Wishing everyone some suitable funding to keep them warm through this funding winter.
A shared document with a contents list and easier searching is here (I’ll keep updating it)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p2yh765tcjydSKNWlQEUgFwT1FLqbDEk3uCJjSXf-Xo/edit?usp=sharing
Intro. Where to Find Archaeology Funding Information
1. Your Department and University Websites
Many universities list programmes students can apply for. Universities also offer small grants to their own students for conferences, fieldwork, language training or visits. Internal programmes have better success rates and straightforward applications, making them suitable for students in their first few years. If your department doesn’t provide this information, try googling “grant + archaeology”; you’ll find ready-made resources from plenty of universities.
2. Archaeological Society Websites
Many society grants are for members, ranging from conference support to long-term research or dissertation writing. Look at societies relevant to your field (even if you aren’t a member, paying a membership fee for the chance of a large grant is worth it).
I’ve done a rough collection: everything included here is open to archaeology students or scholars. Categorising programmes by their detailed information would be far too much work for one person.
So, by completely inadequate typological standards, I’ve roughly divided them into two categories: “Non-dissertation programmes directly related to archaeology” and “Programmes related to doctoral dissertation writing”. The ddl is estimated from previous years’ application dates. Please check the official websites for the latest deadlines.
A. Grant & Fellowships Supporting Archaeology Program
1 Archaeological Institute of America
https://www.archaeological.org/programs/professionals/grants-awards/
1.1 Fellowships
Harriet and Leon Pomerance Fellowship
Est. Deadline: November 1
To support a project relating to Aegean Bronze Age archaeology.
John R. Coleman Traveling Fellowship
Est. Deadline: November 1
To honor the memory of John R. Coleman by supporting travel and study in Italy, the western Mediterranean, or North Africa.
1.2 Grants：
Ellen and Charles Steinmetz Endowment for Archaeology
Est. Deadline: November 1
The Steinmetz Fund will support innovative uses of technology in archaeological research.
Julie Herzig Desnick Endowment for Archaeological Field Surveys
Est. Deadline: November 1
The Herzig Desnick Fund provides grants specifically dedicated to exploratory archaeological field surveys, especially for early stage work.
Kathleen and David Boochever Endowment for Fieldwork and Scientific Analyses
Est. Deadline: November 1
The Boochever Fund will support field and laboratory research.
Richard C. MacDonald Iliad Endowment for Archaeological Research
Est. Deadline: November 1
This grant will be awarded to projects that support research in regions that supply context to the study of Troy and generally help elucidate the Trojan War and its impact on ancient Mediterranean civilization. This can include but is not limited to Anatolia (modern Turkey), southeastern Europe, the Aegean and Crete during the third to first millennia B.C.E.
Site Preservation Grant
Est. Deadline: November 1
The Site Preservation Program provides grants of up to $15,000 to support innovative projects that aid in the preservation of threatened archaeological sites.
1.3 Publication Grants：
Samuel H. Kress Grants for Research and Publication in Classical Art and Architecture – Updated
Est. Deadline: March 1
These grants fund publication preparation, or research leading to publication, undertaken by professional members of the AIA.
The AIA Publication Subvention Program – Updated
Est. Deadline: March 1
This program offers subventions from the AIA’s von Bothmer Publication Fund in support of new book-length publications in the field of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan archaeology and art history.
1.4 Scholarships & Travel Grants
Anna Marguerite McCann Diversity Student Travel Grants – New
Est. Deadline: November 15
These grants are meant to assist undergraduate or graduate students who qualify under the category of “underrepresented minority” with their travel expenses to attend the AIA Annual Meeting.
Elizabeth Bartman Museum Internship
Est. Deadline: April 1
A scholarship established in honor of AIA Honorary President Elizabeth Bartman to assist graduate students or those who have recently completed a master’s degree with the expenses associated with participating in a museum internship either in the United States or abroad.
Graduate Student Travel Award
Est. Deadline: December 2
These grants are to assist graduate students presenting papers at the AIA Annual Meeting with their travel expenses.
Jane C. Waldbaum Archaeological Field School Scholarship
Est. Deadline: March 1
A scholarship established in honor of AIA Honorary President Jane C. Waldbaum to assist students with the expenses associated with participation in archaeological field schools
2 National Endowment for the Humanities
2.1 Summer Stipends
The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Summer Stipends program aims to stimulate new research in the humanities and its publication. The program works to accomplish this goal by:
Providing small awards to individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both.
Supporting projects at any stage of development, but especially early-stage research and late-stage writing in which small awards are most effective.
Funding a wide range of individuals, including independent scholars, community college faculty, and non-teaching staff at universities.
Est. Deadline: September 20
https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/summer-stipends
2.2 Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research
The Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research program makes awards to institutions and organizations conducting empirical field research to answer significant questions in the humanities. Archaeology and ethnography are important methodologies utilized by many disciplines across the humanities and social sciences that provide observational and experiential data on human history and culture.
https://www.neh.gov/program/archaeological-and-ethnographic-field-research
Est. Deadline: September 28
3 The Leakey Foundation exclusively funds research related to human origins.
Paleoanthropology of the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene
Primates: Evolution, behavior, morphology, ecology, endocrinology, genetics, isotope studies
Modern hunter-gatherer groups
https://leakeyfoundation.org/grants
4 American Anthropological Association
4.1 Resident Scholar Fellowship
Resident scholar fellowships are awarded annually by the School for Advanced Research (SAR) to up to six scholars who have completed their research and who need time to prepare manuscripts or dissertations on topics important to the understanding of humankind. Resident scholars may approach their research from the perspective of anthropology or from related fields such as history and sociology. Scholars from the humanities and social sciences are encouraged to apply.
Est. Deadline: first Monday in November each year
https://sarweb.org/scholars/resident/
4.2 The Cohen Family AAA Fellowship
The fellowship is open to students enrolled as an undergraduate in an American college or university and accepted to participate on an AAA affiliated excavation project.
Applicants must be majoring in archaeology or a related discipline or able to demonstrate an intention to declare such a major field of study. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. The committee will consider both past academic achievement and potential for contribution to the field of archaeology as criteria for selection.
Est. Deadline: May 15
https://www.americanarchaeologyabroad.org/scholarships
5 Society for American Archaeology
https://saa.org/career-practice/Scholarships-and-Grants
5.1 H. and T. King Grants for Archaeology of the Ancient Americas
The H. and T. King Grant for Archaeology of the Ancient Americas, administered by the Society for American Archaeology, supports archaeological projects across Latin America (exclusive of the US) that show promise for transformative contributions to the understanding of the indigenous cultures from Mesoamerica, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
Est. Deadline: November 16, at 11:59 a.m. Eastern Time.
5.2 Jane C. Waldbaum Archaeological Field School Scholarship
This scholarship is intended to help students who are planning to participate in archaeological field work for the first time. Students majoring in archaeology or related disciplines are especially encouraged to apply. The Scholarship Fund provides $1000 each to help pay expenses associated with participation in an archaeological field work project (minimum stay one month/4 weeks).
Eligibility:
The scholarship is open to students who have begun their junior year of undergraduate studies at the time of application and have not yet completed their first year of graduate school at a college or university in the United States or Canada.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old and must not have previously participated in archaeological field work of any kind. The committee will consider both academic achievement and financial need in its deliberations.
Est. Deadline: March 1 (by 12:00 midnight EST)
https://www.archaeological.org/grant/waldbaum-scholarship/
6 Colonial Williamsburg Research Fellowships
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is pleased to invite applications for a range of short-term residential fellowships. Fellowships are an important component of the work of the Education, Research and Historical Interpretation Division at Colonial Williamsburg.
Eligibility:
Fellowships primarily support research on topics related to Early America, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Virginia, the histories of marginalized people, and the history of Colonial Williamsburg, all broadly defined. Scholars in the fields of history, African American Studies, Women’s Studies, American Studies, anthropology, and other allied fields are encouraged to apply.
Est. Deadline: July 16
https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/research-and-education/fellowships
7 Rust Family Foundation Archaeology Grants Program
The Foundation is principally interested in funding the development of primary archaeological evidence that can help answer major questions about cultural development throughout the world. Funding can be requested up to $10,000, although the majority of grants are made in the range of $5,000-$7,000 and are intended to support small but worthy projects. These include initial field seasons, specific components of larger projects, post-excavation analysis, processing and publication, as well as conservation and preservation projects.
Est. Deadline: January 31
https://rfamfound1.org/RFFarchint.html
8 Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research
Eligibility: Grants will be available to doctoral students. Foreign applicants must either be based at a U.S. institution or plan to carry out their work in the United States.
The Lewis and Clark Fund encourages 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, anthropology, biology, ecology, geography, geology, linguistics, paleontology, and population genetics, but grants will not be restricted to these fields.
Est. Deadlines: November 15, for applications; letters of support due November 10;
https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/lewis-and-clark-fund-exploration-and-field-research
9 CURTISS T. & MARY G. BRENNAN FOUNDATION
Supports archaeological field research (excavations) to max $5,000 in early civilizations in the Mediterranean (including the Bronze Age and earlier of Egypt, Anatolia, the Levant, Near East, Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Italy, and the Aegean) and Andean South America. The applications may be made throughout the year.
Eligibility: Application must be made by the sponsoring institution through the principal investigator. The principal investigator must hold a Ph.D or equivalent. Grants are not available for dissertation research.
Est. Deadlines of April 15 and October 15.
http://www.brennanfoundation.org/index.html
10 Council of American Overseas Research Centers
American citizen only
11 American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)
GRANTS FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECTS
Providing funding grants and fellowships that allow individuals to participate in excavations in the Eastern Mediterranean.
12 Japan Foundation Grants for Japanese Studies
Projects must be in the humanities, social sciences, and/or comparative research
This program provides support to outstanding scholars, researchers, and professionals in the field by offering the opportunity to conduct research in Japan.
11:59pm EST on Friday, December 1
13 American Association of University Women; International Fellowship
Women pursuing full-time graduate or postdoctoral study in the United States; not U.S. citizens or permanent residents; intend to return to their home country to pursue a professional career.
Applicants must have earned the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree by the application Est. Deadline and must have applied to their proposed institutions of study by the time of the application.
A limited number of awards are available for study outside of the U.S. (excluding the applicant’s home country) to women who are members of Graduate Women International (see the list of GWI affiliates). Both graduate and postgraduate studies at accredited U.S. institutions are supported.
Funding: $20,000–$50,000
Opens: September 3
Est. Deadline: November 15
https://www.aauw.org/resources/programs/fellowships-grants/international
14 Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies
Everyone as long as you are pursuing a PhD in the humanities or social sciences.
New grant competitions:
Travel grants for graduate students and contingent faculty or non-tenured faculty at any career stage. Grants are $5,000 for travel at any time during a 12-month period.
Collaborative grants to implement pilot programs or develop resources in response to pressing challenges in the field. Coming soon!
Continuing fellowship competitions:
Flexible, short-term fellowships for early career scholars.
Long-term research fellowships for early career scholars that will enable recent PhDs (without tenure and within eight years of the PhD) to take leaves from university responsibilities for four to nine months to carry out research and writing towards a scholarly text. The minimum stipend is $20,000 and the maximum is $45,000.
B. Dissertation Writing and Post-graduate Grant & Fellowship
1 Matthew Tobin Cappetta Archaeological Scholarship Endowment
Opens for applications on October 1
Donations to this endowment support a scholarship that covers tuition, required fees, and books or course materials for one or more graduate students (Master’s or Ph.D) to help them complete a graduate degree in archaeology or anthropology in memory of Matthew Tobin Cappetta.
2 The Ofer Bar-Yosef Scholarship for Advanced Doctoral Students in Old World Prehistory
Opens for applications on October 1
The Ofer Bar-Yosef Scholarship acknowledges and supports excellence among advanced graduate students pursuing a doctoral degree on some facet of prehistoric archaeology in the Old World. The scholarship is intended for students who have already completed their coursework and all other requirements for the doctoral degree except the dissertation itself (research and/or writing).
The Ofer Bar-Yosef Scholarship is given specifically to facilitate completion of the applicant’s doctoral degree. The scholarship is open to students whose research focuses on Paleolithic, Mesolithic, or Neolithic archaeology (or their broadly equivalent temporal or cultural manifestations) in Europe, Asia, Africa, or Australia. The goal is to help promising advanced students to produce superlative dissertations in these fields.
3 Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Fellowship
Doctoral candidates who are non-ROC citizens and who are enrolled in an accredited university in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, or South America may apply for financial support for writing dissertations in the field of Chinese Studies in the humanities and social sciences.
Citizens of the ROC should apply for Dissertation Fellowships for ROC Students Abroad.Applicants should have completed all other requirements for their Ph.D. degree, and must be in the last year of their doctoral program. In principle, applicants may only apply one time. The maximum amount for each award is US$20,000, which is given for a period extending to one year. Successful candidates are expected to complete their dissertations by the end of the grant period. Funding for successful applications will be provided in two installments (July and January). The completed thesis should be submitted to the Foundation when the project is finished.
Est. Deadline: October 15
http://www.cckf.org/en/programs/american/doctoral-fellowships
4 Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship
Foreign Citizens that are enrolled in a doctoral program at an American University in the United States and have completed all pre-dissertation requirements.Newcombe Fellows receive $31,000 for 12 months of full-time dissertation writing. (No half-year or partial awards are allowed.)
20 non-renewable fellowships of $31,000 will be awarded in the spring of 2024.
Fellows’ graduate schools will be asked to waive tuition and fees while maintaining health insurance for Newcombe Fellows.
Fellows become part of a network of more than 1,300 Newcombe Fellows leading the way in their various fields.
Est. Deadline: November 15
5 LAURA BASSISCHOLARSHIP
The scholarships are open to every discipline and are awarded three times per year: December, April, and August. The value of the scholarship is remitted solely through editorial assistance as follows:
Master’s candidates: $750
Doctoral candidates: $2,500
Junior academics: $500
Eligibility: All currently enrolled master’s and doctoral candidates are eligible to apply, as are academics in the first five years of full-time employment. There are no institutional, departmental, or national restrictions.
Est. Deadlines
Spring 2023 Est. Deadline: 31 March 2023; Results: 12 April 2023
Summer 2023 Est. Deadline: 31 July 2023(Extended.); Results: 14 August 2023
Winter 2023 Est. Deadline: 30 November 2023; Results: 11 December 2023
6 Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research
https://wennergren.org/grants-fellowships
Dissertation Fieldwork Grant
Post-PhD Research Grant
Application Est. Deadlines are May 1 (for project start dates between January 1 and June 30 of the following year) and November 1 (for project start dates between July 1 and December 31 of the following year). The application portal opens 2 months before the Est. Deadline. It takes us 6 months to complete the review process and arrive at a final decision.
Conference and Workshop Grant
The June 1 Est. Deadline is for conferences and workshops to be held no earlier than January 1 of the following year. The December 1 Est. Deadline is for conferences and workshops to be held no earlier than July 1 of the following year.
Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship
The application Est. Deadline is May 1 for fellowships beginning between January 1 and December 31 of the following year.
7 Postgraduate opportunities in archaeology
https://archpostgrad.wordpress.com
8 National Science Foundation
Archaeology Program – Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (Arch-DDRIG)
Supports doctoral laboratory and field research on archaeologically relevant topics, with the goal of increasing anthropologically focused understanding of the past.
Full Proposal Accepted Anytime
Archaeology Program Senior Research Awards (Arch-SR)
Supports archaeological laboratory and field research with the goal of understanding the processes that have shaped past behavior in humans and their fossil relatives.
December 1
Archaeometry (AMTRY)
Supports the development and refinement of techniques and the provision of laboratory services to analyze archaeological specimens and the development of basic infrastructure for archaeological research.
December 1
9 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships
The Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship program is designed to support emerging scholars as they pursue bold and innovative research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences. The program is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
The program will make awards to doctoral students who show promise of leading their fields in important new directions. The fellowships are designed to intervene at the formative stage of dissertation development, before writing is advanced, and provide time and support for emerging scholars’ innovative approaches to dissertation research – practical, trans- or interdisciplinary, collaborative, critical, or methodological. The program seeks to expand the range of research methodologies, formats, and areas of inquiry traditionally considered suitable for the dissertation, with a particular focus on supporting scholars who can build a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable academy.
October 25, 9pm EDT
10 Weatherhead Fellowship
Faculty and postdoctoral applicants must possess a PhD at the time of enrollment, and all applicants must agree to be in residence for a minimum of four months (at least three of these during the academic year). They should be able to secure their own funding from sabbatical salary or external grants. In addition to paying their own living expenses, participants may be assessed a program administrative fee. There will, however, be some funding for a small number of postdoctoral fellows.
Two nine-month residential fellowships are available for scholars working in the humanities or social sciences. Scholars with doctorates who plan to write their books and PhD candidates who plan to write their dissertations are eligible. Fellows receive a stipend ($40,000 for doctoral level scholars and $35,000 for PhD candidates) in addition to low-cost housing and free office space on the SAR campus. This fellowship is made possible through the generous support of the Weatherhead Foundation.
https://wcfia.harvard.edu/funding/weatherhead-scholars-program
11 Mabelle McLeod Lewis Memorial Fund Dissertation Completion Awards
The Mabelle McLeod Lewis Memorial Fund provides awards directly to advanced doctoral candidates in the humanistic disciplines pursuing a PhD degree from one of the following institutions: UC-Berkeley, UC-Davis, UC-Santa Cruz or Stanford University. These dissertation grants are awarded to bring about the completion of a scholarly dissertation project at the end of the grant period. The award amount is approximately $38,000 disbursed in 2 installments.
A principal purpose of the award is to permit the grantee to devote full-time to the completion of the dissertation. Grantees may not hold any other award or fellowship simultaneously with the Mabelle McLeod Lewis grant except in the form of direct grants from their university for tuition or other benefits which do not require the performance of services.
Est. Deadline: Jan 21
https://academicprogramsonline.org/ajo/award/28991
12 Paloheimo Foundation Fellowship
One nine-month residential fellowship created to honor the legacy of the three women of the Acequia Madre House, Eva Scott Fényes, Leonora Scott Muse Curtin, and Leonora Curtin Paloheimo, is available for scholars working in the humanities or social sciences. PhD candidates who plan to write their dissertations are eligible. Fellows receive a stipend of $35,000 in addition to low-cost housing and free office space on the SAR campus.
https://sarweb.org/scholars/resident/paloheimo-foundation-fellowship/
13 The East and Inner Asia Council of the AAS
(EIAC; formerly the China and Inner Asia Council [CIAC]) makes small grant awards of up to $2,000. Dissertation-level graduate students and scholars with special interests in China, Taiwan, or Inner Asia are invited to submit proposals.
October 2
