Student Funding: Scholarships, Grants, and Awards

There are a variety of scholarship opportunities available though the CSUN Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.  Apply online by clicking here.

Student Travel and Academic Research (STAR) is available for up to $600 per student for 6 students ($3600) per academic department, per conference who have submitted a research or creative work proposal, and their work has been accepted for presentation. Proof of acceptance for each student traveling is required to receive STAR Funding.  Apply online by going to the AS Funding Website.

The Office of Graduate Studies provides a limited number of travel awards (up to $400) for graduate students who are presenting a paper, poster or performance at a peer-reviewed professional conference. Please download and complete the application and return it to Gloria Rocklin via email at:  .

Note: Students must first seek funds from the Office of Associated Students (AS) (see Associated Students Travel and Research Funding above to apply)

This award is presented each year to the department’s outstanding student in Archaeology, as selected by the faculty.  Professor Emeritus Antonio Gilman is one of the foremost scholars of the European Bronze Age, especially the Iberian Peninsula.  His publications on the prehistory of Iberia, political economy, Marxist archaeology, and the development of social inequality are influential and widely cited.  Dr. Gilman received his A.B. from Harvard College, a B.A. from Cambridge University, M.A. from Cambridge University, and the Ph.D. from Harvard University.  He served with distinction at Northridge from 1973 to 2007, with multiple terms as Department Chair.  He remains active in the field, continuing to publish and serving as a reviewer on international panels.

Dr. Antonio Gilman at his retirement party in 2007.

This award is awarded to an outstanding student in Biological Anthropology.  Dr. Gelvin joined the CSUN Department of Anthropology in 1972, and in 1975 he earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Missouri, Columbia.  His dissertation was titled: The Primate Os Coxae and the Classification of the Primates.  His research interests centered on the application of quantitative methods to human and nonhuman primate skeletal and dental data, as they apply to problems in human and nonhuman primate evolution and comparative growth.  Dr. Gelvin is largely responsible for the department’s impressive fossil cast collection.  He chaired the CSUN Department of Anthropology from 2001 to 2003.

Dr. Bruce Gelvin has been a longtime supporter of conservation efforts.  Here, he and his wife Diane are photographed with a Mt. gorilla male in Rwanda in 2008.

This award is awarded to an outstanding student in Socio-cultural Anthropology.  Dr. Morton earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Oregon in 1972 and joined the Department of Anthropology of CSUN that year.  His research interests focused on Pacific and North American ethnology.  Research for his doctoral dissertation included fieldwork in the Kingdom of Tonga, and Dr. Morton later served as a consultant on Tongan culture for the Peace Corps.  He also researched the Tongan immigrant community of Los Angeles.  In his spare time, Dr. Morton volunteered at Westhills Baseball where his son Josh played for 10 years.  He received the Achievement Award for outstanding service in 1990.  Dr. Morton chaired the CSUN Department of Anthropology from 1978 to 1984.

Dr. Keith Morton, along with his wife Vicki and daughter Andrea (seen on the right), lived in the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific in 1970-71 to conduct fieldwork for his doctoral dissertation.

This scholarship is given to a student who is preparing for a career in the field of public archaeology and who is planning to undertake an internship related to public archaeology.

This award is given to honor students for their outstanding academic achievements and/or their outstanding service to the department.

This award is given to a graduate student who has submitted an outstanding master’s thesis.

• First Prize: $1,000 

• Second Prize: $500

• Third Prize: $50 gift card for school supplies

José Farinas is an alumnus of the Department of Anthropology who graduated from CSUN in the 1980s. As he looks back on his experience in the department, he fondly remembers the faculty who shaped his thinking through their teaching including Keith Morton, Antonio Gilman, Bruce Gelvin, and Greg Truex. The Undergraduate Essay Contest is a new tradition in the department of Anthropology that has been created by José who found a home in the department. José hopes to encourage undergraduates to become engaged, voice their views, and value and make the most of their education at CSUN. Follow José’s footsteps by becoming engaged in the department and by submitting an essay for this year’s contest. Essays must be written in connection to the annual Anthropology teaching theme. For 2021–2022, the theme is “Truth and Accountability.” 

Read below on how to submit an essay. The winners will be announced at the online End-of-the-Year Department Celebration on Saturday, May 14th.      

• This contest is open to any currently enrolled, undergraduate Anthropology major or minor student at CSUN.

• Essays must be written in connection to the annual Anthropology teaching theme. For 2021–2022 the theme is “Truth and Accountability.”

• Essays may be based on sole-authored papers written for courses during the 2021–2022 academic year. You may rewrite or edit a previously written paper in order to improve its content and better connect it with the teaching theme.

• Essays must not exceed 2,000 words including notes and references. You may rewrite or edit a previously written paper in order to stay within the word limit.

• Essays should be typed with 12-point font, double-spaced lines, and 1-inch margins.

• Essays should have a cover page with title and author's name; please do not include your name on every page.

• Entries will be judged by a panel of Anthropology faculty members.

• The department reserves the right not to award prizes if the committee does not find the submitted essays prizeworthy.

• Essays must be submitted for the competition electronically to the department: . Subject line: “Farinas Essay Competition_Last, First Name”.

• Deadline for submissions: Noon on Thursday, May 5, 2022. 

• For further information, contact: Dr. Suzanne Scheld, .