Archaeology Scholarships

Do museum membership cards outnumber credit cards in your wallet? Have you dressed up as Indiana Jones for Halloween at least once in your life? Do you secretly hope to unearth a T-Rex femur when your dog starts digging in the backyard? If so, your love of the past could mean a career in archaeology is in your future.

Don’t don your fedora just yet, though: Do you have any idea how you’re going to pay for the education that will score you a place on a Turkish dig or Arctic exploration? College in general isn’t cheap but when you factor in the cost of a bachelor’s, master’s and possibly doctoral degree to get the job of your dreams, that number inflates considerably. We suggest doing some digging of a different kind…in your school’s financial aid office. Chances are your college will offer at least one university-based archaeology scholarship (here are three if you go to UCLA) and be able to point you in the direction of countless others. For example, the Archaeological Institute of America and GoAbroad.com both award numerous archaeology scholarships, grants and fellowships each year.

Internships and study abroad programs are also excellent ways to gain real-world experience and get some thousand-year-old dirt under your fingernails to determine if archaeology is the right major for you. If you decide it isn’t, there’s no need for the credits you’ve earned thus far to go to waste: You’ve probably already completed many of the requirements for majors in anthropology, biology or history. We’ve listed a few archaeology scholarships below but for additional scholarship opportunities, create a Scholarships.com profile and complete a free scholarship search today.