Graduate Funding

The majority of departmental funding for graduate students in anthropology comes in the form of Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) and Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) positions. GTA and GRA positions include a full tuition waiver and health insurance with KU paying 75% of the premium. The GTA salary for the 2023-24 academic year is $19,594. GRA salaries may vary slightly.

GTAs are allotted to graduate students annually on a competitive basis. GTA openings for the next academic year are normally announced in the spring semester.

GRA positions are usually recruited and awarded by the individual faculty member conducting the research.

The department has various scholarships available each year for incoming students. Amounts vary, and some may be reserved for specific subdiciplines or topics. Current graduate students are eligible annually for scholarship funds to support research and travel expenses. Additional awards are available for students who demonstrate excellence in academics, scholarship, and teaching.

Eligible academic departments nominate outstanding students who demonstrate the potential and motivation to become notable leaders and can be expected to make a significant contribution to their chosen profession and society. Self Graduate Fellows are some of the top doctoral student researchers at KU. Students who are selected to join the fellowship have demonstrated that they have the skills, initiative, career goals, and passion to make a difference in the future of their field, and society as a whole.

The fellowship provides a yearly stipend of $33,365 stipend for four years. Awards are distributed as 12-month GRA positions. Further eligibility information may be found on the Self Graduate Fellowship website.

Departments may nominate one exceptional applicant each year for a CDF. Fellows are expected to complete all doctoral degree requirements within five years. The fellowship provides a yearly stipend of $33,365 stipend for four years. Awards are distributed as 12-month GRA positions.

The Office of Graduate Studies distributes University Graduate Fellowships (UGFs) to doctoral programs on an annual basis. Each department may be awarded up to one first-year fellowship for a first-year doctoral student, and one first-year fellowship for a first-year underrepresented domestic doctoral student. The stipend for each fellowship is $26,650. UGFs are distributed as a 9-month GRA positions.

The Allen S. Wilber Scholarship provides funding of up to $9,700 for the study of social sciences or modern languages and literatures at the graduate level. Recipients must complete their undergraduate degree at KU and intend to continue on to graduate study in one of the humanities, social sciences, or international and interdisciplinary studies departments, programs or centers.  Eligible academic units may nominate one outstanding KU student who has expressed an interest in or has already applied to their graduate program.

Admitted graduate students from any discipline who wish to study an approved foreign language are encouraged to apply for FLAS (Foreign Language & Area Studies) Fellowships at KU through the KU Area Studies Centers. Graduate Academic Year FLAS Fellowships provide up to $18,000 for tuition and a $15,000 stipend. Summer FLAS Fellowships (both undergraduate and graduate) provide up to $5,000 for summer tuition and a stipend of $2,500. Modest travel funds may be available for summer.

The Kansas African Studies Center supports FLAS students studying Amharic, Arabic, Hausa, KiSwahili, Somali, and Wolof.

The Center for East Asian Studies supports FLAS students studying Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and Uyghur.

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies supports FLAS students studying Guaraní, Haitian Creole, Kaqchikel, K'iche' Maya, Miskitu, Portuguese, Quechua, and Yucatec Maya.

Further information is available at Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships (FLAS)