We understand that field school tuition can be a significant expense for students. To help, the IFR offers many scholarships. Last year, we awarded over $100,000 to students to attend our field schools. In addition, we have aggregated links and short descriptions of grants and scholarships available to students from external organizations. To be considered for an IFR scholarship, you must have first completed and submitted your field school application and have been admitted to an IFR field school before the scholarship deadline. Previous IFR scholarship winners cannot apply for the same scholarship they were awarded but are eligible for consideration for all other IFR scholarships.

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Vera Campbell Promise Scholarship

Deadline: March 27th, 2020, at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time).

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IFR SAA Meeting Travel Scholarship for Undergraduates

Deadline: February 1, 2020

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China: Yangguanzhai Field School Scholarship

Deadline: February 28th, 2020, at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time).

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Indigenous Student Scholarship for Puebloan Rebels Field School

Deadline: February 28th, 2020, at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time).

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IFR Military Veteran Scholarship

Deadline: February 28, 2020, at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time).

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IFR Possibility Scholarship

Deadline: February 28, 2020, at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time).

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Ireland: Birr (Full Session) Scholarship

Deadline: March 13th, 2020, at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time).

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Ireland: Birr (Short Session) Scholarship

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Ireland: Experimental Archaeology (Summer 2020) Scholarship

Deadline: March 13th, 2020, at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time).

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Ireland: Ferrycarring (Summer 2020) Scholarship

Deadline: March 13th, 2020, at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time).

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US-CA: La Brea Tar Pits Housing Scholarship

Deadline: February 28, 2020, at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time).

Funding Search Engines & Directories

NAFSA Financial Aid for Study Abroad Students

NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, has put together an extensive page with federal, state and private grants that support a variety of study abroad program types.

Institute for International Education Study Abroad Funding Directory

The Institute for International Education created a searchable directory that features detailed descriptions of hundreds of study abroad scholarships, fellowships, grants, and paid internships for U.S. undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, and professionals.

Maryville University: Scholarships and College Guide for Native American Students

Maryville University has written a blog compiling information on various scholarships for Native Americans, specifically for educational opportunities.

External Scholarships

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program

The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards for undergraduate study abroad.  This scholarship provides awards for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding to participate in study abroad programs worldwide.  The program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go by supporting undergraduates who might otherwise not participate due to financial constraints.  Over 2,300 scholarships of up to $5,000 will be awarded this academic year. Award amounts will vary depending on the length of study and student need with the average award being approximately $4,000.

Application deadlines: Spring- April 15, Summer- October 3 and March 6, Fall- March 6.

The Gilman McCain

The U.S. Department of State is proud to announce the Gilman-McCain Scholarship, a congressionally funded initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Department of State and named after the late senator John S. McCain from Arizona. With the support of the U.S. Congress, this scholarship honors the Senator’s legacy of public service by enabling children of active duty military to develop the leadership and career readiness skills and global perspective to pursue careers of service and contribute to preserving the principles and alliances that are critical to an international order based on the rule of law, human rights, and democracy.
The Gilman-McCain Scholarship provides awards of $5,000 for child dependents of active duty service members to study or intern abroad on credit-bearing programs. Developed under the framework of the State Department’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, the John McCain International Scholarship for the Children of Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship) is open to eligible students enrolled at accredited U.S. colleges and universities who receive any type of Title IV federal financial aid.

Jane C. Waldbaum Archaeological Field School Scholarship

Established in honor of AIA Past President Jane Waldbaum, 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 for up to seven successful applicants to help pay expenses associated with participation in an archaeological field work project (minimum stay one month). 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. The committee will consider both academic achievement and financial need in its deliberations. Application deadline: March 1.

American Philological Association (APA)/Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)

Comprehensive listing with multiple scholarships/fellowships available for students pursuing education in Classical studies. Many opportunities for funding travel and excavation for both graduate and undergraduate students.

Sacramento Archaeological Society, Inc. Student Scholarship Site

Scholarships will be considered in archaeology and related fields for undergraduate and graduate students.  Scholarships may be awarded for participation in a field school and/or tuition for a field school.

American Schools for Oriental Research (ASOR) Scholarships

ASOR has renewed its emphasis on providing excavation grants and fellowships that allows individuals to participate in excavations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Since 2007, ASOR has awarded 146 total scholarships for excavations through the HarrisPlatt, and Heritage Fellowships.  Students are eligible to apply only if their home university is an official ASOR institutional member (click here for a list of ASOR institutional members).

UCLA Cotsen Undergraduate Research Fellowship (for UCLA Students only)

The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA will award approximately 25 fellowships for $1000 each to UCLA undergraduate students in good standing to work on an archaeological project with a UCLA professor (China-YGZ, Ethiopia-Shire, Greece-Methone, Philippines – Ifugao, Tunisia-Zita).  Students will be evaluated based upon overall academic excellence and commitment to scientific field research.  Students from any UCLA department are eligible.  Students not preparing for a career in archaeology are urged to apply.  The fellowship holder is expected to use the fellowship to defray costs to attend an off-campus research project with a UCLA professor, but some exceptions to the off-campus rule may be permitted. Application deadline: April 30.

UCLA Frey Scholarship for Civic Engagement Research or Language Study

This fellowship supports research projects, internships or language study in any field of Jewish studies for UCLA undergraduate students. Up to $3,000 per summer or quarter.  UCLA students participating in IFR field schools in Israel, or projects related to Jewish history, may be eligible to apply.

Israel Studies Undergraduate Student Research Grant

This grant is for UCLA undergraduate students who are seeking to conduct research in Israel Studies during the academic year or the summer. The Center welcomes fellowship applications from undergraduate students in a wide range of disciplines, including, but not limited to history, political science, economics, sociology, literature, visual and performing arts, management, engineering, law, public health, environment and sustainability. Awards amount: $500-$1,500. Applications Accepted Beginning: March 14, 2018,
Applications Due: April 13, 2018, Applicants Notified By: April 30, 2018.

Israel Studies Graduate Student Research Fellowships

This grant is for UCLA graduate students who are seeking to conduct research in Israel Studies during the academic year or the summer. The Center welcomes fellowship applications from graduate students in a wide range of disciplines, including, but not limited to history, political science, economics, sociology, literature, visual and performing arts, management, engineering, law, public health, environment and sustainability. Awards amount: $2,500-$7,500. Applications Accepted Beginning: March 14, 2018, Applications Due: April 13, 2018, Applicants Notified By: April 30, 2018.

Biblical Archaeology Society Scholarships

Biblical Archaeology Society offers scholarships of $1,500 each year to a few people who would otherwise not be able to volunteer at an archaeological excavation. Application deadline: March 14.

Mark Twain Travel Awards

The Mark Twain Awards for Travel support deserving students who wish to enrich their education through exposure to people and places they would otherwise not encounter. Once awarded, the funds are unrestricted and can be used towards any local or international travel of any duration. Prizes range between $500-$2,500. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early submissions are strongly encouraged.

Fund for Education Abroad

Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents currently enrolled as undergraduates in US universities/colleges and who plan to study abroad for at least four weeks.  Awards are up to $10,000.  Look at the “Dedicated Scholarships” as well to see if you may be eligible to those specific awards. Application deadline: January 17.

Go Overseas Study Abroad Scholarship

Go Overseas Scholarships are available to any student currently enrolled in an American institution who wants to study or intern abroad. Application deadline: September 1.

Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship

The Fulbright – National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship is a new component of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program that provides opportunities for U.S. citizens to participate in an academic year of overseas travel and digital storytelling in up to three countries on a globally significant social or environmental topic. Application deadline: October 6.

American Center for Oriental Research Jordan

The American Center for Oriental Research in Jordan (ACOR) offers a number of modest fellowships, including the de Vries FellowshipGroot Memorial FellowshipHarrell FellowshipMacDonald & Sampson Fellowship and the Russell Fellowship. These are funded from ACOR’s own endowments, including some for US and Canadian undergraduate students attending field schools in Jordan.

The Esherick-Ye Family Foundation

The Esherick-Ye Family Foundation has just been established as an IRS 501(c)3 corporation to support small grants of up to $5,000 for projects in modern Chinese economic, social, and political history or Chinese archaeology. The foundation expect to offer at most four or five grants. Grants will support travel to China for research or field work. Grants are available for undergraduate and graduate students as well as untenured faculty in archaeology.

The Classical Association of the Middle West and South Award

CAMWS will be awarding three $2,000 scholarships, for summer, to fund participants in summer excavations or field schools at an archaeological site in the Greco-Roman world. Generally, one award will be made to a graduate student and another to an undergraduate, but teachers are also eligible for this award. Professional archaeologists are not eligible. The deadline to apply is February 15.

The Leaky Foundation Grant

The Leakey Foundation awards over $800,000 in grants annually through its two granting programs. Current specific funding priorities include:

  • Paleoanthropology of the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene.
  • Primates (Old and New World): Evolution, behavior, morphology, ecology, endocrinology, genetics, isotope studies, and modern hunter-gatherer groups.

Application deadlines: January 10 and July 15.

Baldwin Fellowships for Students from Developing Countries

Franklin Mosher Baldwin Memorial Fellowships are intended for scholars and students with citizenship in a developing country who wish to obtain education or training from an institution outside of the student’s home country. This award is for a program of approved, advanced special training or studies leading towards an MA or PhD. It is limited to two years of support. The maximum award is limited to $15,000 per year. Application deadline: March 15.

SAA Native American Scholarships

The Native American Scholarships Fund is an endowment established to foster a sense of shared purpose and positive interaction between archaeologists and Native Americans. Scholarships are open to all Native peoples from anywhere in the Americas, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Indigenous Pacific Islanders. Awards are $5,000-10,000.

Israel Studies Travel Grants 

Travel grants of up to $1,000 are available to UCLA undergraduate and graduate students for: (1) presentation of conference papers focused on Israel Studies or (2) Israel-related projects that require limited, site-specific research (e.g., archival research). Grant funds may be used to cover airfare, accommodation/hotel costs, ground transportation costs and for conference registration fees. Application Deadline: April 1st.

Cheryl L. Wase Memorial Scholarship

The SAA Cheryl L. Wase Memorial Scholarship for the Study of Archaeology provides funding for undergraduate education in archaeology. It is awarded to women who are residents of New Mexico and pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology with a specialization in archaeology from a fully accredited university in the state of New Mexico (Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico State University, or University of New Mexico). It is overseen by the Wase Scholarship Committee of the SAA.
The Wase Scholarships cover the cost of tuition/course fees and books for all classroom and field-based courses included in an accredited curriculum to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with a Emphasis/Focus/Concentration in Archaeology.

Elizabeth Bartman Museum Internship Scholarship

A scholarship established in honor of AIA Past 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. Award Amount: $2,000-$4,750. Application Deadline: April 1st.

The Sportula:Microgrants for Classics Students

Grants provided by The Sportula are created by classicists for classicists. The microgrants range from $5 to $300 to help students with anything they need from books to applications.

The AIA-OC Graduate Student Research Grant

The Archaeological Institute of America’s Orange County Society is offering a $2,000 grant available to a Southern California graduate student in the second quarter of 2020. Attached is a description of the grant requirements and application. The purpose of the grant is to provide funds for additional effort that could be instrumental in extending the project in potentially important ways. As examples the funds could be used for underwriting specialized dating methods; they could provide access to unique research collections for extended comparative analysis; they could allow creating or using software, for example to show how complex adaptive systems theory relate to the project. This additional funding is intended to allow an outstanding archaeology student to do possibly groundbreaking work that could advance their career as well as the project. The winner will receive $2,000 and will be asked to present the project results in a lecture to the AIA-OC Society.