Graduate Funding

 The department actively encourages students to pursue educational assistance.

Opportunities

There is a significant difference between Hawaiʻi resident and nonresident tuition rates. Visit the Office of Admissions Hawaiʻi Residency Requirements for information on the process of acquiring resident status.

Each semester, the department is allocated a certain amount of funds designated for students who demonstrate a high level of academic excellence. Awards are based on merit, need, service, achievement, or reflect the University’s mission. Award amounts may vary and are based on the awardee’s tuition cost (residency status and credit load).

Eligibility

  • Students must be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.5.
  • Students must be a classified graduate student in an Anthropology degree program.
  • Students may have resident and non-resident status.
  • Awards become available for incoming students during their second semester.
  • Eligibility is ongoing for continuing students. Students may reapply.
  • There is no limit to how many semesters a student can receive the award.

Fund Use

  • Tuition, fees, books, and course materials costs can be covered.
  • The award may be given in addition to a TA/GAship (tuition exemption).

Application deadline

  • March 15 and November 15, every year.
  • Award total will appear in the Financial Aid account on MYUH by August (for the Fall semester) or December (for the Spring semester). Failing to pay the remainder of your tuition by the payment deadline will result in cancellation of registration.
  • Should the student that is chosen not meet the criteria above, the scholarship will be denied.
  • Interested students should apply through the online Achievement Scholarship Application (UH login required).

The department makes travel awards available to graduate students presenting a paper at a recognized national or international meeting. Up to ten awards, in the amount of up to $1000 each (contingent upon the availability of funds) will become available for Fall and Spring semesters. Awards are competitive and may be applied retroactively.

Eligibility

  • Anthropology Graduate Students
  • Priority given to students who have not traveled on Department funds during the previous year.
  • Priority given to applications partially supported by other sources of funds.
  • Students are eligible to receive Department travel funds once per academic year.

Application deadline

  • March 15 and November 15, every year.
  • Funding decisions will be conveyed by the end of each month.
  • Funding decisions are based on quality of the proposal, adherence to the application guidelines, faculty letter of support, and significance of the conference and paper for the student’s progress in their degree program.
  • Interested students should apply through the online Graduate Student Travel Award Application (UH login required).
  • Applicants should direct their faculty letter writer to submit their letter via the Department of Anthropology – Letter of Recommendation Form. 

Completion

  • Upon completion of travel, students granted awards will be required to submit a copy of their paper/presentation, receipts covering the amount of the award, and a statement indicating other sources of travel support.

This award is given to PhD Candidates at the All But Dissertation (ABD) stage to help fund research, travel, and other expenses related to the completion of their dissertation research. Up to two (2) awards of $2,500 each will be made annually, pending the availability of funds.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must have convened their graduate committee, have completed all coursework and comprehensive exams, and have successfully defended their departmental research proposal.
  • To apply, students should submit a letter of support from their faculty advisor, a copy of their most recent student progress report, and a letter of intent that includes: 1) the aim and importance of the activities proposed; 2) an itemized budget of travel and other costs associated with these activities; and 3) a list of previous, current, and pending sources of research funding.
  • Application materials should be submitted to the Graduate Specialist, Saunders 346C.

Application deadline

  • March 15.
  • Students may only receive this award once during their graduate studies in the department.

Students seeking support for pre-dissertation field research should consider applying for a Richard W. Lieban Endowed Scholarship instead.

This award is given to PhD Candidates who have completed fieldwork and are currently writing their dissertations. Up to two (2) awards of $2,500 each will be made annually, pending the availability of funds.

Eligibility

  • Students of superior academic merit with a GPA of 3.5 or more are encouraged to apply.

Fund Use

  • These awards are intended to help offset living expenses incurred by All But Dissertation (ABD) students during the summer months when GA-ships and other forms of departmental support are in limited supply.
  • To apply, students should submit a letter of request, a copy of their most recent student progress report, and a letter of support from their faculty advisor.
  • Application materials should be submitted to the Graduate Specialist, Saunders 346C.

Application deadline

  • March 15.
  • Students may only receive this award once during their graduate studies in the department.

Contingent on funds availability, funding of up to $10,000 is awarded each year from the Richard W. Lieban Endowed Scholarship for Anthropology to support the research work of MA students and PhD students progressing toward completion of their degree.

A total of $5000 is allocated to each degree program, and no single award to any student will be over $2500.

MA Awards

Given to support summer research and may include expenses related to fieldwork, analysis of collections, archival research, etc.

PhD Awards

Given to support research at the proposal preparation or dissertation write-up stages. Pre-dissertation research awards are to support the preparation of proposals for extramural funding. Dissertation write-up awards are to support writing that follows the collection of data in PhD research. The criteria emphasize pre-professional activities such as fieldwork, lab work, grants, publications, and presentations at meetings.

The awards committee will not be asked to judge the relative merits of the MA or PhD projects.

Eligibility

  • Minimum 3.5 GPA.
  • Students may only receive this award once in the MA program and once in the PhD program.

Application Deadline

Each year several Graduate Assistantships (GAs) are made available to the Department of Anthropology. The Department divides the GAs it receives in two types: Teaching Assistantships and Teaching Apprenticeships. GAs of either type are required to work 20 hours per week. GAs receive full tuition waivers and health insurance benefits at cost. The duties of Teaching Assistantships and Apprenticeships are similar and include assisting faculty with course grading, record keeping, break-out sections, some lecturing, and student consultation. GAs are competitive and in any given year we receive many more qualified applicants than there are awards available. To be eligible, all GAs must demonstrate a satisfactory academic record, an adequate undergraduate background in your major subfield, and, in the case of foreign students, evidence of a high level of English language proficiency. No applicant may hold comparable or equivalent grants or awards providing a tuition waiver from other University sources or the East-West Center during the same period. Appointees must carry at least 6 units of credits per semester and maintain at least a B (3.0) average.

The University and Department of Anthropology are Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action (AA) employers. Appropriate EEO and AA criteria are utilized in all selection and hiring processes.

Teaching Assistantships (advertised)

Awarded each year on a competitive basis by the Department’s Awards Committee. We currently have 7 permanent and 2 temporary Teaching Assistantships. The number of such assistantships varies from year to year. The maximum length of appointment, subject to satisfactory performance and/or the availability of funds, is 2 years for MA students, and 3 years for PhD students, with a maximum tenure of 3 years. Teaching Assistantships are assigned to a faculty member to assist with a particular introductory level or upper-division course. Completed applications are accepted online (UH login required) by the closing dates announced when there is a call for applications. Applications should include a completed application form, three letters of recommendation from recent instructors, and an annual progress report.

Applications are being accepted for up to five (5) regular GA positions, pending position clearance, for the upcoming academic year.

Applicants should direct their three letter writer to submit their letters via the Department of Anthropology – Letter of Recommendation Form. 

Monthly Salary (half time)

  • $1,996 MA level ($23,952 annually)
  • $2,159 PhD level ($25,908 annually)

Duties

  • Assist in upper division courses and/or ANTH 151 and 152 and/or 215/215L.
  • TAs assigned to 151 and 152 are expected to lead discussion sections.
  • TAs assigned to 215/215L are expected to run 215 labs.

Criteria

The application will be ranked according to Minimum and Desirable Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

  • Academic excellence
  • Evidence of timely progress in the program
  • Full-time graduate student in anthropology

Desirable Qualifications:

  • Sufficient background in both cultural and archaeology (for 151 and 152 TAs)
  • Sufficient training in biological or physical anthropology (for 215/215L TAs)
  • Strong verbal communication skills
  • Undergraduate-level teaching experience
  • Faculty recommendations reflect academic excellence

Conditions

  1. Applicants must submit a complete application form to be reviewed by the Awards Committee. In addition, three current letters of recommendation from faculty, a current CV, and an annual progress report must be submitted.
  2. If applying for the academic year, students not awarded a Teaching Assistant (TA) position in the fall will be included in the spring semester applicants for any spring semester vacancies. 
  3. Applications for temporary positions do not go into the department pool. A new application is required when any position is advertised.
  4. TA positions are appointed on a year-to-year basis. Appointments beginning in the spring semester are made for the spring only and may be renewed for one year beginning August 1 upon satisfactory performance. The maximum length of appointment, subject to satisfactory performance and/or availability of funds, is two years for MA students and three years for PhD students with a maximum tenure of three years.
  5. Students may not defer their appointment. If they submit an application and are selected, then decide to take a leave of absence, they must resign and re-apply the next time recruitment is advertised.
  6. Candidates must review the requirements of the Graduate Division for Teaching Assistants, which includes mandatory training before the semester begins. Candidates are responsible for reviewing all information related to the position as posted on the Graduate Division website.
  7. Specific instructional needs of the department are also taken into consideration in appointing new TAs. For example, if a TA is needed to teach a course in a specific anthropology subfield, the applicant’s academic training will be taken into consideration.
  8. TAs hired with a .50 FTE appointment will qualify for a 100% tuition exemption, which does not include student fees, if they are employed for at least 12 weeks of the semester as defined by Graduate Division. TAs who resign before the 12-week minimum employment will be responsible for paying their full tuition. TAs who cannot fulfill their duties for the duration of the semester, must resign and have their salary prorated based on the number of days worked.

Closing Date:

  • Continuous Recruitment.
  • Priority will be given to applications received by May 31 of every year.
  • Apply online (UH login required).

Teaching Apprenticeships (not advertised)

Available only to newly admitted graduate students. No more than 2 or 3 Teaching Apprenticeships are available each year. All newly admitted students are automatically considered for a Teaching Apprenticeship by the Department’s Awards Committee; no additional application is required. Teaching Apprenticeships pay the same as Teaching Assistantships and have the same tuition waiver and medical benefits. Teaching Apprentices are assigned to a faculty member to assist with a particular introductory level course. Teaching Apprenticeships may be appointed for a maximum of two years and may subsequently apply for Teaching Assistantships.

Ben Finney was a professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa from 1970 until 2000. In the mid-1960s he built a replica of a Hawaiian double canoe to generate basic information on sailing performance. The success of this project helped inspire plans for Hokule‘a’s first voyage to Tahiti. Finney co-founded the Polynesian Voyaging Society, served as its first president and sailed aboard Hokule‘a during the first voyage to Tahiti in 1976, the 1985 voyage to Aotearoa, and the 1992 voyage to Rarotonga.

Availability

The Ben Finney Voyager of Pacific Anthropology Award is available to graduate students (PhD and MA) developing a field or lab research project in the field of Pacific anthropology. This is a proof of concept award intended for students in the early stages of developing their research. The goal of the award is to allow students to demonstrate that their proposed project is feasible, or to prove that it has practical potential.

Eligibility

Recipients must be enrolled full-time or part-time as graduate students working in areas of Pacific anthropology (all inclusive) in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Priority will be given to early-stage research focused on Hawai‘i, French Polynesia and/or Pacific voyaging. The funding is not meant to supplement other larger awards (e.g. NSF). A recipient’s project may be associated with other research, such as that conducted by another graduate student or a professor at UH-M or a different institution. However, in this case the recipient must demonstrate that their work is unique in the sense that it has its own goals, methodology and questions. Most importantly, the recipient must be leading and responsible for their own project within a project.

Number and Amount of Awards

Ordinarily, two grants will be awarded, each in the range of $1,000 – $2,500. The number and amount of awards shall be determined by the selection committee based on the availability of funds.  

Award Fund Use

The funds should be spent on travel (domestic or foreign) and research expenses. If the project involves travel, it should be planned for Summer 2022. The grant does not support permanent equipment such as cameras. Please note that award funds are considered to be taxable income. The following information is required for your funding request to be considered: 

  1. Applicants must complete the Finney Award Application, which summarizes their proposal. Please complete all information requested on the application, and obtain the required signature of the applicant’s committee chairperson or dissertation/thesis advisor.
  2. Attach a brief statement (no more than 750 words) describing the intended use of the funding and include an itemized budget. In your proposal, please include destination, dates of travel, and purpose.

Any change in the scope or budget of the project after submission should be reported immediately to the department office.

Requirements

If funding is awarded to you, a summary (250 words) of your research must be submitted to the department office within 90 days of the completion of your project. In addition, a letter thanking the donor and explaining the significance of the award to you must be sent to the donor within 90 days of the completion of your project.

Selection Process

Recipients shall be selected by a committee appointed by the Chair of the Anthropology Department.

Submit completed applications by email to Marti Kerton (kerton@hawaii.edu)

Timeline

  • Applications Accepted: February 1 through March 1
  • Decisions Announced: March 31