College of Arts and Science Vanderbilt University
Department of

Anthropology

Funding

Admission and Financial Assistance

A mountainside cornfield in Chiapas, Mexico.


Admission and financial aid are competitive. In order to focus faculty attention  and resources, the graduate program will enroll a maximum of twenty Ph.D. students, only two to five per year, but these students will be generously funded with teaching assistantships, University fellowships, and competitive research and travel awards. All fellowships provide full tuition and stipends that are among the best currently available in anthropology. Funds are also available for graduate student travel, research, professional meetings, and publications.
 

Graduate Awards and Research Funding

Writing grant proposals and successfully obtaining research funding are critical to the discipline of anthropology.  These are important components of a student’s graduate education at Vanderbilt.  We expect students to learn to compose effective proposals and to seek their own funding throughout their graduate education.  A student is expected to apply for at least one graduate support or research grant during his or her first two years in the program.

Graduate Support:

Students are strongly encouraged to apply for external funding (e.g. a National Science Foundation 3-year Graduate Fellowship) for their graduate studies during their first year at Vanderbilt.  The content and form of the proposal will be discussed with the student’s primary adviser and the DGS.

Summer Research:

As part of their graduate training and in preparation for their dissertation projects, students are expected to regularly conduct summer research projects. It is the student’s responsibility to seek funding for these projects.  Vanderbilt University offers several competitive awards for summer research, and there are also external sources of support (see below).  After having successfully obtained an on-campus award and completed the proposed research, the student will submit a 2-page written report of the research project to his/her advisory and advisory committee.  This document should summarize the project and its findings. 

Dissertation:

It is the student’s responsibility to obtain funding for his/her dissertation research.  Students may work on faculty-sponsored research projects if so decided by the faculty member.  However, working on a faculty-sponsored project involves certain obligations and conditions, which are to be discussed by the student and faculty member prior to the field research.


 

Internal Sources of Funding

Travel Grants for Conferences

The Graduate School Travel Grant provides funding for travel to present papers at professional conferences.

The Graduate Student Council Travel Grant also provides more limited funding to present the results of personal research.

Summer Research Grants

The CFA Summer Field Research Award supports archival or field work in any country of the Americas.

The CLAIS Travel and Research Awards can fund summer travel and/or language study in Latin America.

The CSRC Summer Research Fellowship supports summer research that focuses on issues of religion and culture.

The College of Arts and Science Summer Research Award funds summer research projects that may or may not be part of your dissertation.

Dissertation Grants

The CFA Dissertation Fellowship supports full-time dissertation research and writing.

The Graduate School Dissertation Enhancement Grant gives funding for additional research that will enhance your dissertation project.

The Robert Penn Warren Fellowship provides a year of non-service funding for graduate students who are working full-time on their dissertation.

The Social Science Dissertation Fellowship, supported by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies, funds dissertation research and writing.


 

External Sources of Funding