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VATAT Doctoral & Post-doctoral Scholarships (diversity populations)
Applications closedPhDThe Ethiopian-specific track was abolished. Since 20.3.2024 Ethiopian-Israelis are one of several eligible diversity groups in a single merged programme — and applications go through your institution only, never directly.
What happened to the Ethiopian-specific track?
It was abolished. A VATAT decision of 20.3.2024 merged the separate programmes — for Arab society, Haredi society, Ethiopian-Israelis, and the Levtzion scholarship — into one. Ethiopian-Israelis are now one of several eligible "diversity populations" groups, not a separate target population with its own quota.
In practice: if you find a university page still describing a separate "VATAT scholarship for Ethiopian-Israelis", that page has not been updated since the merger. Do not rely on it.
The two tracks that exist today
Doctoral
Full title: "VATAT scholarship programme for outstanding doctoral students from diversity populations and the socio-economic periphery (replacing the separate programmes for Arab society, Haredi society, Ethiopian-Israelis, and the Levtzion scholarship)".
- About ₪62,200 a year, for three years — ₪52,200 from VATAT plus ₪10,000 from the institution
- Plus ₪10,000 a year for research expenses
- Up to 37 scholarships
Post-doctoral
- $36,000 a year (2025-26 prices), for two years
- Up to 19 scholarships
Source: VATAT — outstanding doctoral students scholarship programme · verified September 2026. Source: VATAT — post-doctoral scholarships · verified September 2026.
How to apply — not through a form
This is the single most useful thing to know. The call states explicitly: "Method of application: through the institutions only". You cannot submit a candidacy yourself.
What you do instead: contact the research-students authority or the rector's office at the institution where you study, find out who there handles the VATAT submission, and apply through them. If you are only now being accepted to a doctorate, raise it in your admission conversation.
Final date for institutions to submit candidacies – 01.06.2026. Your institution needs your materials well before that date, so do not start in June.