Financial Aid
Anthropology and the Graduate School offer several opportunities for financial aid. These opportunities are described in the following sections. For additional information see the Graduate School financial aid web page.
Graduate Assistantships
Graduate Assistantships (GA) are available from Anthropology, individual faculty with grants, and the Center for Archaeological Investigations (CAI). The CAI cooperates with the Anthropolgy in identifying eligible students. Other units on campus (such as Morris Library) also offer GA support. Assistantships are assigned for teaching, administrative, and research support.
Graduate Assistantships provide employment from August 16 to December 31 for the Fall semester; from January 1 to May 15 for the Spring semester; and from June 15 to August 15 for the Summer semester. The amount of work-time required of a Graduate Assistant is 20 hours for every week during which the University is in session, based on a 50% appointment. The staff member supervising each student will determine the duties and schedule of work-hours.
Graduate Assistantships are awarded by the Graduate Studies Committee according to the student's academic performance and satisfactory progress to degree. Highest priority are students with the highest quality graduate academic performance (based on several criteria). Priority may also be given to students with specific skills necessary either for teaching or research projects. Other information may be considered as well. In general, preference in funding is given to doctoral students over those in the MA program.
Federal Work-Study Graduate Assistantships are based on financial need as determined from the FAFSA application forms, by the Graduate School.
International students seeking a Graduate Assistantship must satisfy the requirements for employment eligibility specified in the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Form I-9, available from the Anthropology main office. International students seeking a Graduate Assistantship specifically to serve as a teaching assistant must also satisfy University requirements for English Language proficiency, as described in the University Bulletin.
Students interested in a Graduate Assistantship with Anthropology or the CAI must complete the financial aid form in the application materials.
Graduate Fellowships
Graduate Fellowships and Scholarships are awarded competitively each spring by the Graduate School of the University. These are described on the Graduate School website and include (see Graduate School for complete listing):
- the prestigious Morris Doctoral Fellowship (5-year)
- Master's fellowships (1 year)
- Doctoral fellowships (1 year)
- Prompt fellowships (2 year)
- Graduate Dean's fellowships (2 year)
- Graduate Tuition Scholarship (1 semester)
- Native American Scholarship ($1000-$1500 award)
Not all fellowship competitions are open to all students. Students can apply directly to the Graduate School for Prompt and Graduate Dean's fellowships and scholarships.. For all others, the Anthropology Graduate Studies Committee reviews all students' records and identifies those students eligible for further consideration. The potential nominees and Anthropology assemble complete application files, and the Graduate Studies Committee ranks the students for final nomination in each competition.
Dissertation Research Awards
Dissertation Research Awards are also granted competitively to support students expected to complete the dissertation within the one-year tenure of the award. Anthropology ordinarily cannot consider further requests for financial aid from students after they have received a Dissertation Research Award.
Other Funding Sources
Other sources of financial aid may be available, including Assistantships awarded by other programs on campus. It is the student's responsibility to explore these possibilities through the appropriate offices on campus. Anthropology does not administer any of these programs, but the student is asked to notify the Director of Graduate Studies whenever financial aid is received from such outside sources.