Funding

UCLA Archaeology Program: Funding for Graduate Students

The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology offers financial support to students admitted to the PhD program in Archaeology in the form of fellowships, TA-ships, and GSRships (Graduate Student Researchships). Such support is provided from a combination of funds allocated from the Graduate Division at UCLA, endowed funds for graduate student support in the Cotsen Institute, GSRships attached to faculty grants, TA-ships (by application to the Departments of Anthropology, Art History, Classics, NELC, etc.), and other sources. Applicants should be sure to apply as well to special fellowships offered by UCLA, such as the Cota-Robles Fellowship and other endowed funds.

The standard package offers the following:

  • An initial year of fees and stipend (and NRT if required: see next section)
  • At least two years of TAships at UCLA
  • Additional years of fellowship by application (e.g. for a Graduate Research Mentorship).
  • A minimum stipend of $30,000 for any support on campus

Students requiring research travel abroad are assisted in applications for foreign research fellowships (see below), for which the program will support them through in absentia registration. The final year of thesis completion is usually funded through a (competitive) Dissertation Year Fellowship from the Graduate Division. Additional funding for continuing students is available through UCLA as well as through extramural organizations.

Nonresident Students

Students who are not California residents are provided with non-resident tuition (NRT) for the first year of study, but are expected to qualify and register for California residency after the first year; NRT will no longer be provided after the first year in the program.

For foreign students entering with an MA degree, NRT is normally provided for the first two years in the PhD program, after which they are expected to advance to candidacy for the PhD, at which point the university will waive NRT for three years.

Outside Funding

Students are strongly encouraged to apply for outside funding (such as the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Funding, or Jacob Javits Fellowship from the US Dept. of Education) prior to admission or within the first year of graduate school.

Outside funding is particularly critical for research travel abroad and available by application through sources such as: 

Other fellowships can be found through UCLA's Graduate and Postdoctoral Extramural Support (GRAPES) database.

Continued Funding

Continued funding in the Archaeology program is contingent upon satisfactory progress towards degree requirements, as indicated, in particular, by successful and timely completion of language exams, completion of the MA degree within two years and advancement to candidacy for the PhD within two years of the MA, as well as demonstrable progress on the completion of the PhD thesis. Students who have failed to meet some of these deadlines can no longer be guaranteed funding promised in their initial offer or required past the minimum number of years for which such funding is guaranteed.

For further information, please refer to Graduate Division's handbook on Graduate Student Financial Support for Continuing Students.

Summer Funding

Summer funding for research travel and fieldwork is supported by endowed funds in the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology from the Friends of Archaeology and the Steinmetz Family Foundation and by application for a Graduate Summer Research Mentorship, and occasionally by summer funding offered on admission or by a Dean’s Scholar award. Summer TA-ships are also available by application to Anthropology, Classics and NELC.