Scholarships for the International Master in Armenian Studies (IMAS)

Since 2010, UNESCO has classified Western Armenian as an endangered language. The IMAS master's program was developed with a view to transmitting the language and Armenian language knowledge specifically to advanced speakers, who are often left out of revitalization policies.

This program reaches a global audience inaccessible by traditional means, with the academic and scientific rigor of a university establishment as its assets, and the networking of participants from different countries through international projects and internships. It is a unique framework enabling experienced Armenian speakers to practice an intellectual and professional activity in Western Armenian in a class of students from all over the world (11 countries currently represented).

This master's degree is part of theArmenian Studies Section of Inalco, the only component in the world outside Armenia to offer a comprehensive training program combining all levels of Eastern and Western Armenian and a wide variety of disciplines (linguistics, ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary history, art history, socio-anthropology, literature, translation, geopolitics), from the first year of the Bachelor's degree to the Doctorate, open to language beginners and experienced speakers alike, and validated by a wide range of research- and professionally-oriented diplomas.

As one of Inalco's founding languages, Armenian has been taught here since 1798. It comes in two standard varieties, Western (spoken by the diaspora) with over 2 million speakers, and Eastern (official language of the Republic of Armenia) represented by over 3 million people.

The IMAS project is led by Anaïd Donabédian-Demopoulos, University Professor, Doctor in Language Sciences (Armenian Linguistics) at INALCO, surrounded by a teaching team

The scholarship

As tuition fees can be an obstacle for some students, a scholarship has been set up by the Foundation. We place the preservation of endangered knowledge at the heart of our priorities. The winners of this scholarship have been chosen following a selection process based on a portfolio operated by Inalco's Armenian Studies section.

The awarding of 11 scholarships has been made possible for 2022-2023 thanks to the support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation with whom a partnership has been concluded.

About the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Founded in 1956, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is one of Europe's largest foundations, headquartered in Lisbon, with branches in Paris and London. Through partnerships, grants and its own programming in Portugal and abroad, it is active in four statutory areas: the arts, education, science and charity.

The Armenian Communities Department awards grants and scholarships focused on education, research and culture, with a particular emphasis on the diaspora and the Western Armenian language. It awards around $1 million in university scholarships each year to Armenian language students and Armenians, reaching nearly 200 people. Its grants reach individuals and organizations in some 30 countries.