The School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is seeking doctoral student applicants interested in Middle Eastern Studies and librarianship. These Fellowships are funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

The three-year Fellowships offer:
*	A 20 hour a week position as a Research Fellow 
*	An annual stipend of $20,000
*	In-state tuition and health coverage
*	Opportunities to work on developing programs and offering classes with Middle Eastern partner institutions. 
*	Ph. D. students will travel to at least one of the Middle Eastern partner institutions where they will have the opportunity 	to work with students and provide instruction.

About ELIME-21
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded project, "Educating Librarians in  the Middle East: Building Bridges for the 21st Century: ELIME-21", will lead to the establishment of graduate level LIS programs adapted to meet the local needs of two Middle Eastern universities, the American University in Cairo and Al Akhawayn University in Morocco. To achieve this objective, SILS will recruit a cohort of doctoral students into a specialized PhD program that incorporates both coursework about the Middle East and its culture and an internship at one of the partner institutions as components. SILS faculty and ELIME-21 doctoral students will work with an advisory committee and key individuals from the two Middle Eastern universities to develop plans for a master's level LIS program and will teach the first courses in each program.  This project will address the urgent need for preparing future U.S. library educators with a greater familiarity with the Middle East and, at the same time, will assist in the training of librarians in a region of the world of critical importance to the United States.

Applying for the Fellowship
To apply for the fellowship, please follow the regular application procedures found on the SILS Ph.D. Admissions page (http://sils.unc.edu/programs/phd/admissions.html). Applications are due by Dec. 15, 2010. 

In addition to the required written statement of the student's intended research focus, we ask that each applicant write a separate one page essay elaborating on these goals and how they are related to the goals of ELIME-21. Please see the ELIME-21 webpage (http://ils.unc.edu/ELIME21/) for more details. Please send this essay in an e-mail message to: elime21(at)ils(dot)unc(dot)edu no later than Dec. 15, 2010. Earlier applications are encouraged. Please note that we are only able to accept applications from United States citizens. 

Interested applicants may also direct correspondence to:

ELIME-21 Fellowships
School of Information and Library Science University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Campus Box 3360 Manning Hall       
Chapel Hill NC 27566-3360