The Thanks To Scandinavia Fund from the Benjamin Sperling Bequest to the Hebrew University has endowed scholarships of US $12,000 each in memory of Frances and Benjamin Sperling, for students from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, who wish to pursue graduate studies at the Hebrew University. Founded by Danish entertainer, Victor Borge and New York attorney Richard Netter in 1963, Thanks To Scandinavia provides dozens of scholarships for students from Scandinavia and Bulgaria each year in gratitude for the heroic rescue and protection of Jews in Europe during the Second World War. Recipients are not eligible for any additional Israel-based financial aid. The scholarship is for a single year and is not renewable. A non-refundable application fee of US $80 must be paid to the Rothberg International School by the candidate upon submission of the application form.

The RIS Division of Graduate Studies, established in 1993, functions under the auspices of the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, and the Rothberg International School. The Division offers degree and non-degree options, with seminars and tutorials in Jewish Studies, Jewish Education, Politics and Society of Israel, Islam and the Middle East, Biblical Studies, Comparative Religion, and Community Leadership and Philanthropy Studies. Modern Hebrew language instruction is available at all levels, as are language courses in Biblical Hebrew, Arabic, Yiddish, Greek, Akkadian, and German. Courses and tutorials in the Division are taught in English by members of the Hebrew University faculty and distinguished visitors. These courses are recognized by the Hebrew University as equivalent to courses offered in its departmental degree programs. In addition, students with a sufficient command of Hebrew are encouraged to take graduate courses taught in Hebrew in all the faculties and schools of the Hebrew University, including Science, Medicine and Pharmacy.  

The Graduate Year Program is designed to meet the special needs of qualified graduate students from abroad who wish to spend a year at the Hebrew University, whether they are M.A. or Ph.D. candidates or recent college graduates who have not yet commenced a program of gradu­ate study. While this is not a degree program, a full transcript is provided in order to facilitate the transfer of credit. 

Admission Requirements and Application 

Application deadline: April 1, 2013

 Candidates must apply for a graduate program as well as the fellowship. 

Admission to the Division of Graduate Studies is based on transcripts, letters of recommenda­tion and a statement of purpose. Applicants must have the equivalent of a "B" (3.2) grade average.  

Candidates for the Fellowship should have a B.A. degree or equivalent and wish to spend a year of study within the framework Division of Graduate Studies of the Hebrew University’s of the Rothberg International School (RIS). In addition, candidates must provide proof of citizenship in one of the Scandinavian countries. Students from Scandinavia who have been living in Israel for no more than one calendar year at the time of application may also submit their applications to the Rothberg International School and to the appropriate Scandinavian organization for screening.

Copies of the recommendations for the Scandinavian applicants and all relevant correspondence, as well as the protocol of the Committee's decision on the awards, will be sent to the Executive Director of the Thanks To Scandinavia Fund in New York.