Travel/Research Funding

Conference/Meeting Funding

Each semester AMEC solicits applications from graduate students for funding to attend a national or international meeting, once in the summer (for late summer/ fall conferences) and once in the fall (early summer/ spring conferences). The Department Head will send out a request for students to submit a Graduate Student Travel Support Request (hyperlink to PDF on forms page).

Each Department is allowed to nominate two graduate students for travel funding from the College of Arts and Sciences (Graduate Student Travel Support (CAS/GSTS)) and the Graduate School (TAGGS) each cycle (late summer/ fall; early summer/ spring). Therefore, from the pool of students who submitted a Graduate Student Travel Support Request for that cycle, AMEC will nominate two students for CAS/GSTS and/or TAGGS funding. 

Please note that you cannot apply for either of these travel grants, in either cycle, without departmental approval.

Research Funding

AMEC students, especially graduate students in Applied Anthropology, are encouraged to look over the following list and brief descriptions of research funding opportunities. You may discuss any of these with your major professor or with Dr. Hoffman if you have not yet chosen a major professor. We strongly encourage students to seek outside funding for research, as it benefits the department and adds to a student's CV.

American Association of University Women (AAUW) International Fellowships for Women. AAUW has a long and distinguished history of advancing educational and professional opportunities for women in the United States and around the globe. One of the world's largest sources of funding for graduate women, AAUW provides large numbers of fellowships and grants to outstanding women each year. Please visit www.aauw.org/what-we-do/educational-funding-and-awards/ for more information.

National Geographic Society Young Explorers Grant. The National Geographic Society supports field research by archaeology and anthropology students. See http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/grants-programs/young-explorers/

NSF GRFP (Graduate Research Fellowship Program). Early stage Master's students in Archeology, Cultural Anthro and Medical Anthro are eligible to apply to the NSF GRFP (Graduate Research Fellowship Program): http://nsfgrfp.org/ and http://nsfgrfp.org/how_to_apply
NOTE: Must be done within first 12 months, so apply early!

National Science Foundation short-term summer courses. April 1 is the deadline for NSF's three-week summer training program in research design for cultural anthropology (for graduate students). Details on the Methods Mall, at http://www.qualquant.net/training/.

The Geological Society of America, Archaeological Geology Division, annually offers the Claude C. Albritton, Jr. Scholarship. This scholarship supports field and/or laboratory research for a graduate student pursuing a Masters or Doctoral degree. The research must "involve interdisciplinary archaeology-earth sciences concepts and methods. Specific disciplines/subdisciplines and geographic areas are open, but can include geomorphology, pedology, sedimentology, archaeometry, stratigraphy, paleontology, zooarchaeology, and archaeological materials and characterization". [Note: this is ideal for using the Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer here at MSU, for example; radiocarbon and other dating also is supported]. Any student enrolled in the archaeology/bioarchaeology track is eligible. Awards are up to $650. Proposals are due by March 1 every year. Follow the link for information on applying: https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/grants/division.aspx.

The Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research, sponsored by the American Philosophical Society, supports "exploratory field studies for the collection of specimens and data and to provide the imaginative stimulus that accompanies direct observation. Applications are invited from disciplines with a large dependence on field studies, such as archaeology and anthropology." Grants are available for graduate students "who wish to participate in field studies for their theses or for other purposes." Awards are to support travel, and range from "several hundred dollars" to $5,000. There is no deadline for application. The applications are on-line at http://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/lewisandclark.

Society of Ethnobiology. The Society of Ethnobiology offers awards recognizing student achievements in the field of ethnobiology. These include the Barbara Lawrence Award for Best Student Paper, the Best Ethnobiology Poster Award, and an Undergraduate Ethnobiologist Award. See http://www.ethnobiology.org/awards for details.