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Financial Assistance and Scholarships

There are several ways to gain financial assistance to help pay for your education, including scholarships, assistantships, fellowships, loans and student employment.

Students are encouraged to fill out their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) as soon as possible. FAFSA forms are available through USF’s Financial Aid office or online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The form is essential for receiving need-based financial aid through USF, such as Stafford loans and work-study.

Graduate Assistantships:

a) Departmental assistantships

The Department has a limited budget for graduate assistantships every year. Any new or continuing graduate student is eligible for consideration for these assistantships; however, you should generally plan to seek other sources of funding for a significant portion of your time in graduate school.

If you receive an assistantship, your appointment letter will likely say that your appointment is "renewable." Do not assume that it will be renewed, although at present, most students have received departmental funding for at least two years, and several for more. In addition, many students have been successful in finding funded assistantships outside the department.

Assistantships are not grants; they require the student to work, either as a teaching assistant, helping with or teaching a class, or as a research assistant, helping faculty members on research projects. They are made either at a 25% appointment level (10 hours weekly) or a 50% level (20 hours weekly). At both levels, assistantships carry with them a waiver of all tuition, although the student is responsible for fees, which comprise about 20% of the total tuition-related costs. Assistantships at the 50% level also provide half the cost of premiums for the USF health plan.

At present, the annual stipend for Ph.D. students at the 50% level is $13,000, and $9,000 for M.A. students, although this is currently under review.

Dual degree students (with College of Public Health) are eligible for funding from both Anthropology and COPH, usually in alternating years.

How to apply:

New students:

Although all new students are routinely considered for available assistantships, prospective students should make their interest in an assistantship known at the time of application. An application form is included with your application packet. Make sure to include any skills, abilities, and experience that may be relevant.

Continuing students:

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Simply fill out the form , and submit to the Graduate Director. Applications will be kept on file, and will be matched to openings as they arise.

In addition, specific opportunities may arise on occasion, such as the need to appoint a TA for an upcoming class. Such openings will be advertised on the ANT listserv.

Who gets the assistantships?

A significant portion of available funds is reserved for new students, both M.A. and Ph.D. For instance, in the 2006-07 year, 27 of 37 new graduate students received some kind of support, either through departmental assistantships or on faculty members' grants. In general, we use assistantships to encourage enrollment from the best applicants, who may be able to compare offers among several universities.

Academic excellence is a major factor

Where possible, we try to fund excellent out-of-state students, since without a waiver, they would have to pay much higher tuition. We encourage all out-of-state students to start establishing Florida residency as soon as possible upon arrival in state. Florida Residency Classification form can be accessed at http://admissions.grad.usf.edu/forms.html.

Decisions to fund continuing students are made based on a variety of factors:

• Excellent academic progress
• Demonstrated success as a GA. All GAs are evaluated at the end of each semester. If you have shown yourself to be competent and diligent, and you work well with your faculty supervisor, you are more likely to be re-appointed or receive funding in future semesters.
• Needs of the department. Some assistantships involve taking responsibility for a class, or assisting with very specific tasks that require particular expertise. This is why it is important to make sure we know your individual strengths.

Make sure the Graduate Director and Chair are aware if you wish to be considered for a graduate assistantship!

b) Grant-funded assistantships:

Throughout the year, opportunities arise for students to obtain paid positions on faculty research grants and contracts. In particular, such positions are frequently available with the Alliance for Applied Research in Education and Anthropology (AAREA); students interested in those opportunities should contact Dr. Kathy Borman. These and other grant-funded opportunities will be posted on the ANT listserve, and will typically carry similar stipends and funding as departmental assistantships.

Scholarship Searches:

The FastWeb site offers a detailed scholarship search. Other potential sources of funding are listed by USF Graduate Admissions, including the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. The USF Graduate School also coordinates several programs that offer scholarship support; please see www.grad.usf.edu, under Funding Opportunities.

Presidential Doctoral Fellowships:

These five-year, $20,000-per-year renewable fellowships are for doctoral study at USF. The fellowships provide full tuition, fees and health insurance. Applicants to a doctoral program, or to a master’s program with the goal of completing doctoral studies at USF, will be considered upon nomination by the doctoral program. For more information, call (813) 974-8800 or visit USF Graduate Studies.

The Academic Common Market

The Academic Common Market is a program that allows students from participating states to pay in-state tuition at universities in other states included in the program, provided the specific degree is not offered in their home states. Because Applied Anthropology is a relatively rare degree, many students from these states have been successful in applying for the program.

Participating states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

In Florida, the difference between in-state and out-state tuition is substantial; the Common Market Program can help make the degree very affordable. Even with an assistantship, the program will effectively reduce the 20% cost portion for which students are responsible.

For full details and application procedures, go to http://www.sreb.org/programs/acm/acmindex.asp

Employment:

USF students can find part-time employment in the form of Federal Work-Study, USF OPS or internships by contacting the Career Center at (813) 974-2171. This is located in SVC 2088.

Anthropology graduate students are often hired by other departments at USF, as either Graduate Assistants or hourly employees, usually to carry out research. These have included the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), the College of Public Health, Florida Mental Health Institute, and the College of Education. When notified, we will post such opportunities on the list serve. They are also often circulated through list serves such as USF News.

Student Loans:

Information on loans is available through the USF Financial Aid office , SVC 1102, (813) 974-4700.

Other department awards

The department also sponsors several awards that provide financial support or one-time payment:

J. Raymond Williams Memorial Scholarship in Public Archaeology

Professor J. Raymond Williams dedicated his career to training students in public archaeology. Known both for his commitment to teaching and service to the profession, Professor Williams was instrumental in establishing the internationally recognized public archaeology program at the University of South Florida. The purpose of the scholarship is to train minority students in public archaeology and focus research on the rich and diverse heritage of Florida. The Scholarship provides support for two years of graduate study at the University of South Florida leading to an MA degree in public archaeology.

The J. Raymond Williams Graduate Assistantship consists of a two-year graduate assistantship at 10 hours per week and the accompanying tuition waiver. The recipient will also receive $500 per year from the Williams Scholarship account for book costs and other expenses. The J. Raymond Williams Graduate Assistantship will be competitively awarded to a qualified student who is a member of a minority underrepresented in the archaeological profession. The successful applicant may also be eligible for further support through other programs.

Requirements: acceptance to the graduate program in applied anthropology at the University of South Florida; applicants wishing to be considered for the Williams scholarship should indicate that in their application statement; satisfactory progress toward the M.A. degree as determined at the end of the first year for 2nd year support. Deadline to Apply: January 15 for Fall admission. Request Application Information from the Director of Graduate Programs, Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., SOC 107, Tampa, FL 33620-8100 USA.

Alvin W. Wolfe Scholarship in Applied Anthropology

Professor Emeritus Alvin W. Wolfe dedicated his career to training students in to work as practicing anthropologists. He was instrumental in establishing the internationally-recognized applied anthropology program at the University of South Florida. Upon his retirement, a fund was established to provide a Scholarship that offers support for two years of graduate study at the University of South Florida leading to an MA degree in applied anthropology.

The Wolfe Scholarship offers a two-year graduate assistantship at 20 hours per week, with accompanying tuition waiver. The recipient also receives $500 per year from the Wolfe Scholarship account for book costs and other expenses. The scholarship recipient, judged to have special potential for success in applied anthropology, is selected from among annual applicants to the M.A. program (excluding public archaeology and dual degree applicants). To receive a second year of support, the recipient must demonstrate satisfactory progress toward the M.A. degree, as determined at the end of the first year.