Thesis Awards

Established in 2015 by family members and former students of the late George T. Scanlon to recognize his scholarly excellence and commemorate his impact on Islamic studies. The award provides an annual cash prize for the most distinguished graduate thesis produced by an Arab and Islamic Civilizations (ARIC) student. A departmental award committee considers MA theses successfully defended by students across the various specializations of the ARIC department over a two-year rolling window. The recipients are announced at an annual ceremony organized by the department each spring.

• 2025: Mona Hafiz, “Local and Transregional Networks of Women in Late Medieval Mecca and the Mamluk Empire.” Supervisor Dr. Nelly Hanna
• 2024: Ian Greer, “The Utilitarian Islamic Modernity of Ḥasan al-ʿAṭṭār (1766–1835).”  Supervisor: Dr. Mohamed Serag
• 2023: Nabil Haskabancha, “An Analysis of the Ash’ari-Mu’tazilite Conflict in the Ḥāshiya of Ibn al-Munayyir in al-Kashshāf by al-Zamakhsharī.”  Supervisor: Dr. Mohamed Serag
• 2022: Mariam Elashmawy, “Printing Devotion: Sufi Books and their Transregional Networks in an Age of Print.”  Supervisor: Dr. Ahmad Khan
• 2020: Norhan Adel Ahmed, “A walk through a lost treasure: The house of Shaykh al-Sadat al-Wafaâiyya.”  Supervisor: Dr. Bernard O’Kane
• 2018: Luis Castro, “Tropical Mudejar: Mosque-type Chapels in Mexico and their Role in Early Spanish America.” Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Kenney
• 2017: Muhammad Shaaban, “Piety and power: Pious endowments in the Bahrī Mamlūk period, 1250-1382.”  Supervisor: Dr. Nelly Hanna

Established in 1999, in honor of Nadia Niazi Mostafa, to provide an annual cash award to the best thesis presented in the Arabic studies graduate program at AUC with a specialization in Islamic art and architecture. Students should have a minimum grade-point average of 3.2/4. A committee oversees the selection process, and an annual ceremony is held to celebrate the award-winning thesis.

• 2020: Mai Kolkailah, “Hawsh al-Basha: The Royal Cemetery in Cairo.” Supervisor: Dr Bernard O’Kane
• 2019: Amina Karam, “Women, Architecture and Representation in Mamluk Cairo.” Supervisor: Dr Ellen Kenney
• 2018: Mennat-Allah Mohammed el-Mahy, “Istabl Qawṣūn: The History and Reconstruction of an Abandoned palace.” Supervisor: Dr Bernard O’Kane
• 2017: Salma Azzam, “The Seljuks of Anatolia: An Epigraphic Study.” Supervisor: Dr Bernard O’Kane
• 2015: Farah Shoukry, “The Conservation History of the Mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr.” Supervisor: Dr Ellen Kenney
• 2014: Ahmed Hamdy Abdel Azim, “Architectural Jurisprudence: the Relationship between the Four Sunni Schools of Law and Mosque Architecture.” Supervisor: Dr Bernard O’Kane
• 2013: Samaa Mostafa, “Contemporary Mosque Architecture in Turkey.” Supervisor: Dr Bernard O’Kane
• 2012: Ramza El Gammal, “Mamluk carpets.” Supervisor: Dr Bernard O’Kane

Established in 2023 by family members and friends in memory of Mona Abaza '82, professor of sociology. It is awarded to the best master’s thesis on a topic related to one of the various subfields of sociology, critical theory, cultural studies, sociology of literature, urban studies, Cairo studies, or interdisciplinary studies focused on social issues. The award is announced in the Fall commencement.

• 2025 (Inaugural Award): Caroline Benson, “Rethinking Rupture and Continuity: Al-Jarād and Khamāsīn, Two Poetry Magazines of the Egyptian 1990s.” Supervisor: Dr Dina Heshmat

Established in 2003 to fulfill Magda al-Nowaihi's visionary dream of a regional and lasting commitment to the field of gender studies, the award is designed to recognize and honor AUC graduate student theses that focus on gender issues in any discipline. The award is presented in the Spring Graduate commencement.

• 2025: Osama Amer, “Negotiating the Canon: Arab Women Romantic Poets Jamila al-ʿAlayli and Zahra al-Hurr.”  Supervisor: Dr Dina Heshmat

• 2018: Mai Nezar Serhan, “From Text to Screenplay (Gendering the Nation in Mariam Naoum's Literary Adaptations).” Supervisor: Dr Samia Mehrez