Graduate Student Support

Teaching

The Department of Anthropology offers graduate students funding through teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and teaching stand-alone courses. Continued funding is dependent on making satisfactory progress towards your degree and showing respectable performance in your assistantship. For 2021-2022, assistantships carry a stipend of at least $23,050 for a 20 hour a week, 38-week commitment and includes full tuition and curriculum fee waivers, 95% exemption of health insurance fee costs (90% exemption for the family plan), as well as excellent dental, vision, childcare, and wellness benefits. Most students receive an average of five years of funding from the Department.

Qualified students may also apply to teach courses through the University Without Walls - Online (UWW). Most courses are taught online and compensation depends on enrollment. 

Conference Travel

Funding assistance for graduate students to present papers at conferences is available. On average 12 awards are made every year.

Pre-Dissertation Funding

Doctoral students are eligible to apply for summer funding to collect preliminary data and locate field sites for their doctoral dissertations. Calls for applications are made in early spring and awards are made by the end of April

REAL Fellowships

Graduate students from underrepresented populations in the social sciences are eligible for a Research Enhancement and Leadership (REAL) Fellowship through the Graduate School. The Fellowship provides a stipend of $4,000 in each of four summers, contingent on continued good standing in the program in accordance with departmental standards.

Dissertation Fellowships

The Department annually awards two $10,000 fellowships for students completing their doctoral dissertation.

Graduate School Funding 

Job Opportunities

Grant Search for Graduate Students (GSGS)

GSGS offers extensive help and workshops in locating and writing successful external (non-UMass) grant applications.

External Funding 

Please be sure to submit to the Graduate School any external funding awards for AY 22-23 here:  Graduate Fellowship Award Notification form