Financial Aid For Anthropology Students

Usually when a person thinks of anthropology, he or she thinks of people enshrouded within ivory towers or adventurers such as Indiana Jones. Actually, both examples couldn’t be further from the truth. Anthropology is the study and history of human behavior, and its practical aspects can be seen anywhere from market research and finance through all the social sciences.Now desiring a degree in anthropology is a wonderful thing, but financing one is something very different. It will take more than just your standard federal Pell and state grants. A good place to start is to look at your target universities and see what they have to offer, as many good anthropological departments have their share of endowments. Yet, if a student wants to keep the loans out of the picture, the or she should look outside the hallowed halls of an institution of higher learning. There are some good sources for independent financial aid.A good place to start is the Lambda Alpha National Honors Society. This fraternal group is actually designed for anthropology majors, so becoming a member is like joining any other professional society. From there, they offer two plans for the undergraduate.The first is the Dean’s List Scholarship. It is awarded to these majors in their junior year. The applicants are selected by the chairman or dean of their department and are also members of the Society. If selected, they will receive a one-time $1,000 scholarship. There is also the National Honors; it is open to all declared anthropology majors. Awards can range from $400 to $5,000 for undergraduates and $2,000 to $6,000 for post-graduates. This award money can be used to study overseas, too.There is also the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, which focuses on advancing women in the field. It offers three different scholarships that should be of interested to women wishing to study anthropology. Also of importance is one does not need to be a member of the sorority to obtain any of these awards. All three plans are administered with the National Education Foundation.The first is its General Undergraduate scholarship, which will provide anywhere from $500 to $1,000 for one academic year. More directly is the Zora Neale Hurston Scholarship, which is specifically for anthropology majors, from freshmen through seniors. It also awards $500 to $1,000 to full time students. Lastly, as actual travel and studying foreign cultures is important to anthropology, the Zetas offer the Isabel Herson scholarship. This provides an extra $1,000 to go study overseas.Another player to never forget is the National Science Foundation. This national society has a wide array of scholarships and fellowships open to anthropology and related social science studies. Many times, it will ask for a proposal for independent research. At the same time, it has been known to award as much as $20,000 if the research proposal meets its standards.