Thanks to a donor-designated endowment, ASOR is able to make a commitment to BIPOC students with an interest in participating in an Archaeological excavation. Scholarships are available for fieldwork, travel expenses, ASOR student memberships and other needs for exceptional students.

These donor-designated funds were given to enable African American and Indigenous students and early career scholars to become part of the ASOR family and benefit from the many contacts and support opportunities that exist for people participating in any ASOR-affiliated archaeological project for the summer of 2025.

Please note that these donor-designated funds represent only a small part (about 10%) of ASOR’s scholarship program for fieldwork participation. ASOR encourages all students and early career scholars to apply for fieldwork participation scholarships using the uniform application.

Benefits

ASOR Membership

When an applicant is accepted for a scholarship, a student membership to ASOR is included to enable the student to network with and learn from ASOR members. This includes access to hundreds of research titles and resources in Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and many other areas of interest.

Fieldwork Opportunities

Applicants may request scholarship support in particular countries, with specific archaeologists and professors or in preferred areas of research.

Documentation

After the field season is complete, your 250-300 word report and photographs will document your participation and experience.

Eligibility

As per the donor-designated requirement, applicants must be African American or Indigenous students or early career scholars. The successful applicants will be expected to join ASOR before funds are dispersed, but applicants do not need to be members to apply. Applicants are encouraged to use the Uniform Fieldwork Scholarships Application to apply for all of the named and unnamed Fieldwork Participation Scholarships. Some of the named grants are designated for particular excavations (e.g., Hazor or Tell el-Hesi), for particular groups (e.g., BIPOC and veterans), and for particular countries (e.g., Israel or Jordan). Please check the appropriate boxes on the Uniform Application so that you can be considered for as many different scholarships sources as possible. In order to be eligible, applicants are required to participate in an ASOR-affiliated excavation (see list).

Preference will be given to individuals that have not received support through the ASOR scholarship program or other funding sources for the summer of 2024. Additional preference will also be given to applicants who would not usually receive funding (for airfare, lodging or a stipend) from the excavation. Preference is also given to applicants who have not received ASOR funding for excavations in the past three years.

In order to be eligible, applicants are required to participate in an ASOR-affiliated excavation (see list). Applications must include the contact information for the director of the excavation project.

Upon completion of the field season, a report of 250-350 words and three appropriate photos (500 dpi resolution or higher) on site must be submitted to the ASOR office by September 1, 2025. Reports and photos should be sent via email with “ASOR Steinmetz Scholaship report” in the subject line. More information will be available after the recipients have been notified.

Scholarship recipients will be required to sign a waiver indicating that ASOR is not responsible for any injuries they might sustain during their time at the excavation in which they participate. They will also be required to sign a release of rights to ASOR for the inclusion of their report and photographs in one of ASOR’s publications. This award may only be used for allowable direct expenses. Indirect and/or overhead expenses are not permitted.

COVID disclaimer: If the ongoing COVID pandemic, or any other reason, does not allow for many archaeological excavations to take place during 2025, ASOR may at its sole discretion decide not to offer fieldwork scholarships. If ASOR deems such a decision as necessary, applicants may reapply for non-fieldwork summer stipends if ASOR offers stipends for 2025. Regrettably, applicants and successful applicants may not postpone fieldwork scholarships to another year if the applicant or ASOR decides that fieldwork scholarships will not be awarded in 2025. If the pandemic or any other reason causes a cancellation of fieldwork in 2025, applicants must reapply for funding in 2026 (or for stipends if they are made available in 2025).

Good to Know

Although safety is always a high priority, scholarship recipients must sign a waiver that ASOR is not responsible for any injuries during the excavation in which they participate. They will also give ASOR permission to use their report and photographs in ASOR publications.

Early Career Scholars Resources