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The Field Museum houses some of the world's finest collections in anthropology, botany, geology and zoology. The Field Museum recognizes the need to support basic research on its collections by interested students and scholars throughout the world. To this end, the Museum offers a modest number of grants and fellowships to visiting scientists and students for research and training on our scientific collections. Grants are open on a competitive basis to all individuals in the national and international scholarly community working on problems related to natural history.
Preference is given to projects related to the collections strength or research interests of a Field Museum curator. For specific areas of interest in the museum's four scientific departments, please click on Curatorial Staff. All applicants must specify the Field Museum curator who will write a letter in support of your visit.
Only electronic applications using this web site will be accepted.
Contact information for Field Museum's Scholarships Committee
Chair, Scholarship Committee
Office of Academic Affairs
The Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
email: chair_scholarship@fieldmuseum.org
Please use the list below to find specific information about scholarship and grant opportunities:
Grant Categories
Funds are available in three general categories: Visiting Scholarships, Graduate Student Fellowships, and Undergraduate and High School Internships. These three categories, together with submission deadlines, are discussed below. Additional information can be obtained by writing to the Chair of the Scholarship Committee. All projects must be endorsed by a Field Museum curator. Applicants for all funding categories must contact an appropriate curator at The Field Museum before submitting their application. Please note that Field Museum curators travel frequently, sometimes for extended time periods. Contact the appropriate Field Museum curator well in advance of the application deadline.
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Visiting Scholarships
Providing opportunities for scientists who wish to use the Field Museum's collections, funds are earmarked for travel and for subsistence while visitors are conducting their research. Applications must be endorsed by a Field Museum curator. Please identify a scientist from the list of curators who is responsible for the collection you wish to study. Please contact him or her beforehand to communicate your background, goals and objectives. Applications require statements regarding:
- a) purpose and significance of the proposed research,
b) relevance of field Museum’s collections to the project,
c) collaboration(s) with Field Museum curators, if any,
d) procedures and methods used in the project.
A current full Curriculum Vitae (In English), including a list of references (other than a Field Museum curator), must be uploaded with the application (pdf or doc formats only). You may also submit an additional file of supplemental material (figures, tables, or letters) that you might want considered with your application.
Finally, one of your references must send a letter to the committee before the application deadline. Letters should be addressed to the Chair of the Scholarship committee, or sent via e-mail to Chair_Scholarship@fieldmuseum.org, with the name of the applicant in the subject line
Applications are considered twice a year. The deadlines are May 1st and November 1st. Proposals reviewed by the May 1st panel can be funded no sooner than the second week in July, and proposals reviewed by the November 1st panel can be funded no sooner than the first week of the following January .
Young professionals and graduate students can be funded for periods of a few days to several weeks from the Thomas J. Dee, the Karl P. Schmidt, and the Visiting Scholar funds. Awards are typically less than $1,500 per scholar, owing to the limited availability of these funds. However, requests up to $2500 may be submitted by overseas scholars with expensive airfares.
Short or extended-term visits by distinguished national and international scientists can be funded for periods of several weeks up to one year through the Robert O. Bass Visiting Scientist Fund. These stipends are negotiable.
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Graduate Student Fellowships
A limited number of Field Museum fellowships are available for graduate students engaged in dissertation research associated with the Museum. These fellowships provide stipend support. Candidates will be expected to have formal involvement with the Museum; a curator should serve on the student's academic committee, and the research should rely heavily upon the collections and facilities of the Museum. Students must be in residence in the Chicago area and are expected to spend a significant portion of their research time at the Museum. The period of appointment is one year and starts on September 1st. Applicants must contact the sponsoring curator well in advance of the application deadline.
Applications require descriptions of
- a) the proposed research (1-2 pages, double-spaced), including its purpose and significance,
b) relevance of field Museum’s collections to the project,
c) collaboration(s) with Field Museum curators, if any,
d) procedures and methods used in the project.
A current full Curriculum Vitae (In English), which includes names and contact information of two references in addition to your Field Museum sponsor must be uploaded with the application (pdf or doc formats only).
A copy of your thesis proposal must be uploaded as supplemental material with the application.
Two letters of reference are required, one of which will be your endorsement by a Field Museum curator. Your other reference must submit a letter to the committee before the application deadline. Letters should be addressed to the Chair of the Scholarship committee, or sent via e-mail to Chair_Scholarship@fieldmuseum.org, with your name in the subject line.
Application deadline: February 1st.
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Undergraduate Internships*
Four or five internships per year are available for undergraduate students or recent graduates to work directly with collections and research staff at the Museum. Internships are 10 weeks long and are usually taken in the summer. Application Deadline: February 1st.
High School Internships*
A few salaried internships per year are available for undergraduate students or recent graduates to work directly with collections and research staff at the Museum. Internships are 10 weeks long and are usually taken in the summer. Application Deadline: February 1st.
Applicants for these internships must contact the Field Museum curator who seems most appropriate, since the internship project and work schedule will be arranged with her/him. Field Museum curators travel frequently and should be contacted well in advance of the application deadline. Applications require:
- a) a statement of internship goals (1-2 pages)
b) a Curriculum Vitae must be uploaded as a separate file. Include names and contact information of 3 references in the Curriculum Vitae.
d) Upload a copy of your transcripts as Supplemental Material.
e) In addition to the supporting letter by a Field Museum curator, at least one of your references must submit a letter to the Scholarship Committee before the application deadline. Letters are to be addressed to the Chair of the Scholarship Committee, or sent via e-mail to Chair_Scholarship@fieldmuseum.org, with the name of the applicant in the subject line.
* Other internships, including those in administrative areas, are available for high school and undergraduate students. Please visit our Field Museum Job/Internships Opportunities database to apply
Additional opportunities in collection management and fieldwork are available in the Department of Anthropology. Please see the Field Museum Human Resources Job/Internship link for information on active internships. For questions or additional information on non-paid Anthropology internships, contact Dr. Scott Demel, Head of Collections Management (sdemel@fieldmuseum.org).
Further volunteer and internship opportunities in urban anthropology are available in the Center for Cultural Understanding and Change. Send letter and resume to Josh Ostergaard. An urban ethnographic field school is also available in partnership with Northwestern University: www.scs.northwestern.edu/fieldstudies/.
Opportunities for Native Americans are also available through the Anthropology Department. Please contact Dr. Jonathan Haas, 312-665-7829 or Dr. Helen Robbins, 312-665-7317.
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Curatorial Staff, Field Museum Of Natural History, Chicago
Anthropology Department
- Dr. L. Antonio Curet. Circum-Caribbean archaeology and anthropology: hierarchical societies, ceramic technology, mesoamerican archaeology.
- Dr. Gary Feinman. Mesoamerican archeology and anthropology: ancient China, archaeological method and theory, hierarchical societies.
- Dr. Jonathan Haas. North American anthropology: archaeology of the Americas, repatriation, anthropology exhibits, cultural complexity. (Able to sponsor summer interns only if project is already started during the school year).
- Dr. Chap Kusimba. African archaeology and ethnology: hunter-gatherers, complex societies, history of technology, Islam (Those interested should call to schedule an interview before submitting application).
- Dr. Robert D. Martin. Biological anthropology and primatology: phylogenetic reconstruction, allometric scaling, conservation biology
- Dr. William A. Parkinson. European and Mediterranaean archaeology: early village societies; the evolution of political and economic complexity.
- Dr. John Terrell. Oceanic archaeology and ethnology
- Dr. Anne Underhill. East Asian archaeology and anthropology: development of complex societies, craft production, ceramic ethnoarchaeology.
- Dr. Patrick Ryan Williams. Archaeological science: Andean archaeology and anthropology, complex societies, GIS & remote sensing.
Botany Department
- Dr. Michael Dillon. Vascular plants: flowering plants; fragmented populations, conservation; Andes (summers spent in the field).
- Dr. John Engel. Bryology: spore-bearing plants, liverworts; taxonomy, biogeography; south temperate and subantarctic zone.
- Dr. Sabine Huhndorf. Mycology: ascomycete fungi; wood inhabiting saprobes, systematics, biogeography; Neotropics, North America.
- Dr. Thorsten Lumbsch. Lichenology: ascomycetes, molecular phylogeny, character evolution, secondary chemistry, biogeography; Australian and Antarctic lichens.
- Dr. Gregory Mueller. Mycology: forest fungi; mushroom-tree associations, systematics; Neotropics. (Please contact before submitting an application.)
- Dr. Richard Ree. Vascular plants: Himalayan biogeography, phylogenetic theory, plant systematics and evolution, biodiversity informatics (GIS, databases, etc.).(Summers through 2007 will be spent in the field. Contact me to make other arrangements.)
Geology Department
- Dr. Kenneth D. Angielczyk. Fossil mammals: systematics, evolutionary morphology, and paleoecology of non-mammalian synapsids; end-Permian mass extinction; southern and eastern Africa.
- Dr. John R. Bolt. Fossil amphibians and reptiles: amphibians; paleontology, functional morphology; North America.
- Dr. Lance Grande. Fossil fishes: fishes; systematics, historical biogeography, paleontology, ontogeny; North America.
- Dr. Scott Lidgard. Fossil invertebrates: colonial invertebrates, flowering plants; paleoecology, diversification.
- Dr. Peter Makovicky. Dinosaurs: systematics, Mesozoic biogeography, bird origins; Asia, North America.
- Dr. Olivier C. Rieppel. Fossil amphibians and reptiles: reptiles; comparative anatomy; Germany, North America.
Zoology Department
Division of Amphibians and Reptiles
- Dr. Harold Voris. Reptiles, barnacles, amphibians: population ecology, coevolution; SE Asia.
- Dr. Maureen Kearney. Reptiles and amphibians: reptiles, systematics, evolution, comparative anatomy.
Division of Birds
Division of Fishes
- Dr. Mark W. Westneat. Marine fishes: functional morphology, systematics, behavioral kinetics; Pacific.
- Dr. Wm. Leo Smith. Marine and fresh water fishes; evolution of venom and bioluminescence.
Division of Insects
- Dr. Corrie S. Moreau. Ants: systematics, diversification, biogeography; Australia, Neotropics, North America
- Dr. Alfred F. Newton, Jr. Beetles: systematics, comparative morphology, historical biogeography; south temperate zone.
- Dr. Petra Sierwald. Arachnida, especially spiders, millipedes: systematics, biogeography, evolution of copulatory organs; Africa, Southeast Asia.
- Dr. Margaret K. Thayer. Beetles: systematics, historical biogeography, adult and larval morphology; south temperate zone and North America.
Division of Invertebrates
- Dr. Rüdiger Bieler. Gastropods, bivalves: systematics, comparative anatomy, biogeography.
- Dr. Janet R. Voight. Octopods: systematics, anatomy and morphology, evolutionary ecology; deep sea, North Pacific.
Division of Mammals
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Funding Sources
Funding for Field Museum research grants comes from the sources listed below:
- The Lester Armour Graduate Fellowship
This fund is intended for outstanding graduate students to pursue advanced studies in one of the scientific departments at the Museum. The period of appointment is one year, and is renewable upon reapplication.
- The Borg-Warner Robert O. Bass Visiting Scientist Fund
The Bass Fund was established to provide extended-term research opportunities for distinguished national and foreign scientists to use our collections and library holdings.
- The Thomas J. Dee Fellowship Fund
The Dee Fund was established to provide graduate students and young professionals short-term research opportunities on our collections.
- Prince Visiting Scholars Fund
This fund is to attract the highest quality of scientists and scholars from around the world, to work with the collections and create a strong relationship between The Field Museum and other institutions.
- William A. and Stella Rowley Graduate Fellowship
This fund supports outstanding graduate students in one of the four research departments in the museum.
- The Karl P. Schmidt Fund
The Schmidt Fund provides short-term grants to senior researchers, including advanced graduate students, to complete the museum phase of their research.
- The Visiting Scholar Fund
This fund was established to provide opportunities to students and professionals for short-term collections-based research at Field Museum.
- The Women in Science Graduate Fellowship Fund
This fund is intended for outstanding female graduate students to pursue advanced studies in one of the scientific departments at the Museum. The period of appointment is one year. Sponsored by the Women's Board, this fund was later expanded to also help finance female visiting scientists.
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Application
Please assemble your application materials and click on the link below to complete the on-line application.
Scholarships & Grants on-line application
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