Media
Press
Selected press coverage, institutional recognition, and media appearances.
Dissertations: October 2025
Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences announces the completion of Dr. Ilona Gerbakher's doctoral dissertation, The Abyss of the Dream: Interpretation and Authority in Medieval Sufism.
Read ArticleIlona Gerbakher Receives 2020–2021 Fulbright Award
The Columbia Religion Department announces that Ilona Gerbakher has won the Fulbright Research Award to Morocco for ethnographic fieldwork on her dissertation, 'Medieval Texts, Modern Tellings: Medieval Sufi Handbooks and the Formation of the Moroccan Sufi Self.'
Read ArticleTwo Toddlers, 12 Duffel Bags, and a New Life in Guangzhou
Dr. Ilona Stricof writes about uprooting her family of four from suburban Florida to Guangzhou, China, and why the boldest decisions lead to the most rewarding experiences.
Read ArticleNew Addition to the Pine Crest Community: Ilona Gerbakher and Her Intellectual Curiosities
The Pine Crest School student newspaper profiles Mrs. Gerbakher, exploring how her Middle Eastern education informs her AP World History classroom.
Read ArticleThe Power of Second Chances
A feature profile on Ilona Gerbakher's journey from a straight-F high school student in Sherman Oaks to a Columbia PhD candidate — and why community college was the turning point. "Like fuel in a rocket, a lot of what I am today, it happened at SMC."
Read ArticleBruin to Present Research About Women in Islamic Law to Congress
Fourth-year MENA studies student Ilona Gerbakher will present her senior honors thesis on female intellect in Islamic law to the United States Congress.
Read ArticleUCLA Students Work to Save the Islamic Studies Program
Ilona Gerbakher leads a student campaign to save UCLA's Islamic Studies program, founding a Facebook group with over 200 members and a petition with 138 signatures.
Read ArticleIslamic Studies Program Likely to Reopen for 2011–2012 Academic Year
Following the student campaign led by Ilona Gerbakher, UCLA's Islamic Studies program announces it will reopen.
Read ArticleAwards & Fellowships
Fulbright Research Award, Morocco (2020)
Harvard Divinity School Presidential Scholarship (2011)
UCLA Chancellor's Award for Academic Excellence and Student Leadership (2011)
UCLA Honors Program Barbara Ladd Gates Award for Intellectual Accomplishment (2011)
UCLA Dean's Prize for Research (2011)
UCLA Research Scholar (2010)
Area Studies Fellowship — Arabic (2016)
Qasid Arabic Scholarship (2016 & 2013)
Georgetown-Qatar Arabic Fellowship (2013)
Critical Language Scholarship (2013)
Harvard Conference Grant (2013)
Critical Language Scholarship Alumni Development Grant (2013)
Columbia Dean's Fellowship — highest honor for entering graduate students (2015)