The Global Islamic Studies Center (GISC) is dedicated to promoting a broader and deeper understanding of Islam by creating a supportive environment where scholars, educators, students, and the communities can engage in projects, research, and teaching related to Islam, Muslim societies, and Muslim diasporas in the West.
As home to both a minor and master’s program, GISC supports a range of student opportunities, including summer fellowships, graduate student travel to conferences, internships with local Islamic organizations, and mentoring and support of campus events on Islam.
Gifts to GISC ensure that U-M students will have opportunities to deepen their understanding of Islam and the culture and history of the Muslim world. Islam is one of the most common religions around the globe today, with nearly 2 billion Muslims on all seven continents and in all walks of life, yet it is often misunderstood. Your support gives our scholars and our community a global perspective while also helping to dispel common myths.
Your Gifts at Work
By donating to GISC, your gifts have gone towards our student fellowships, allowing our U-M Students to spend their summer in immersive language programs all across the world.
"Today, Islam is the second-largest religion in Europe and the fastest-growing; as I continue to ask important questions about how this group interacts with the state in order to make political demands and address grievances, I will rely on the rich array of expertise available to me through the Global Islamic Studies Center!"
—YEHIA MEKAWI is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science studying issues of religion, identity, and representation, with a focus on how the state interacts with minority populations in advanced democracies; Class of '25
Global Islamic Studies Center Strategic Fund
The GISC Strategic Fund helps support the daily workings of the center by providing funding for lectures, conferences, film screenings, research, and other programs at U-M that promote knowledge and appreciation of Islamic culture among students and faculty and bring community members to campus.
The strategic fund is critical to the center’s ability to pursue new opportunities and supplement gaps in the annual budget for programming. Contributions of all sizes to the GISC Strategic Fund will help to support crucial activities and new initiatives that support our academic mission.
Global Islamic Studies Center Student Fellowship Fund
GISC programming provides students with fellowships and grants for research, conference travel, and internships. We are seeking gifts to cultivate students’ broad perspectives and extend their learning beyond the traditional classroom. Internships and fellowships are particularly valuable since they provide opportunities to improve interpersonal, practical, and cultural skills while gaining work or research experience in a variety of settings.
“The Global Islamic Studies Center Fellowship opened new windows for my educational and future goals. I learned that I face many untouched sources related to my research that could change the current scholarship views regarding people and their social activities in the early modern era of Iran and India. The invaluable research I conducted through this fellowship will allow me to effectively support the arguments in my dissertation."
— SHAHLA FARGHADANI is a Ph.D. candidate in Middle East Studies focused on the history and literary historiography of the Persianate world with a particular focus on the early modern period; Class of '24
Global Islamic Studies Center Faculty Grants Fund
The Global Islamic Studies Center helps faculty to meet the growing demand for courses on a wide range of topics by supporting student activities and class development. Donations will also support research opportunities for faculty across the curriculum.
Impact at Every Level
Gifts at every level provide meaningful impact. Here are just some of the ways your gifts can support the department’s work:
- Gifts of $5000 will support 10 undergraduate students, including funding for internships.
- Gifts of $20,000 will support 10 graduate student research fellowships ($2000 per student).
- An endowed gift of $250,000 - $1M will fund all of these opportunities for our students.
For More Information
To learn about endowments and other major-gift opportunities, please see our campaign priorities document.
For more information, please contact Islamic Studies at islamicstudies@umich.edu or visit Michigan Online Giving.
Thank you for supporting the Global Islamic Studies Center!
