Graduate Student Funding Opportunities

Learn more about funding opportunities for graduate students, including grants and fellowships, below.

AAUW American Doctoral Fellowship

  • Covers: A year of doctoral support, research/academic expenses
  • Deadline: Sept. 30, 2026
  • Amount: Varies; doctoral fellowship
  • Eligibility: Women pursuing doctoral degrees
  • Field: All fields

AAUW International Fellowship

  • Covers: Graduate study/research in U.S.; living and educational expenses
  • Deadline: Sept. 17, 2026
  • Amount: Varies
  • Eligibility: Women who are not U.S. citizens/permanent residents
  • Field: All fields

AAUW American Short-Term Research Publication Grant

  • Covers: Research/publication-related expenses
  • Deadline: Sept. 30, 2026
  • Amount: Varies
  • Eligibility: Women scholars meeting AAUW requirements
  • Field: All fields

ACLS/Mellon Dissertation Innovation Fellowship

  • Covers: Dissertation research, training, development, travel
  • Deadline: Oct. 28, 2026
  • Amount: $42,000 base stipend, $8,000 for project-related costs, $2,000 for external mentorship
  • Eligibility: Early-stage Ph.D. students in humanities/social sciences
  • Field: Humanities/social sciences

AIA Archaeology of Portugal Fellowship

  • Covers: Research, travel, conferences, excavation-related research
  • Deadline: Nov. 1, 2026
  • Amount: Up to $6,000
  • Eligibility: Archaeology graduate students/scholars
  • Field: Portuguese archaeology

AIA Carpenter and Lancaster Traveling Fellowships

  • Covers: Research travel, transportation, lodging, visas, entrance fees, insurance
  • Deadline: Nov. 1, 2026
  • Amount: Up to $25,000
  • Eligibility: Graduate students/recent Ph.D.s
  • Field: Roman Empire archaeology, ca. 1000 B.C.E.–1000 C.E.

AIA Colburn Fellowship

  • Covers: Study at American School of Classical Studies at Athens
  • Deadline: Dec. 15, 2026
  • Amount: Up to $9,000
  • Eligibility: Predoctoral students/recent Ph.D.s
  • Field: Classical Archaeology

AIA Harriet and Leon Pomerance Fellowship

  • Covers: Scholarly research and Mediterranean travel
  • Deadline: Nov. 1, 2026
  • Amount: Up to $6,000
  • Eligibility: Graduate/professional AIA members
  • Field: Aegean Bronze Age archaeology

AIA John R. Coleman Traveling Fellowship

  • Covers: Travel and study
  • Deadline: Nov. 1, 2026
  • Amount: Up to $12,000
  • Eligibility: Graduate/professional AIA members
  • Field: Mediterranean/North African archaeology

AIA Olivia James Traveling Fellowship

  • Covers: Extended research travel and study
  • Deadline: Nov. 1, 2026
  • Amount: Up to $25,000
  • Eligibility: U.S. citizens; graduate/professional AIA members
  • Field: Greek/Mediterranean archaeology

American Institute of Indian Studies – Research Fellowships

  • Covers: Extended research stay, travel and living expenses
  • Deadline: November 2026
  • Amount: Varies by fellowship
  • Eligibility: Age 21+; field-based projects; local collaborator required
  • Field: Anthropology, archaeology, ecology, earth sciences, etc.

American Philosophical Society - Franklin Research Grant

  • Covers: Archives, libraries, fieldwork, laboratory research, research materials
  • Deadlines: Oct. 1 and Dec. 1
  • Amount: Up to $7,000
  • Eligibility: Not Ph.D. candidates; primarily postdoctoral/doctoral-level scholars
  • Field: Humanities/social sciences, including archaeology

American Philosophical Society - Phillips Fund

  • Covers: Travel, recordings, consultants; not archaeology/ethnography
  • Deadline: March 1, 2027
  • Amount: Up to $3,500
  • Eligibility: Graduate students and scholars
  • Field: Native American linguistics/ethnohistory/history of scholarship

Boren Fellowship

  • Covers: Overseas study, research, living/travel expenses
  • Deadline: January
  • Amount: Up to $30,000 depending on program/length
  • Eligibility: U.S. graduate students
  • Field: International research/language study; geographic restrictions

Dumbarton Oaks Fellowships

  • Covers: Dissertation research, residence, collections/library research
  • Deadline: Varies; generally fall/winter
  • Amount: Varies by fellowship
  • Eligibility: Graduate students and scholars
  • Field: STEM/science-oriented research

Explorers Club Impact Grant

  • Covers: Field expedition/research expenses
  • Deadline: Rolling
  • Amount: Typically $10,000–$25,000
  • Eligibility: Age 21+; field-based projects; local collaborator required
  • Field: Anthropology, archaeology, ecology, earth sciences, etc.

Explorers Club Discovery/Exploration Grants

  • Covers: Field expedition/research
  • Deadline: Rolling/annual cycle
  • Amount: Generally $2,500–$10,000+, depending on program
  • Eligibility: Field researchers; program-specific
  • Field: Archaeology, anthropology, ecology, earth sciences, etc.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

  • Covers: Travel, living expenses, research, language study, tuition depending on country
  • Deadline: Oct. 6, 2026 national deadline
  • Amount: Varies by country/program
  • Eligibility: U.S. citizens; graduate students/young professionals
  • Field: All fields; international research

Graduate Women in Science Fellowship

  • Covers: Research expenses, equipment, field/lab work
  • Deadline: January, annual
  • Amount: Varies
  • Eligibility: Women graduate students in eligible science fields
  • Field: STEM/science-oriented research

Huntington Library Fellowships

  • Covers: Residential/library/archival research
  • Deadline: Nov. 15; annual
  • Amount: Varies
  • Eligibility: Graduate students and scholars
  • Field: Humanities, history, art, related fields

Leakey Foundation Franklin Mosher Baldwin Fellowship

  • Covers: Graduate training and educational expenses
  • Deadline: Feb. 15/March 1
  • Amount: Up to $15,000
  • Eligibility: Graduate students from countries with limited advanced-training opportunities
  • Field: Human origins/evolution-related fields

Leakey Foundation Research Grant

  • Covers: Fieldwork, living expenses during fieldwork, supplies, research expenses
  • Deadline: Jan. 10 and July 15
  • Amount: Up to $20,000 for Ph.D. candidates
  • Eligibility: Advanced Ph.D. students, must be ABD
  • Field: Human origins, archaeology, biological anthropology, paleoanthropology

Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research

  • Covers: Exploratory field research, data/specimen collection
  • Deadline: Nov. 16, 2026
  • Amount: Varies; small field-research grants
  • Eligibility: Graduate students/researchers at U.S. institutions
  • Field: Archaeology, anthropology, biology, ecology, geology, geography, etc.

McKnight Doctoral Fellowship

  • Covers: Graduate tuition/stipend support
  • Deadline: Jan. 15
  • Amount: 5 years of funding
  • Eligibility: Prospective Ph.D. students meeting program eligibility
  • Field: Multiple fields

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP)

  • Covers: Stipend and tuition/mandatory fees through institutional COE allowance
  • Deadline: Oct. 20, 2026
  • Amount: $37,000 stipend and $16,000 education allowance/year; 3 years of support
  • Eligibility: Beginning graduate students in eligible research-based STEM programs
  • Field: Social science, psychology, life sciences, etc.; eligibility must be checked carefully for anthropology

Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research

  • Covers: Research supplies, fieldwork, laboratory expenses, equipment
  • Deadlines: Oct. 1 and March 15
  • Amount: Typically small research grants
  • Eligibility: Graduate/undergraduate researchers; Sigma Xi requirements apply
  • Field: Broad STEM; useful for scientific archaeology

Society for American Archaeology - Dienje Kenyon Fellowship

  • Covers: Graduate research/data collection
  • Deadline: Dec. 11
  • Amount: $2,000
  • Eligibility: Women in early-stage graduate zooarchaeology
  • Field: Zooarchaeology

SAA - Douglas C. Kellogg Fellowship

  • Covers: Fieldwork and laboratory analysis
  • Deadline: Dec. 1
  • Amount: $1,000
  • Eligibility: Ph.D. students in archaeology/Earth sciences using Earth-science methods
  • Field: Geoarchaeology

SAA - Paul Goldberg Award

  • Covers: Thesis fieldwork/laboratory analysis
  • Deadline: Dec. 1
  • Amount: $500
  • Eligibility: M.A./M.S. students in archaeology/Earth sciences
  • Field: Geoarchaeology

SAA - Fred Plog Memorial Fellowship

  • Covers: Dissertation research
  • Deadline: Nov. 1
  • Amount: $1,500
  • Eligibility: Southwestern U.S./northern Mexico archaeology; related regional interaction topics

SAA - Deborah L. Nichols Meeting Access Grant

  • Covers: SAA Annual Meeting attendance
  • Deadline: Nov. 13, 2026
  • Amount: Up to $500
  • Eligibility: SAA student members and specified eligibility groups
  • Field: Archaeology

Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant

  • Covers: Field travel, living expenses, research assistance, transcription, software, visas, childcare, etc.
  • Deadline: May 1 and Nov. 1
  • Amount: Up to $25,000
  • Eligibility: Doctoral students in anthropology
  • Field: All anthropology subfields