Scholarships and financial aid

The annual Wayne State University Scholarship Application period runs from Oct. 1 through March 1. Applicants will be considered for the scholarships listed below, as well as the scholarships available throughout the university, by using just one application.

Apply for scholarships

Financial aid

Undergraduate scholarships

Alan Hugley Endowed Scholarship Award

This scholarship was established in honor of Alan Hugley, a Wayne State alumni and strong supporter of archaeology, to recognize students who demonstrate a commitment to the anthropology library and the Grosscup Museum through participation in volunteer activities. Students chosen for this award may be majoring in anthropology, archival administration or library sciences. The intent of this award is to recognize scholastic achievement, encourage continued progress and provide assistance to students in financing their education.

Michael Marie Dion Annual Scholarship in Anthropology

This scholarship was established by Michael Marie Dion, a Wayne State alumna and avid avocational archaeologist, to support upper-level undergraduate and graduate students with a focused interest in archaeology. The award may be used for tuition or other educational expenses. To be eligible for this award, undergrad students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and grad students must have a minimum GPA of 3.5; applicants must also demonstrate financial need. This award intends to recognize scholastic achievement, encourage continued progress and provide assistance to students in financing their education.

Graduate scholarships

The anthropology department administers its own internal funding competition each winter. The following awards are available:

One or more Rumble Fellowships, covering tuition, stipend and benefits, with no teaching or service obligations (Ph.D. students only).
Several graduate teaching assistantships (GTAs), covering tuition, stipend and benefits, with teaching obligations in the fall and winter semesters (Ph.D. students only).
One graduate research assistantship (GRA) dedicated specifically to work in the Grosscup Museum and including tuition, stipend and benefits (M.A. or Ph.D. students).
One or more Barbara Aswad award(s) for graduate travel, directed ordinarily to students pursuing field or language research in the Middle East (M.A. or Ph.D. students).

All of these awards, except the Aswad Award, require that the recipients do not hold any other concurrent employment. A student may hold a teaching assistantship for a maximum of three years throughout their doctoral studies. Students who do not receive funding but whose funding applications were complete may be placed on a ranked list of alternates if award recipients decline them.

Current graduate students should apply using the form below and email it electronically, along with a copy of your current curriculum vitae, to Yuson Jung. No reference letters are required. However, you should notify your faculty advisor about your intention to apply for graduate funding.

Students who aren't currently Ph.D. students but are applying to the Ph.D. program for the coming academic year are automatically considered for the Rumble and teaching assistantships and do not need to apply using this process. Graduate students will receive application materials through emails to the listserv.

Graduate Professional Scholarships (GPS)

Another major funding source is the Graduate Professional Scholarship competition, which covers up to 10 in-state credits of courses in each of the fall and winter semesters for one year. This is a university-wide competition open to both M.A. and Ph.D. students, with a March application deadline for the following academic year.

Additional graduate scholarships

Colemen "Steve" Demeter Endowed Graduate Scholarship

This scholarship was established in honor of Steve Demeter, an alumnus of the Wayne State anthropology department and well-known Detroit archaeologist, to recognize graduate students in historical archeology. Recipients of this award will demonstrate their support of the mission and objectives of Gordon L. Grosscup Museum of Anthropology through volunteer activities relating to research and publication on the museum collections. To be eligible for this award, students need to contribute approximately 60 hours to the museum per semester. The intent of this award is to recognize scholastic achievement, encourage continued progress and provide assistance to students in financing their education.

Michael Marie Dion Annual Scholarship in Anthropology

This scholarship was established by Michael Marie Dion, a Wayne State alumna and avid avocational archaeologist, to support upper-level undergraduate and graduate students with a focused interest in archaeology. The award may be used for tuition or other educational expenses. To be eligible for this award, undergrad students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and grad students must have a minimum GPA of 3.5; applicants must also demonstrate financial need. The intent of this award is to recognize scholastic achievement, encourage continued progress and provide assistance to students in financing their education.

Rory Bolger and Helene Rottenberg Award in Anthropology

The Bolger and Rottenberg Award in Anthropology, established in 2018, is awarded biannually to Wayne State University anthropology graduate students to support community-oriented scholarship and related professional development. All Anthropology graduate students in good standing may apply. Preference is given to early-stage students in their first or second year of the program and to first-time awardees. The Bolger and Rottenberg Award is designed to support anthropology graduate students who seek funding to offset the costs of professional development related to scholarship, training, conference participation or other activities.