All applicants to the graduate program in Anthropology will be considered for Graduate Employee positions. These fellowships come with a full tuition waiver, health insurance, and a modest monthly stipend. Funding is not guaranteed and is typically determined on a year-to-year (or sometimes a term-by-term) basis, based on academic merit and availability of Graduate Teaching Fellowships. Students making good progress in the program typically receive approximately four years of departmental support.
Most graduate students are supported through departmental Graduate Teaching Fellowships, which are teaching assistant positions that involve leading discussion or lab sections. There are other potential sources of funding available to graduate students in the department, which are detailed in the Graduate Student Handbook. These include Graduate Teaching Fellowships in other departments or centers (e.g., Biology, General Science, Center on Diversity and Community), Research Assistantships, and through external sources of funding such as the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
In addition to funding for graduate study, students in the program typically apply to and receive funds to support scholarly research activities. Many of our students receive internal UO sources of funding to support their research, such as the through the various departmental awards or through various research institutes and centers around campus. Examples of the latter include small research grants (<$5000) from the Center on Diversity and Community, Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies, Center for the Study of Women in Society, the Division of Graduate Studies, and the Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences, among others.
Departmental Scholarly Scholarships and Awards
The Department of Anthropology offers a number of scholarships and awards to Anthropology graduate students in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments and to support their research and scholarship. The departmental scholarships and awards include the following:
- Malcolm McFee Memorial Award
- Pauline Wallenberg Juda Memorial Scholarship
- Anthropology Health Education Department Scholarship
- Anthropology Graduate Summer Research Award
- Hannibal Nelsen Scholarship
- Virginia Green and Leila Johnston Scholarship
In addition, archaeology graduate students are eligible for the Cheryl L. Harper Memorial Scholarship and biological anthropology PhD students are eligible for Thomas L. Johnston and Helene S. Johnston Scholarship. Each scholarship or award carries a different prize, which include: support for research/scholarship, summer support, or various opportunities for travel.
Apply for the Graduate Awards and Scholarships
Malcolm McFee Memorial Award
The Malcolm McFee Memorial Endowment Award, named for the cultural anthropologist who taught in the Department from 1965 to 1982, was established to provide support for the research and professional papers/presentations of exceptional graduate students in anthropology.
- Award Amount: Up to $1,000
- Number of Awards: Variable
- Disbursement Frequency: 3 equal payments (1 per term) over the next academic year
- Deadline: May 13, 2026
- Eligibility: Continuing graduate students in Anthropology
- To Apply: Submit the online application above.
Pauline Wallenberg Juda Memorial Scholarship
This scholarship is granted to assist a student(s) in conducting research on topics related to the anthropological study of nutrition. Eligible research can come from any of the subfields of anthropology and may cover any one of a variety of different topics related to human and non-human nutrition.
- Scholarship Amount Up to $1500
- Number of Scholarships: Variable
- Disbursement Frequency: 3 equal payments (1 per term) over the next academic year
- Deadline: May 13, 2026
- Eligibility:
- Current graduate students and undergraduate majors, minors and/or students working with Anthropology faculty*
- Students must be studying nutrition, food and/or diet
- To Apply: Submit the online application above.
*Undergraduates are eligible to apply for the Pauline Wollenberg Juda Memorial Scholarship.
Anthropology Health Education Department Scholarship
This award supports anthropological studies of human health, including sociocultural, biological, and archaeological efforts. Eligible research can come from any of the subfields of anthropology and may cover any of a variety of different topics related to human health.
- Scholarship Amount: Up to $1000
- Number of Scholarships: Variable
- Disbursement Frequency: 3 equal payments (1 per term) over the next academic year
- Deadline: May 13, 2026
- Eligibility:
- Current graduate students and undergraduate majors, minors and/or students working with Anthropology faculty*
- Students must be studying health
- To Apply: Submit the online application above.
*Undergraduates are eligible to apply for the Anthropological Health Education Department Scholarship.
Cheryl L. Harper Memorial Scholarship
The purpose of the Fund is to honor Cheryl L. Harper, a 1994 alumna in Anthropology, who went on to graduate work in archaeology. The scholarship provides support to graduate students in archaeology in the Department of Anthropology. The scholarship may be used for educational expenses including tuition, fees, books, miscellaneous supplies, room, board, summer research stipend or insurance stipend, field research, technical analyses, collections research, travel, and other costs associated with research and/or dissertation. Any graduate student of archaeology is eligible to apply.
- Scholarship Amount: Up to $2,000
- Number of Scholarships: Variable
- Disbursement Frequency: 3 equal payments (1 per term) over the next academic year
- Deadline: May 13, 2026
- Eligibility: Continuing graduate students studying Archaeology
- To Apply: Submit the online application above.
Thomas L. Johnston and Helene S. Johnston Scholarship
The Thomas L. Johnston and Helene S. Johnston Scholarship fund is an endowment created to support PhD students in biological anthropology at the University of Oregon. This award was made possible by the generous donation of Thomas Lovell Johnston.
- Scholarship Amount: Awards typically $5000-$10,000
- Number of Scholarships: Variable
- Disbursement Frequency: 3 equal payments (1 per term) over the next academic year, plus a larger summer installment dispersed at the end of spring term
- Deadline: May 13, 2026
- Eligibility: Continuing graduate students who are United States citizens with a master's degree in biological anthropology and are seeking a PhD degree in biological anthropology. Also, preference is given to graduate students who don’t have other forms of summer support such as a summer GE, NSF GRFP, or other grant supported funding or fellowships.
- To Apply: Submit the online application above.
Hannibal Nelsen Scholarship
- Scholarship Amount: Awards likely to be $3,000–$5,000
- Number of Scholarships: Variable
- Disbursement Frequency: 3 equal payments (1 per term) over the next academic year
- Deadline: May 13, 2026
- Eligibility: Continuing graduate students in Anthropology with preference to students studying Biological Anthropology
- To Apply: Submit the online application above (coming soon).
Virginia Green and Leila Johnston Scholarship
- Scholarship Amount: Awards likely to be $1,000–$2,000
- Number of Scholarships: Variable
- Disbursement Frequency: 3 equal payments (1 per term) over the next academic year.
- Deadline: May 13, 2026
- Eligibility: Continuing graduate students
- To Apply: Submit the online application above.
Anthropology Graduate Summer Research Award
This award aims to support Anthropology graduate students. It can be used to support dissertation writing, completing a journal article, analyzing research materials, or conducting field or laboratory research. Preference will be given to students who are unable to work outside of UO and/or who have confronted significant obstacles in carrying out their planned research.
- Award Amount: Awards likely to be $3,000–$5,000
- Number of Awards: Variable
- Disbursement Frequency: Single distribution at academic year-end
- Deadline: May 13, 2026
- Eligibility: Current graduate students in Anthropology (undergraduates are also eligible)*
- To Apply: Submit the online application above.
*Undergraduates are eligible to apply for the Anthropology Undergraduate Summer Research Award.
External Funding
Graduate students typically seek external financial support for their doctoral research, through federal programs such as the National Science Foundation or the Social Sciences Research Council, or through private foundations like the Wenner-Gren Foundation. The high success rate for obtaining competitive research grants is a testament to the extremely high quality of graduate students in the UO anthropology program. Additional information on funding opportunities can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook.