The Anthropology Department offers several scholarship/fellowships and graduate assistantships each year:
Please contact us at anthdept@pdx.edu with any questions. You can find additional university resources on ScholarX.
Daniel Scheans Award (undergraduate)
The Daniel Scheans Award was established in 1998 in memory of Professor Scheans, a beloved faculty member of the Portland State University Anthropology Department from 1965 to 1989. A socio-cultural anthropologist, he was a dedicated scholar and teacher who believed strongly in his undergraduate students and in the value of Anthropology.
One award of $1,000 is anticipated each year based on scholastic achievement and merit. The award is not renewable, but students may apply more than once for the scholarship.
The recipient of the award:
- must be an undergraduate anthropology major and a full-time student (12 credits/quarter) in spring quarter, when the scholarship is issued;
- must be enrolled two out three quarters in the year they apply; and
- must have completed a minimum of 20 credit hours in anthropology
Scheans Award Application
Email completed application to wcg@pdx.edu and anthdept@pdx.edu by April 12, 2024.
Funds will be dispersed through Financial Aid and coordinated through the Anthropology Department.
Graduate Teaching Assistantships (current graduate)
The Anthropology Department offers 3-5 teaching assistantships per year. These assistantships provide nine hours of tuition reimbursement per quarter (but do not cover fees or books), and TAs must be enrolled full-time. TAs also receive a monthly stipend.
More information about graduate assistantships can be found on the Grad School website.
This form is for current graduate students only; incoming applicants can apply for TA positions as part of their departmental application.
Graduate Assistantship Application
Email completed application to anthdept@pdx.edu by Feb. 15, 2023.
Thomas E. Newman Fund (graduate)
Thomas E. Newman was a founding faculty member of the PSU Anthropology Department from 1959 to 1982. An archaeologist, Professor Newman was a dedicated scholar and teacher who believed strongly in his students and in the value of anthropology. The award was established in his memory.
On award of $1,000 is anticipated annually, which will be given to an outstanding anthropology graduate student, who shows promise in their research and future career in anthropology. The award is not renewable, but students may apply more than one time. The fund can be issued as a scholarship applied towards tuition, which would be administered through Financial Aid, or as a check directly paid to the student as an employee or non-employee (payment in this way is taxable). Funds will be dispersed through Financial Aid; and coordinated through the Anthropology Department.
Newman Fund Application
Email completed applications to wcg@pdx.edu and anthdept@pdx.edu by April 12, 2024.
Wayne Suttles Graduate Fellowship (graduate)
In honor of the late Professor of Anthropology Dr. Wayne Suttles, several donors, including Mr. David Ellis, have established a fellowship for graduate students in their final year of study. Dr. Suttles studied the social dynamics of Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest, and his research and teaching brought important stature to the fledgling anthropology program at PSU.
The Suttles fellowship, in the amount of $5,000, is for graduate students in good standing enrolled in the Department of Anthropology at Portland State University; and is designed to pay for a student’s final-year tuition and provide a stipend for fall and winter terms, with the possibility of spring term if recipient is showing significant progress toward thesis completion. Preference will be given to students applying at the end of their 2nd year, but faculty will consider applicants applying at the end of the 3rd year.
Students will be selected according to the following criteria:
- Academic record: Student will show excellence in academic performance, as indicated by GPA.
- Geographic focus: Pacific Northwest or Alaska.
- Other criteria: Student will have shown sufficient progress towards their thesis project at the time of the application such that completing the thesis during the award year is assured. Minimally, the thesis proposal will have been circulated and approved by faculty at the time of the application. Ideally, the student will have completed part of their research at the time of applying, to ensure that the thesis will be completed in the award year.
- Financial need: Student will provide a statement of income sources/options for final year of graduate school.
How to Apply:
- Complete the Suttles application and email to anthdept@pdx.edu by May 13, 2023.
- Request your thesis adviser email a letter (also due by May 13) to anthdept@pdx.edu, addressing the following:
- the academic strengths of student;
- the importance of the project; and
- the likelihood that the student will complete their thesis in the award year.