Year - Recipient

• 1996 - Kathy Altom
• 1997 - Erin Gingrich
• 1998 - Jeanie Bianchi
• 1998 - Carrie Donovan
• 1999 - Chris DiTomo
• 1999 - Michael Powell
• 1999 - Sarah Scheiderich
• 2001 - Katheryn Barnes
• 2001 - Claire Dappert
• 2001 - Sarah Erekson
• 2001 - Rachel Balabuscko
• 2001 - Brian Starmach
• 2001 - Sara Zamor
• 2001 - Michael Litchford
• 2001 - Mireya Loza
• 2002 - Tamira Brennan
• 2002 - Joseph Bruce
• 2002 - Heather Foran
• 2002 - Michael Litchford
• 2002 -Meghan Moran
• 2002 - Lauren Szczensky-Pumarada

This award is presented to the student who submits a superior undergraduate anthropology paper. Any undergraduate anthropology major or minor may enter. Undergrad students are notified to submit papers during the spring semester award season.

Papers will be judged based on excellence as demonstrated by problem focus, development of ideas, literature covered, writing style, originality, and contribution to the field. Papers are chosen by the Department Awards Committee consisting of faculty members from all field subdisciplines. At the committee's discretion, an outside reviewer may be asked to assist in the evaluation of a particular entry. Oral evaluation of the candidates to determine the winner is optional and at the discretion of the committee.

The papers must be cleanly typed, and the format should be as appropriate for professional journals such as American Anthropologist, American Antiquity, or American Journal of Physical Anthropology. The paper must be anthropological in subject matter and approach. Senior honor theses, course research papers, fieldwork analyses, and independent projects are all acceptable entries. The paper must have been written or substantially developed while the student has been at the University of Illinois, not to exceed 35 pages.

History: Patricia J. O'Brien. Written by Amy Wedel

Patricia J. O’Brien was born on April 1, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois to John P. O’Brien and Edna M. Massow. She attended Nicholas Senn High School, graduating in 1953, and then worked at the Illinois Bell Telephone Company as a plant engineering clerk from 1953 to 1960. Concurrently, Pat attended Wright Junior College and graduated in 1960 with an associate’s degree in art. She then attended the University of Illinois, graduating with a bachelor’s of art in anthropology in 1962 and a Ph.D. in the same subject in 1969. Her dissertation was, “A Formal Analysis of Cahokia Ceramics: Powell Tract”. O’Brien was an interim anthropology instructor at Florida Atlantic University in 1966-1967, and became an assistant professor of archeology and sociology at Kansas State University (KSU) in September 1967. O’Brien worked at KSU for 31 years, retiring as a professor emerita in 1998. She has published seven books and over forty articles, and has presented regularly while at KSU. She has been involved professionally, including in the American Anthropological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Sigma Xi. In 1989-1990, O’Brien was an Honor Lecturer at the Mid-American State Universities Association, and the following year she received the Conoco Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award and Sigma Xi deemed her a Distinguished Research Lecturer. She was a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in 1994-1995 at Würzburg, Germany, and was a guest professor in 1996 at Munich, Germany. In 2009, the Plains Anthropological Society recognized her lifetime achievement of Plains-related research, teaching, scholarship, and service by awarding O'Brien with the Distinguished Service Award.

Year - Recipient

• 1985 - Jolee West
• 1986 - Becky Gordon
• 1989 - Kathy To
• 1990- Laura M. Oaks
• 1991 - Richard R. Lawler
• 1992 - Paul Blomgren
• 1993 - Leahanne Sarla
• 1994 - Charles W. Golden/ Tally M. Moskovits (co-recipients)
• 1995 -Oscar Newman / Elizabeth Garibay (co-recipients)
• 1996 - Michael Cepek
• 1997 - Kevin Karpiak and Megan Casey
• 1998 - Kevin Karpiak
• 1999 - Chris DiTomo
• 2000 - Nicholas Watkins
• 2002 - Tamira Brennan
• 2003 - Nichole Ortegon
• 2004 - Danielle Schumacher
• 2005 - Susanne Garrett
• 2006 - Toni Sadler
• 2008 - Annelise Morris
• 2009 - Robert Mackin
• 2010 - Susan Wachowski
• 2011 - Rachel Zibrat/ Audrey Gallien (co-recipients)
• 2012 - Danielle Cunningham
• 2013 - Anna Lowe
• 2014 - Taylor Thorton
• 2015 - Paige Jamieson
• 2016 - Ciara Reilly/Amirah Nasir (co recipients)
• 2017 - Alia Kirsch & America Guerra
• 2018 - Julia Carter
• 2019 - Caroline Caton
• 2020 - Harold Adams and Priya Bhatt
• 2021 - Celeste Courtney
• 2023 - Lisa Chasanov

This award is given for outstanding accomplishments and achievements in North American Archaeology. Priority is given to undergraduate students working on questions, materials, and sites that relate to the archaeology of Illinois to support undergraduate research and career development. Undergrad students are notified to submit papers during the spring semester award season.

Applications must include a CV for the nominee and a 1–2-page faculty letter of support describing the significance of the research for the student's intellectual development as well as for the understanding of North American archaeology in general, and Illinois archaeology in particular.

This award is chosen by the Anthropology Department Awards Committee.

Year and Recepient

• 2002 - Michael Litchford
• 2003 - Susan Alt
• 2005 - Philip Millhouse
• 2006 - Dan Marovitch
• 2007 - Liz Watts
• 2011 - Kelsey Anderson/ Melissa Baltus  (co-recipients)
• 2012 - Leslie Drane
• 2013 - Jamie Cater
• 2014 - Mechell Frazier
• 2016 - Mikayla Eastman
• 2018 - Brandon Nakashima
• 2023 - Rachelle Burdette

Graciously endowed by alumnus Paul Liebman, this fund supports undergraduate internships, research, and field school experience in anthropology.

Eligibility

• This award is open to all undergraduate anthropology majors, minors, and CS+ Anth. Preference will be given to first-time applicants in good academic standing.

Award Amount: 

• Up to $2500

Priority Deadlines 

January 19th, annually: Liebman Award for spring funding (For students based on senior capstone projects, and possibly juniors working on an applied anthropology project in conjunction with a faculty member.)

March 1st and April 1st , and on a rolling basis, up to May 15 based on fund availability: Liebman Award for summer funding

Application Forms

• Internship application and Internship Contract 
• Research application 
• Field School Application

Recommended Field Schools

• UIUC Island and Coastal Archaeology Summer Field School (Dr. Brandon Ritchison)

Resources

• Internship Resources
• Research Opportunities

Sample Budgets

• Internship 
• Research 
• Field School

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Petra Jelinek at jelinek@illinois.edu

This award is for an Anthropology graduate student from any subdiscipline conducting preliminary field research in the development of their dissertation project. This award is shared with the East Asian Languages & Cultures Department, and is therefore given every other year.

This award is chosen by the Department Head and Financial Aid Committee during the spring semester award season.

Year and Recepient

• 2018 - Lila Dodge
• 2022 - Bryana Rivera

This award is to support students enrolled in the Department of Anthropology who are pursuing research related to the presence, history, culture, and /or status of African or African American communities.

It is chosen by the Department Head and Financial Aid Committee during the spring semester award season.

Year and Recepient

• 2022 - Lila Dodge

This award is for an archaeology graduate student with research projects in American Archaeology. This award is made possible by a generous bequest from the late Forest N. Baker of Genesco, IL, who held a long-term interest in Illinois Archaeology. Graduate students will be notified to submit paper/proposal during the spring semester award season.

Funding will be awarded based on competitive evaluation of the intellectual merit and broader impacts of proposals for research in American Archaeology.

Proposals should be in the form of concise papers of no more than 5 pages, single-spaced in length; references, tables and figures are not included in the page limit; and a budget listing is not required. This award is chosen by the Financial Aid Committee.

Year and Recepient

• 2014 - Arjona
• 2016 - Tatiana Niculescu
• 2017 - Rebecca Schumann
• 2018 - Jamie Arjona
• 2019 - Aimee Carbaugh, Adam Sutherland
• 2020 - Caitlyn Antoniuk
• 2021 - Emma Verstraete

This award is in conjunction with the Summer Research Assistance Awards. It is given to the best paper/proposal for a graduate student conducting field work in Socio-cultural Anthropology. Graduate students are notified to submit summer funding proposals during the spring semester award season.

This award is chosen by the Financial Aid Committee.

Year and Recepient

• 1986 - Elizabeth Hurley
• 1989 - Deborah A. Bakken
• 1989 - Richard S. Howard
• 1990 - Keith Dipboye
• 1991 - Rosa DeJorio
• 1993 - Gina Hunter de Bessa
• 1994 - Maria Tapias
• 1995 - Soo Jung Lee
• 1996 - Sarah Phillips
• 1996 - James Gilmore
• 1998 - Angelina Cotler
• 1999 - Derek Pardue
• 2000 - So Jin Park
• 2001 - Bjorn Westgard
• 2002 - Jennifer Shoaff, Junjie Chen
• 2003 - Brian Montes
• 2004 - Daniel Gutierrez
• 2005 - Allison Goebel
• 2006  - Isabel Scarborough
• 2007 - Katie O’Brien
• 2009 - Jennifer Baldwin
• 2010 - Wendy Finley
• 2011 - Melinda Bernardo, Kyou ho Lee 
• 2012 - Alex Jong Seok Lee
• 2013 - Emily Metzner
• 2014 - Agnes Sohn, Ezgi Guner
• 2015 - Jonghyun Park
• 2016  - Benjamin Krupp
• 2017 - Dilara Caliskan
• 2018 - Bea Maldonado, Ofira Fuchs
• 2019 - Dilara Caliskan, Lila Dodge, Chibundo Egwuatu
• 2022 - Michelle Patino and Grazzia Grimaldi
• 2023 - Margie Giacalone, Grazzia Grimaldi Calderon, Michelle Patino, Tamara Pavlovic

This is a faculty nominated award given to a graduate student for academic excellence and promise in Anthropology. This award was started by the Edward M. Bruner family upon the retirement of Ed. Graduate students will be notified to submit papers during the spring semester award season.  

This award is chosen by the Anthropology Department Awards Committee.

Year and Recepient

• 1995 - C. Richard King
• 1996 - Mary Greenpool
• 1997 - Walter Little
• 1998 - Lamisa Bangali
• 1999 - Moeslim Abdurrahman
• 2000 - Angelina Cotler
• 2001 - So Jin Park
• 2002 - Robin Bernstein
• 2003 - Noriko Muraki
• 2004 - Martin Kowalewski
• 2005 - Andrew Asher(co-recipient)
• 2006 - Junjie Chen (co-recipient)
• 2007 - Melissa Baltus
• 2008 - Tomi Castle
• 2009 - Jason Ritchie
• 2010 - Scott Williams
• 2011 - Michele Hanks
• 2012 - Nicoletta Righini
• 2013 - Sophia Balakian
• 2014 - Dohye Kim
• 2015 - Sophia Balakia
• 2016 - Paul Michael Atienza
• 2017 - Matthew Go
• 2018 - Jamie Arjona
• 2019 - Zev Cossin
• 2020 - Jamie Arjona
• 2021 - Nicole Cox
• 2022 - Tatiana Niculescu
• 2023 - Grazzia Grimaldi Calderon

Established by Charles and Janet Keller. Preference shall be given to graduate students working on critical approaches to material culture within the unit. This fellowship may be used for ABD graduate students writing fellowships. Graduate students are notified to submit applications during the fall semester.

This award is chosen by the Department Head and Financial aid Committee.

Year and Recepient

• 2018 - Rebecca Schumann
• 2021 - Benjamin Krupp, Negin Valizadegan
• 2022 - Alana Ackerman, Aimee Carbaugh, Yue Liao
• 2023 - Breanna Escamilla, Michelle Farley

This award is in conjunction with the Graduate Students 2nd year reports. The award is shared with the Sociology Department, therefore is given every other year.  It provides a stipend for one semester free of TA/RA duties. Graduate students will be notified to submit 2nd year reports during the spring semester award season.

This award is chosen by the Financial Aid Committee.

Year and Recepient

• 1992-93 - Robert Connolly
• 1994-95-Lauren Sieg
• 1996-97 - Gina Hunter de Bessa
• 1997-98 - Rachel Corr
• 1999-00 - Jennifer Rehg
• 2002-03 - Derek Pardue
• 2004-05 - Bjorn Westgard
• 2006-07 - Akiko Takeyama
• 2008-09 - Melissa Raguet
• 2009-2010 - Sociology
• 2010-2011 - John Cho
• 2011-2012 - Sociology
• 2012-2013 - Anthropology  Liz Mallott
• 2014-15 - Paul Michael Atienza
• 2015-16 - Sociology
• 2016-17 - David Arstizabal
• 2017-18 - Sociology
• 2018-19 - Use it Fall 2019 give out in spring 2019
• 2019-20 - Sociology
• 2020-21 - Meredith Wilson
• 2021-22 - Sociology
• 2022-23 - Michelle Patino
• 2023-24 - Sociology

Established by Patricia O’Brien in honor and memory of Demitri B. Shimkin. The award is for the most outstanding research paper written by an Anthropology graduate student.  Grad students are notified to submit papers during the spring semester award season.

Papers will be evaluated in terms of their problem orientation, logical development, research breadth, originality, and contribution to the field and should follow American Anthropologist, American Antiquity, or American Journal of Physical Anthropology style guidelines.  It must be anthropological in subject matter and approach.   

Research papers, fieldwork analyses, independent projects, and Master papers are all acceptable entries.  The paper's text must have been written or substantially developed while the student has been at the University of Illinois, and must not exceed 35 pages (12pt. double-spaced) in length, including texts, notes, and references (but excluding tables, graphs, and illustrations).  Multi-authored papers must be accompanied by a statement of contributions made to the study by each author. In multi-authored papers, the student author must have written the paper.  Published papers will not be accepted. However, papers currently under review for publication will be considered.

This award is chosen by the Anthropology Department Awards Committee.

Year and Recepient

• 1997 - Paul Park
• 1998 - ShanShan Du
• 1998 - Lewis Thomas
• 1999 - Marsha Brofka
• 2000 - Maria Tapias
• 2001 - Angela Shand
• 2002 - Jesook Song
• 2003 - Michelle Wibbelsman
• 2004 - Robin Bernstein
• 2005 - Andrew Asher
• 2006 - William Hope
• 2007 - Norika Muraki
• 2008 - Alyssa Garcia
• 2009 - Jason Ritchie
• 2010 - John Cho
• 2010 - Scott Williams
• 2012 - Mark Grabowski
• 2013 - Sophia Balakian
• 2014 - Jonghyun Park
• 2015 - Jamie Arjona
• 2016 - Liz Mallott
• 2017 - Jamie Arjona
• 2018 - Mary Rogers and Mike Atienza
• 2019 - Allie Zachwieja Emma Verstraete
• 2019 - Honorable Mentions Yue Liao, Ezgi Guner, Amanda Lee
• 2020 - Ben Krupp
• 2021 - An-di-Yim and Jeongsu Shin (Co-Winners)
• 2021 - Honorable Mentions Caitlyn Antoniuk and Dilara Caliskan
• 2022 - Negin Valizadegan and Jeongsu Shin
• 2023 - Austin Hoffman

Once per academic year, registered grad students are eligible for department conference funds, in the form of reimbursement. Students will receive up to $250 for those presenting papers or posters, while those not presenting are eligible for $75.

1. All applicants must complete the Anthropology “Online Travel Authorization and Information Form” found at https://anthro.illinois.edu/resources/student-resources/forms. Please answer question #10 “N/A”
2. Each student presenting a paper/poster must provide an abstract of the paper or poster, and a brief description (1 paragraph) of how it relates to the dissertation or other research.
3. Students not presenting, must provide an outline of key symposia they plan to attend, and briefly mention how these symposia are expected to inform their graduate research.
4. Students must be registered for current semester.
5. These forms must be submitted to the Anthropology Graduate Program Coordinator, Joyce Dowell at joyce14@illinois.edu, prior to travel in order for students to qualify for funds. Reimbursement will be provided to qualified students for costs (up to the amounts specified) upon presentation of receipts to Joyce after the meetings.

This program provides modest grants to PhD grad students for summer research. Priority will be given to students in any sub-field in the early years of their doctoral training. Past recipients are eligible to apply again, however funding priority is given to students who have not previously received a summer research award.

Applications are submitted to the Anth grad contact, joyce14@illinois.edu by the department deadline, so materials can be compiled for the selection process. Applications consist of a proposal, budget and letter of support from an advisor. Be sure to refer to email during spring semester award season for complete details.

Proposal

Proposals should be written in a professional manner and submitted with a completed cover sheet. The proposed project must be directly related to your progress-toward-degree, cost-effective, and one that can be completed in the summer interval.

The proposal should be no more than 1500 words (for steps 1 through 4) and contain the following information:

1. A brief abstract of 150 words or less
2. Statement of the research problem
3. Statement of the proposed research, including working hypotheses and research methodology constructed against a background of research in the discipline.
4. Significance of the research:
   1. (a) theoretical,
   2. (b) potential applied relevance (if applicable)
   3. (c) personal import (i.e., dissertation, career)
5. References cited
6. Research schedule (overall dates) and plan of activities
7. Budget
8. Human subjects form, animal research approval form, or artifact disposition statement (or evidence of its submission for approval), if applicable.

Budget

In order to provide the maximum number of summer research opportunities from the department’s limited summer funds, in most instances only basic assistance can be provided. We urge applicants to seek supplementary sources of funding and indicate personal or other investment in the project. Budgets must be realistic, modest, and cost-effective and should include: a) the total project budget and b) the amount of the partial assistance that you are requesting from the department.

Year and Recipient

• 1986-87 - David Grove (Dept. &  Prokasy)
• 1986-87 - Paul Garber
• 1987-88 - Edward M. Bruner
• 1988-89 - David Grove
• 1990 - Linda Klepinger (Dept. & LAS)
• 1991  - David Grove (Dept. & UIUC Campus/Luckman)
• 1992  - Paul Garber
• 1993  - David Grove
• 1994 - David Grove
• 1995  - David Grove / Enrique Mayer (co-recipients

LUCKMAN (Faculty)

• 1996 - Helaine Silverman(nominee)

CAMPUS AWARD (Faculty) (previously luckman)

• 1997 - Susan Gillespie and Steve Leigh
• 1998 - Paul Garber and Linda Klepinger
• 1999 - Steve Leigh and Helaine Silverman
• 2000 - Linda Klepinger
• 2001 - Dave Grove
• 2001 - Steve Leigh

LUCKMAN (Student)

• 1996 - Eric Hollinger(nominee)

CAMPUS AWARD (Student) (previously luckman)

• 1997 - Lauren Sieg
• 1998 - Lauren Sieg
• 1999 - Stephanie House
• 2000 - Angelina Cotler & Paul Park
• 2001 - Missy Loyet

Year and Recipient

• 1997 - Thomas Emerson
• 1997 - Paul Kreisa and Kevin McGowan
• 1997 - Eric Hollinger and Carol Yokell
• 1998 - Karla Harmon and Ronda Rigdon
• 1999 - Nancy Abelmann, Susan Gillespie and Barry Lewis
• 2000 - Nora McKinley, Sec. III, Academic Human Resources
• 2001 - Susan Gillespie, Bill Kelleher, and Tim Pauketat
• 2002 - Bill Kelleher
• 2003 - Steve Leigh
• 2004 - Andrew Orta
• 2005 - Alma Gottlieb
• 2008 - Janet Keller
• 2009 - Brenda Farnell
• 2010 - Kate Clancy
• 2011 - Karla Harmon
• 2012 - Paul Garber
• 2013 - Fennell/Gottlieb
• 2016 - Farnell/Moodie
• 2017 - Susan Frankenberg
• 2019 - Jessica Greenberg
• 2020 - Laura Shackelford
• 2022 - Ripan Malhi

Year and Recipient

• 2000-01 - Alma Gottlieb (fellowship for 2001-02 given to Junje Chen)

This award is hosted by the Illinois Department of Gender & Women's Studies. 

• Mary Ramier Grant

The Office of the Provost administers and helps support several awards for faculty and graduate students. 

Provost Campus Awards and Honors

The following are supported by University of Illinois entities.

Campus Conference Travel Support

• The Graduate College Conference Presentation Awards for Graduate Students
• The Center for East Asian & Pacific Studies Graduate Student Travel Grant
• The Program in Jewish Culture & Society OKla Elliot Travel Scholarship
• UI System President's Research in Diversity Travel Assistance Program

This award is awarded by the Illinois Graduate College, further information can be found here. 

• Fall 2018 – Ben Krupp & An-Di Yim
• Spring 2019 – Claire Branigan
• FA 2019 – Aimee Carbaugh & Bea Maldonado
• SP 2020 – Grazzia Grimaldi & Alana Ackerman
• FA 2020 – Yue Liao
• FA 2021 – Nicole Cox
• SP 2022 – Michelle Farley
• FA 2022 – Austin Hoffman
• SP 2023 – Urooba Fatima & Caitlyn Antoniuk
• FA 2023 – Michelle Patino

This award is awarded by the Illinois Graduate College, further information can be found here.

• SP 2020 – Paul Michael Atienza
• SP 2022 – Meredith Wilson
• SP 2023 – Aimee Carbaugh & Grazzia Grimaldi Calderon