Habib University’s Dean’s Fellowship Program 2024

Interested in building a career in academia as a young scholar?

Habib University’s Dean’s Fellowship Program is a comprehensive three-year pre-doctoral offering for emerging academics. The program not only enables Dean’s Fellows to conduct research in various interdisciplinary fields but also provides them academic freedom to design and teach undergraduate courses.

Under the mentorship of seasoned Faculty at Habib University, Dean’s Fellows have the opportunity to develop their academic portfolios for application into competitive PhD degree programs globally.

The Dean’s Fellowship Program at Habib University welcomes Fellows into a diverse array of interdisciplinary programs including computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering, integrated sciences and mathematics, social development and policy, communication and design, and comparative humanities.

Through this Program, Fellows have the opportunity to teach courses from the Habib University Liberal Core or courses in their thematic focus.

The Dean’s Fellows are an integral part of the academic community at Habib University. Active support is provided to the Fellows by the Center for Pedagogical Excellence (CPE) during their academic journey. Zainab Makati, a current Dean’s Fellow and an Erasmus Mundus scholar, shared her experience with the Center when designing her course ‘Introduction to Geoinformatics with QGIS’.

She stated that she received pedagogical training and was greatly supported throughout in designing her course. As part of this professional fellowship, Fellows are also assigned individual mentors who offer guidance throughout the program.

Manahil Huda, a former Dean’s Fellow, shared: “I was particularly able to learn a lot from my mentor Dr. Anzar Khaliq, as I was able to have multiple productive discussions with him about pedagogy and about my various research interests within the realm of design. His guidance in publishing research papers and applying for various scholarships and programs proved very useful to me.”

Additionally, Fellows get access to a wide range of workshops and mentorship session designed specifically to support them in their terminal degree applications. For instance, during Fall 2023 semester, Dr. Haleema Qamar, an Assistant Professor in Habib University’s Dhanani School of Science and Engineering, conducted a workshop titled ‘Gearing up for a PhD’ to provide Dean’s Fellows guidelines and support with writing research proposals, statement of purpose, and curriculum vitae for their Ph.D. applications.

‘Deconstructing the Candidate Profiles for Graduate School Admissions’ was another workshop designed by Dr. Aatir Khan, Assistant Professor in the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, specifically to help the Dean’s Fellows to understand the assessment criteria of admission committees, as well as scholarship committees and funding agencies.

The Dean’s Fellowship Program serves as a research fellowship, encouraging Fellows to actively and extensively conduct in-depth study. As part of the program, Fellows develop a specific research plan and proposal with the support of their faculty mentors. They are also eligible to apply for a research grant funded by Habib University to support their projects. Fellows also engage students in their research projects through Summer Tehqiq Research Program, a 10-week-long research-centric initiative.

Through the Dean’s Fellowship Program, Habib University provides a supportive environment for intellectual exploration and professional development. Areeba Rajput, a Dean’s Fellow and Fulbright scholar, said: “The Dean’s Fellowship Program enhanced my academic and professional growth through collaboration with experienced faculty, fostering leadership skills while supervising motivated undergraduates. It enabled valuable mentorship, networking, and research opportunities, improving my teaching and communication skills.”

Young aspiring scholars with strong academic portfolios can become a part of the intellectually rich community at Habib University by applying for the Dean’s Fellowship Program 2024. The program is designed to not only enable Dean’s Fellows to apply to competitive doctoral degree programs globally but also provide teaching and research opportunities in various interdisciplinary fields.

To learn more about the program and its eligibility criteria, click here.