Financial Support

Anthropology graduate students may qualify for various means of financial support, including teaching assistantships, graduate student researcher positions and fellowships.

 

Graduate Funding in Anthropology

There are many sources of graduate student financial assistance available through the University and the Department of Anthropology. Typically, graduate students are guaranteed funding in the form of a Teaching Assistant position, which includes tuition and partial fee remission. Many of our graduate students have also received funding to support their research through external sources, including the NSF-Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.

Current Tuition and Fee amounts are available here.

 

Financial Support Sources

Teaching Appointments

Academic Student Employees (ASEs) receive full remission of tuition and partial remission of fees. Non-resident supplemental tuition (NRST) is not covered by remission.

Remission Summary

PAID BY REMISSION NOT PAID BY REMISSION
Tuition Graduate Student Associate (GSA) Fee
Student Services Fee Memorial Union Fee
Student Services Health Fee Facilities and Campus Enhancement Fee
Health Insurance (UC SHIP) Student Facilities Safety Fee
  NRST

 

Teaching Positions

POSITIONS DESCRIPTIONS WORKLOAD
Associate Instructor (AI) An AI is a registered graduate student of excellent scholarship and teaching promise who is employed temporarily as teacher to conduct the entire instruction of a lower division course or of a group of students in a lower division course. Doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy may serve as an AI for upper division courses with approval from the Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI).  Workload should be consistent with the normal workload for the course (50% appointment).
Teaching Assistant (TA) A TA is a registered graduate student in full-time residence, chosen for excellent scholarship and for promise as a teacher, and serving an apprenticeship under the active tutelage and supervision of a faculty member. Workload should not exceed 220 hours per quarter (50% appointment).
Reader (RDR) Graduate students who work as readers render diverse services as a course assistant, including the grading of student papers and examinations. Duties in this position begin on the first day of classes for the quarter appointed, and terminates on the last day of the quarter (last day of finals). Readers’ hours vary per week and typically correspond with busy times in the quarter such as midterms and finals. Workload should not exceed 110 hours per quarter (25% appointment).

 

Interested in teaching for Anthropology? The department posts any available graduate teaching positions on Handshake.

 

Resources

Research Assistantships

Individual faculty members award Graduate Student Research (GSR) assistantships from faculty research grant funding. Graduate students negotiate for GSR positions with their major professor during the admission process, or prior to the beginning of each quarter. 

Graduate student research assistants have varying terms of employment and may work a maximum of 20 hours a week. GSR appointments of 25% time or greater include full tuition and fee remission, along with a monthly stipend. GSRs are compensated according to their graduate program's compensation plan.

Resources

Work Study and Financial Aid

Work Study

IMPORTANT: You must submit a FAFSA in order to be eligible for work study.

Work study units are allocated to graduate programs; programs, in turn, award these units to their students. In order to be eligible for work study units, you must be: determined financially eligible by the Financial Aid Office, be a US Citizen or Resident, and be selected for a graduate student researcher assistantship of 25% or more by a UCD faculty member. Your major professor should make a request to the Wing Chair for these units in the spring for the following academic year, confirming that the matching funds are available. Awards will be made for either 25% or 50%.

Financial Aid

The UC Davis Financial Aid and Scholarships office is an excellent source of reliable, comprehensive information about work-study programs and other sources of financial aid. Visit the Graduate Financial Aid Office at 1100 Dutton Hall or call (530) 752-9246 (students with hearing impairments can dial 711 on campus to reach CRS) for information and deadlines.

FAFSA

The online Free Application for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA) is available by the beginning of January. We strongly encourage graduate applicants to submit a FAFSA as early as possible and not later than the March deadline. This form, submitted directly to the Federal Student Aid Program Office is used to determine eligibility for financial aid funds, including work-study and other need-based fellowships. Your eligibility will be determined and forwarded to the UC Davis Financial Aid Office. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Information also has information about federal student assistance programs.

UC Davis Campus Fee Grant

The UC Davis Campus Fee Grant is the only grant administered by the Graduate Financial Aid Office. It is a need-based award for students who establish and maintain sufficient financial need. It can be used to cover the fees (i.e., Campus-Based Fees) not paid by TA remission. Note: Campus Fee Grant funding is not guaranteed. The Graduate Financial Aid Office strongly recommends that every FAFSA filing student report all anticipated external and academic funding (Grants, Fellowships, TAships, GSRs etc.) to their office so they can accurately determine your financial aid eligibility. You must file a FAFSA to be eligible to receive this grant. 

Emergency, Short-Term, and Assistant Loans

If you are experiencing a temporary shortage of funds, you may request an Emergency, Short-Term or Assistant loan (graduate students only). Requests are limited to costs related to educational expenses as found in the Cost of Attendance. The application is available Monday through Friday while each term is in session, excluding holidays, at the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office. Appointment times will be scheduled from 10 am through 2 pm.

University Fellowships

Fellowships provide financial support for stipends, tuition and fees, nonresident supplemental tuition, research and travel. The UC Davis Graduate Studies Internal Fellowships website identifies available scholarships and fellowships and contains a link to the fellowship application form.

There are a number of university fellowships you can apply for, some of which are restricted to students meeting specific criteria. The department submits nominations to Graduate Studies for these fellowships. Once nominations are submitted to Graduate Studies, selections for these fellowships are made from a campus-wide pool. Students will be notified by Graduate Studies if they are selected to receive a campus fellowship.

Prospective Students

Continuing Students

Online application, which includes:

  • Statement of purpose and personal history statement
  • Three (3) letters of recommendation
  • UC Davis Transcripts (copy of unofficial transcript from SISWEB is acceptable)

External Fellowships

External Fellowships are those offered by private foundations, government agencies, and corporations. Fellowships can range from one-time to multi-year awards. The department encourages students to apply for external funding, as receipt of external funding exemplifies excellence in research, writing and scholarship. 

The DSS Research Service Center and the Office of Graduate Studies offer assistance to Anthropology graduate students applying for external funding.

List of External Funding Databases

Department Fellowship

The Office of Graduate Studies allocates some funds to the department to support graduate students (referred to as "block grant funding"). The department uses this allocation to cover:

  • Stipends (considered taxable income which is not withheld)
  • Tuition and fees
  • Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition (NRST)

The department also has endowed fellowships that are awarded to students annually: the Crook Travel Award, the Robert and Sandy Kautz Award, and the Rodman-Mitani Award (awarded to Evolutionary Anthropology students only).