The Jeremy R. Azrael Scholarship

Thanks to the generosity of donors, the Jeremy R. Azrael Scholarship is awarded each year to an exemplary first-year Ph.D. student from a former Soviet state.

The award is named in memory of Jeremy Azrael, a long-time RAND political scientist and expert on Russia and Eurasia who devoted his career to promoting better understanding between the United States and the former Soviet Union. The RAND Business Leaders Forum that Azrael established in 1997 brought together Russian, European, and American executives and political leaders for regular exchanges twice a year.

After Azrael passed away in 2009, a group of his friends and colleagues established this scholarship as another lasting legacy to his life's work. Through the award, Pardee RAND is privileged to add important global perspectives to its classes of future policy leaders.

Who Is Eligible?

This scholarship is available to citizens from these independent post-Soviet states:

To be considered for this honor, students must hold a bachelor's degree or higher and receive a score of 100 or higher on the TOEFL exam. No additional application is required.

Recent Azrael Scholarship Recipients

Khrystyna Holynska

Khrystyna Holynska (cohort '20) received an MBA+MBAI in business administration, artificial intelligence and data analytics from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) and a Ph.D. in political science from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She is a visiting professor of public policy and governance at KSE and, prior to joining Pardee RAND, she headed the defense and security policy research startup KSE StratBase.

Gursel Aliyev

Gursel Aliyev (cohort '13) holds an M.A. in economics from Northeastern University and a B.A. in international economic relations from Azerbaijan State Economic University. Prior to joining Pardee RAND, Aliyev was the country director for Azerbaijan's Caucasus Research Resource Center, an organization that promotes evidence-based policymaking and builds the capacity of social science researchers in the South Caucasus. His interests include survey research, modeling, and game theory. He completed his Pardee RAND Ph.D. in policy analysis in 2020.

Aziza Arifkhanova

Aziza Arifkhanova (cohort '12) graduated summa cum laude from Florida State University with a dual degree in economics and international affairs. She also earned her master's degree in economics from Florida State University and studied in the Kiel Institute's Advanced Studies Program in International Economic Policy Research in Germany. She completed her Pardee RAND Ph.D. in policy analysis in 2017.

Olena Bogdan

Olena Bogdan (cohort '12) graduated with honors from Kyiv's National Aviation University with a B.A. in international relations, and then earned her M.A. in economic analysis from the Kyiv School of Economics and the University of Houston. She completed her Pardee RAND Ph.D in policy analysis in 2017.