Scholarships and Fellowships

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PhD Funding Opportunities

  • Academic year stipends of $23,000 and a full tuition waiver for all full-time, funded PhD students on 10-month academic teaching assistant, research assistant, or graduate assistant appointments.
    • UB’s stipend levels are competitive among public Association of American Universities (AAU) member institutions.
  • Additional Fellowship Opportunities:
    • Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship Program: Candidates are required to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must demonstrate how they have overcome a disadvantage or other impediment to success in higher education. Candidates must also demonstrate a commitment to contributing to the diversity of the student body by facilitating and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in their academic programs and campus activities. Even though financial need is not a requirement for program eligibility, applicants may utilize economic disadvantage as a basis for eligibility. This scholarship program is open to any and all prospective candidates regardless of race, color, national origin, or sex, and is consistent with all current governing federal and state nondiscrimination law. All application submissions will be assessed and evaluated in accordance with the required eligibility criteria. Students may apply for the Schomburg Fellowship on the UB graduate application for their program.
    • Presidential Fellowships: To be eligible for Presidential Fellowships, candidates must meet the criteria listed on the Presidential Fellowship page. Both domestic and international students are eligible, if they meet these criteria. For any questions regarding funding for academic year 2025–2026, contact the director of graduate studies or department chair.
View Presidential and Schomburg Fellowship Details
For more information:

Frederick Klaits

Director, Graduate Studies

Department of Anthropology

Email: fklaits@buffalo.edu

Maria Portera

Coordinator, Graduate Studies

Department of Anthropology

Email: mportera@buffalo.edu

Research Scholarships and Grants

CAS Dissertation Fellowships

Outstanding graduate students who have reached the stage of preparing their doctoral dissertations may apply on a competitive basis to receive a Dissertation Fellowship, which carries with it a stipend of $6,000 for one academic year. There are a limited number of these Fellowships, which entail no teaching or other form of obligation. They are intended to assist advanced doctoral candidates in the preparation of their dissertations. These fellowships may be used to supplement other forms of financial support a student receives, or they may be awarded to students who are otherwise unfunded.
 

Mark Diamond Research Fund

The Mark Diamond Research Fund is offered through the Graduate Student Association (GSA) to graduate students for dissertation or thesis research-related expenses. Doctoral students are eligible to receive up to $2,500 and master's students may apply for up to $1,500.

Learn more

Anthropology Department Research Awards

Eligible graduate students may apply for the below awards each spring semester.

  • The Morris and Lucille Opler Award for Dissertation Research or Writing is annually awarded to a PhD student who has passed the advanced examination and successfully defended the dissertation proposal. This award carries an amount of $6,000 for dissertation research or writing.
  • Dr. Keith F. Otterbein Award for War and Peace Studies is intended to provide support to one exceptional PhD student at the University at Buffalo doing doctoral research on War and/or Peace. The award is for research that focuses on social, cultural, or historical factors involved in initiating and/or conducting war and/or establishing and/or maintaining peace. The award carries a stipend of $1,500 and is given to students at the pre-dissertation research stage, the dissertation research stage, or the dissertation-writing stage.