Student Funding

The American Anthropological Association (AAA) offers links to many relevant national and international fellowships in support of research:

Spring 2025 Graduate Student Conference Grant
Amount: $500
Deadline: April 4, 2025

The Department of Anthropology will award $500 to three Ph.D. students each to help defray the cost of presenting original research, undertaken while studying at UB, at a professional/ scholarly meeting. The time period covered by this award is June 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025.

Eligibility:
All currently enrolled doctoral students.

Application Materials Required:

1. A brief description of no more than 1 page (typed, single-spaced), which includes the name and description of the conference, the title and description of the paper or poster you will present, the dates and location of the conference, and any additional sources of funding received. Clearly indicate in the heading of your proposal that this is an application for the Spring 2025 Graduate Student Conference grant.
2. A budget, including airfare, hotel accommodation, and conference registration fee.
3. A curriculum vitae.

Submit proposals to Dr. Frederick Klaits and cc to Maria Portera, with Attn to: Graduate Awards Committee.

Deadline: April 4, 2025.

The Anthropology Graduate Committee will review all applications and select the three top applicants.

To receive funding, recipients are required to 1.) follow all university travel pre-approval procedures (if applicable) and 2.) submit receipts and a copy of the page in the conference/meeting program where the name of the presenter and the title of their paper or poster is listed. Per university policy, all travel reimbursement reports must be submitted within 30 days of the travel end date. Recipients who do not submit reports within this timeframe may be asked to forfeit their awards.

Opler Scholarship for Dissertation Research
Amount: $7,000
Deadline: April 4, 2025

The Department of Anthropology will award an Opler Scholarship for Dissertation Research to an Anthropology PhD student in the amount of $7,000 for the period from May 1, 2025 – May 1, 2026.

This scholarship is applied to your Student Account, and is used to pay any charges for tuition, fees and health insurance. Any remaining funds will be disbursed to you around October 2025.

Eligibility:

All currently enrolled doctoral students who have passed their advanced exams and successfully defended their doctoral dissertation proposal.

Application Materials Required:

• A brief proposal of no more than 1 page (typed, single-spaced) in which you describe your proposed research. Include a budget and timetable. Clearly indicate in the heading of your proposal that this is an application for the Opler Dissertation Research Scholarship.
• Documentation that you have applied for external (i.e. non-UB) funding to support your research.
• Statement about any funding you have received for dissertation research
• A curriculum vitae

Submit proposals to Dr. Frederick Klaits and cc to Maria Portera, with Attn to: Graduate Awards Committee.

Deadline: April 4, 2025

A faculty committee will review the applications and notify the recipient by late April, 2025. The recipient of this award will file a one-page report to the Director of Graduate Studies no later than the semester after they have completed their research.

Opler Scholarship for Dissertation Writing
Amount: $7,000
Deadline: April 4, 2025

The Department of Anthropology will award an Opler Scholarship for Dissertation Writing to an Anthropology PhD student in the amount of $7,000 for the period from May 1, 2025 – May 1, 2026.

This scholarship is applied to your Student Account, and is used to pay any charges for tuition, fees and health insurance. Any remaining funds will be disbursed to you around October 2025.

Eligibility:

All currently enrolled doctoral students who have passed advanced exams and the dissertation proposal and will have completed their dissertation research by the end of the Spring 2025 semester and will start writing their dissertations at that time.

Application Materials Required:

• A brief proposal of no more than 2 pages (typed, single-spaced) in which you describe your research and its significance, and your plan for completion of your dissertation. Clearly indicate in the heading of the proposal it is for dissertation writing, and indicate also your progress on the dissertation to date. If this request involves travel, include a budget.
• Any funding you have received to support dissertation writing
• A curriculum vitae

Submit proposals to Dr. Frederick Klaits and cc to Maria Portera, with Attn to: Graduate Awards Committee.

Deadline: April 4, 2025.

A faculty committee will review the applications and notify the recipient by late April, 2025.

Dr. Keith F. Otterbein Award 
Amount: $2,000
Deadline: April 4, 2025

The Keith F. Otterbein award is intended to provide support to one exceptional PhD student at the University at Buffalo doing doctoral research on War and/or Peace. The award is for research that focuses on social, cultural, or historical factors involved in initiating and/or conducting war and/or establishing and/or maintaining peace. Preference is given to students in anthropology and classics, but students from different disciplines are strongly encouraged to apply. Qualified female candidates are especially encouraged to apply.

The award carries a stipend of $2,000 and is given to students at the predissertation research stage, the dissertation research stage, or the dissertation-writing stage.

To apply for the award, please send the following to Anthropology Department Graduate Program Coordinator Maria Portera (380 Academic Center-Ellicott Complex), mportera@buffalo.edu:

1. A research proposal of no more than 5 pages (typed, single-spaced) in which you describe your research and its significance; and, 1 page with the budget for research-related travel.
2. A curriculum vitae
3.  Two letters of reference. Please ask your recommenders to submit letters directly to Maria Portera at mportera@buffalo.edu. Also include their names and contact information in your application so that we anticipate these letters.
4. Information on any funding you have received or applied for to conduct predissertation research or dissertation research, or to write up your dissertation.

The application deadline is April 4, 2025. Candidates will be notified of the committee’s decision in late April/early May 2025.

Please note that if the recipient plans to use the award for research travel, especially this summer, travel must be approved before the award can be disbursed.

The recipient of this award will give a presentation as part of the Anthropology Lecture Series.

Submission Deadline: March 25, 2025
Funding Amount: $2,000

The Department of Anthropology may nominate students for the Lambda Alpha Graduate Research Grant. The grant is designed to encourage thesis and dissertation-related field research. Request for financial support for travel, basic field equipment, and on-location labor costs are favored. The grant cannot be used for indirect expenses.

The funds of $2000 will be awarded annually to each of the three sub-disciplines: archeology (two grants for $2000); biological/physical anthropology (two grants for $2000); and cultural/linguistic anthropology (two grants for $2000) with the maximum of one applicant per discipline, per chapter. The application must clearly state the sub-discipline the grant candidate is applying for (archaeology, biological/physical anthropology and cultural/linguistics).

Please visit the Lambda Alpha awards site for further details including the award application and required materials. Students may submit their membership fee ($26) with their award application, if selected.

All application documents must be submitted to Maria Portera, mportera@buffalo.edu, by March 25 for departmental consideration.