applicants will receive 90% payment at the start of award, with 10% paid on presentation of an acceptable report.

A4. Barakat Publication Grants

Grants with an upper limit of £6,000 towards the costs of a major publication on the history of the art, architecture and material culture of the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE, the archaeological investigation of Islamic world, and the conservation of artefacts, buildings and material culture produced in or for the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE.

Note: Applicants are advised that awards may no longer be paid directly to individuals, and must instead be paid either to the institution to which an applicant belongs, or to the publisher. A representative of the institution or publisher to which payment will be made will be required to affirm their cooperation and support on the Application Form.

B1. Barakat Senior Scholar

One visiting scholarship of £10,000 to enable an established Muslim scholar to reside in Oxford for three months to carry out a specific programme of research and to deliver a lecture on their research.

B2. Barakat Postdoctoral Scholarship

ThThe Barakat Postdoctoral Scholarship provides a grant of £18,000 to enable a Muslim post-doctoral scholar, who was awarded a doctorate after 30 June 2015, to reside in Oxford for nine months (normally October to June) to carry out a specific programme of research or to prepare such research for publication.

B3. Barakat Oxford Masters Studentship

One studentship to cover one year’s fees for a Muslim student already accepted by the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the University of Oxford to read for an M. St or MPhil in Islamic Art and Architecture. Renewal for the second year of the MPhil may be granted to candidates who perform well in the qualifying examination, but the grant may not be extended to cover doctoral studies.

Coming Soon!

C1. Hands on Islamic Art

Fostering Inclusiveness and understanding through community engagement with Islamic art heritage in the United Kingdom

The Barakat Trust has recently received a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to create this new grant category.

This category will offer grants of £8,000 plus in-kind support for projects in the United Kingdom (UK) that use collections of Islamic art in the UK to foster greater understanding about the cultures of the Islamic world, and involve a significant element of public engagement, ideally as part of the process of making collections more accessible. The grant will be open to UK institutions with collections of Islamic art and material culture. We are particularly interested in understudied collections.

Interested parties in the United Kingdom should contact The Barakat Trust for more information about this category by emailing: projects@barakat.org