Shapoorji Pallonji Scholarships

Candidates will be assessed based on their academic merit, personal statement, and areas of proposed study by a selection panel.

The assessment of your application will be based on the information provided in your scholarship application and in your online application for admission. The panel will review details such as degree results, personal statement and other relevant information.

You must submit a complete application of your programme as soon as possible and then submit an application for this scholarship in order to be considered. Please note that complete applications for admissions can take up to 4 weeks to be considered by the department, although this duration can vary depending on the time of the year. You should be prepared to wait up to 6 weeks in busy periods.

You will need to have an unconditional offer for your programme by the time the Scholarship Panel meet. We will not consider late or incomplete applications.

New admissions (beginning in 2026/27) for full-time (1 year) taught masters degrees in the following subjects:

• MA Iranian Studies
• MA Religion, Politics and Society
• MA South Asian Area Studies
• MA Middle Eastern Studies

This scholarship does not cover funding for pre-sessional courses.

This scholarship is open to Home and Overseas fee status applicants. Applicants must:

• Possess or expect to be awarded a first class honours degree from a UK university or international equivalent. Applicants with a non-UK masters degree must be in the top rank as evidenced by references and transcripts. Applicants with a 2:1 may also apply but will not be given preference.
• Have applied to SOAS but are not required to have received an offer of admission by the scholarship deadline. You will need to have received an unconditional offer by the time the relevant panel meets to discuss scholarship applications.
• Meet the English language condition of their offer of admission to study at SOAS, if applicable. If your offer is conditional on English, please arrange your English test and ensure you meet the English requirements as soon as possible.
• Complete the compulsory 60-credit dissertation in Zoroastrianism and the 30-credit module: Zoroastrianism, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. In addition to this, applicants may wish to take one further 30-credit language module (e.g., Avestan language module).