A UNE Archaeology Society Guide to: Academic Funding
What academic funding have UNE Archaeology students recieved and where did they recieve it from?
So the funding that I received was a grant from the
Australian government which is used to help students
who are planning on studying overseas and who
have that kind of overseas portion of their study as a
compulsory part of their degree so it's called
the OS help loan the one that I received I took the
full amount which is I believe
six thousand seven hundred and that can be taken twice
at different points during your undergraduate degree
So the basis of the funding was for transport to and
from Cyprus which was about two thousand
dollars and then the rest was meals,
accommodation was about two thousand, equipment
so any kind of stuff that I needed in the field,
field clothing, books resources to help me with writing
the report later and just kind of general you know
traveling expenses I suppose travel insurance etc
I think that I got a better knowledge of kind
of the environment of Cyprus because when I
first arrived we'd only looked at the original site but
actually having some extra money and not being so
constrained by the budget allowed me to be able to
go and visit the archaeological park which of course
cost money and go and actually see the scale of some
of the similar sites that were in the area as
well as just kind of being able to be a bit more engaged
with the community that was there like I got to go out
for dinner every night with other people in
the group and with other people from the Sydney team
and it kind of gave you a bit more engagement with the
people you're working with and I think that
that would have been harder if I didn't have some
extra money behind me and was really scrimping
As an undergrad I received most of my funding so I was
supported through Commonwealth funding through
settling so as an undergrad I stayed at
college and so I received Austudy as a student
I also received rent assistance
those two on their own were what paid for me to stay at
college, that covered my college expenses then I was
also eligible because I had to moved away from home
from rural area to come to University in Armidale
I was able to then apply for two Commonwealth
scholarships which were offered every year
one was from the for being from the
rural and remote area and the other one was because
I had to move away from home to attend university and
each of those scholarships worth about $2,000
each so each year I've got $4,000
The moment the main funding source I've got is from
UNE it's the UNE RA international student stipend
and scholarship and I applied for that directly from UNE
a was successful in my application
the scholarship is specifically for doing PhD research
it covers me for three years it involves
all of my fees being waived a stipend to live on
and as well as that it includes oversea student
health cover as it's a requirement for all
international students Australia to have their own
private health insurance
When I was an undergrad I got the Archaeology and
Paleoanthropology Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Archaeology Fieldwork Prize
that was five hundred dollars to help me go to
Indonesia and do some volunteer archaeology work
there on Flores
then the Australian Association of
Consulting Archaeologists inc. student support fund
that was to help me with my honours which
involved research with Indonesia artifacts as well
there's the Frederick G White bursary for rural women
that's available to all rural women who can
demonstrate financial hardship
I also applied for the Mary Dylan Memorial Memorial
traveling scholarship and I didn't get it because of some
paperwork issues so I got the deputy vice-chancellor research
a research discretionary fund scholarship instead of that
again to help me do more research in Indonesia
the Sultan of Oman bursary, that was not exactly
archaeology, that helped me go to Europe and sailing
Tall Ships races this and then because of that
sail on a Viking ship and I guess you
could call that experimental archaeology and then
I did exchange in Indonesia
and I got two scholarships through the
New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant which is
a government initiative to support student relations and
development in Southeast Asia or Asia in general maybe
So in co-authorship with professor Lloyd Weeks
we received two small research grants for
the study of historic metal samples
as a part of my PhD project
and these funds come from ANSTO
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization
to use their equipment this money covers the use of
instruments the for study of these samples so because
this is new equipment and this is associated with
significant costs for its use and for its maintenance so
this money primarily covers the use of this equipment
and also covers the living costs
the accommodation costs
for me when when I'm performing this experiment
in Sydney
it's all about the application of a new analytical
technique for the study of interesting samples
and in archaeology almost every sample is interesting
so this is very beneficial for archaeology to use such
facilities and it provides a new example
of application of these techniques
which are from mostly material science techniques
for the Archaeametrical objectives
which is I think appreciated by the people who run this
extensive facilities and this is why the possibility to
perform such experience are feasible
Where is the best place to start looking for funding?
While we're looking for funding I would start with,
if you're already at university I would start with my
university and I would go into the
research office and I would ask if there is an
online portal that they have that
lists some of the grants that are available
so most universities will at least have a link
on their research website to grants that are available but
those grants and scholarships may be more
research-based they mean more at the graduate level
but I would start with them and then I would contact
my local council and find out if there were any
community grants for which you could apply
I'd also look online and I just start googling
I would talk to others that may have received those grants
the students that I've see that have had success at the
undergraduate level are with local in your backyard
scholarships look at all the community groups in your
town most of them offer some type of aid that they do
some sort of philanthropic work so
see if you qualify for that start with your council
With Dr. Google at our fingertips I mean it's so much
easier now than it used to be
for instance when this student got the funding from
the Masons I think she just cold called them
you know nowadays maybe that would still work
but now with Dr. Google out there there's really no
impediment to researching all this or
even just getting emails of the local Rotary Club
president and saying do you have any money for me
can't hurt may or may not work it just depends on
what the how the particular organization is giving
back to the community
I was actively looking
I was in a job at UCL Institute of Archaeology in the UK
on a set two-year contract that contract was coming to
an end with no chance of renewal so I was looking at
that point to see okay I'm ready to start doing my PhD
what's out there so at one point I was looking at
doing a Roman projects in the UK
I knew that I didn't want to continue in the same
vein of research that I've
currently been doing
I fancied it a bit of variety
I actually found the advertisement
for this position on the
British Archaeological Jobs Resource website
which normally just advertises commercial jobs in the UK
occasionally academic jobs but occasionally as well
they also creep up with international things
and it was advertised there as a scholarship funded PhD
to come to Armidale and study in Angkorian Cambodia
Initially probably word-of-mouth from my lecturers and
other students then I went online and
check the UNE website they've got a whole page full of
all the different scholarships you can apply for
a lot of them and not relevant to
archaeology students they are very specific to
agriculture or something like that
but there are a couple in there that are specific to
archaeology students or like the rural women's one
that's pretty open to people, rural women from all kinds
of backgrounds and degrees and then after that I just hit
Google and had a look at what else was out
there cuz there could be all kinds of things
there's Rotary scholarships and there's
I didn't know what else but you
don't know what you might find until you
start looking
The Commonwealth funding from Centrelink I
found out that information by actually going to
Centrelink I went to the office spoke to some of the
people there told them what I was studying what I was
doing and then they were able to tell me the range of
funding that was available for me to apply to
it didn't necessarily mean I would get that funding
but I was eligible to apply for the funding
there was another funding source which I also applied
for which I didn't get but you know I applied for it as well
which was a Golden Key Scholarship
Golden Key is a group that you're given membership of
if you're if you receive high marks
during your undergraduate career and then there's
a couple scholarships associated with that which you
can use to which you can apply to
there was a number of websites I looked at for funding
so there's a couple of scholarship websites
they kind of operate a bit like job forums where they just
every time there's a new scholarship that comes up they
kind of appear onto this website
and I really just trolled through those websites looking
for anything that I in any way fit the criteria for
So I found the funding by Google
and then I asked my lecturer Melanie about it and
she said that that was something that was an option for
us to apply for so I applied for that
through the UNE website and just gave them my details
and filled out a form and I got the money about
two weeks later so it was a really quick turnaround
The onus is really on you to seek out those funding
sources unfortunately there isn't this one repository we
can go right here is a list of every single thing you can
apply for if it were that easy it would would be great
and probably more people would apply but as it
happens it's really up to you to seek out those
opportunities and if you do you'll find that there are
lots of pots of money that go unclaimed every year
because people simply don't publicise them
so I can think of an example at the graduate level
where we have lots of grants so competitive
Australian Research Council grants lots
of them have PhDs stipends attached to them
so that means that if you can get into the PhD program
you will get free education and you also get a
stipend associated with that degree
they go unclaimed all the time because people
don't advertise them properly so if you have an interest
in a specific area another good way to go would be to
contact someone in that area if your interested
in history go to the history department and go
contact a professor and say I'm interested in this
do you know of any funding for which I could apply
chemistry, biology whatever your archaeology we're all
here to help so start by asking sending emails making
phone calls showing up and knocking on doors
What adice would you give to someone looking for funding?
Look everywhere look everywhere you possibly can
and try and think outside of the box
archaeology these days especially covers
a very very broad range from the hard science through
to the very very hard humanities so don't feel like you
need to only be looking at archaeology and
only looking in your home country
look around look for geography look for  science
look for humanities more broadly looking for art
look for history all of these things have applications
in archaeology depending on where your own
research interest lies
don't restrict yourself to just one website or just
thinking I want to do X in Y so I'll only go there
Look around definitely look around I wouldn't have even
known about it if I hadn't googled I would not
have thought that I would be able to have that kind of
funding as an undergraduate but I do really recommend
also asking masters students or people  who are doing
their PhD because they might have a bit more
experience in what you can get during your
undergraduate honors years Google is my best friend so
I would definitely recommend using Google and ask
your lecturers as well because generally
they get access to emails and newsletters and things
that might have funding opportunities that
you wouldn't have even thought about
What you need to do if you need money the first thing
you need to do is you just start looking everywhere and
apply for everything and anything you may be
eligible for and you know sometimes some
scholarships aren't actually filled
the positions that are available aren't filled so you may
actually get in luck and get something where you
may not be as qualified as someone else but they've
got to pay the money out and in the end you need
the money so I would absolutely suggest you apply for
everything and anything and you look you know I was
just doing Google searches for honours scholarships,
postgraduate scholarships when I was in honors year
that's what I was just just doing a general search
because yes the university has funding but there are
independent bodies that offer funding as well
and there are some Commonwealth bodies as well that
offer funding which people can be eligible for
What advice would you give to someone applying for funding?
To be honest but you're in advertising a little bit
we all are but be honest with what your strengths are
because if you say you have you know a lot of
experience in the field and all you've done is a
2-day field school well that's a bit of a lie and
you're cheating yourself and you're cheating
that person that's looking at you to provide funding
the other thing you can do that's really helpful is have a file
on your computer that has important information in
there that will help you with funding so start an excel file
what are the things you've done
have your CV in there
what is your current credit point average
what classes have you taken
start a file of recommendations
if people said nice things to you
what about emails does anyone ever sent you an email
saying hey good job on this that or the other
start a file of people you can go to to us for references
ask for letters of recommendation and keep all this on
your desktop or you know somewhere on your computer
so that you have a handy file already of resources
that help you apply
I mean I think it's better to be organized in that way
because knowing that sometimes you need to get quite
a bit together to be able to apply for some of these things
and also be prepared to write
and write about what you know
if I'm gonna give you five hundred dollars
why should I give you five hundred, five thousand,
ten thousand sell yourself why do you
deserve it over this person right here
and that's not being dishonest but tell
us you know what are you gonna do that is so different
or why are you more deserving of this than someone
else because at some level it is also a
competition and I think that's something to keep in mind
Another aspect of this is if you're showing the initiative
and you're calling around and you're
asking and people get impressed by that
you know there's no guarantees in life
there never is but if you call up the president of the local
Rotary and say you know I want to do this and I'm really
excited and I want to study it
the University of New England because they're the best
in the universe at want I want to study but I'm you know
having a hard time figuring out how I'm going to afford this
is there any packets of money that you guys might
have there for people like me or can you steer me in the
right direction they may not have that that pot of money
to dip into but they might know somebody
who does and the very fact that you've called them
or contacted them that shows initiative and generally it's
people who show an initiative that that organizations
like to support really
I think if anyone is gonna stay in archeology
just even academia at the the undergraduate or
graduate level you have to develop a thick skin
you're going to get rejected and that's the world
you can get rejected nine times but get funded on the 10th
you only need one yes you can have twenty no's but you just need one yes
but you can't get any funding if you don't try
so I think you have to be prepared
you have to go in to each application with the idea
that you're trying as hard as you can but the competition
might be stiff and you may not get it
don't go in expecting to get something
be pleasantly surprised if you do
but if you don't learn from it and say okay I didn't get
that ask for feedback
some places won't give you the time of day but other
places might give you some feedback on why your
application wasn't successful or what
you could do next time to make it a stronger application
always ask for feedback because that also leaves an
impression in the mind of your reviewers
and if you were to apply for that same funding a year
later they'll remember you
Any general advice to add?
Just keep searching
keep looking all the time
even now I'm looking for more funding opportunities
I'm looking for more scholarships I'm looking for more
research opportunities, jobs, excavation opportinities
try and keep your finger on the pulse of what's going on
look at people who have been successful in their
funding applications and think
okay how did they get that
look at the kind of people that are getting funded
look at the people that aren't getting funded
I think how can I make myself stand out from the pack
try that's my general advice
if you don't try and you sit back you're not going to get
any funding so try and ask questions
if you don't know where to start grab one of us
ask your fellow graduate students
ask other undergraduate students that you know that
have had funding
ask a professor
ask your lecturer
go to the research office take the initiative
because initiative is rewarded nothing in this game
whether it be archaeology or academia
rewards people that just sit back and wait for
opportunities to come to them because that's not going
to happen what we really want to see is initiative and
that's what a funding body wants to see
that's where community organization wants to see
I'd say apply for as much as you can some of them you
obviously won't meet the criteria for but if you're even a
little bit uncertain about it it's worth just going for it
like I say you got to be in it to win it and yes some of
them are merit-based based on your academic record
or something like that some of them aren't
so don't be put off by that some of them are relative
so they will pick the best applicant
so if you're not feeling confident
it's worth applying anyway because you don't know
who else is applying you might still get it
sometimes like I applied for the Mary Dylan one and I
didn't get it because it wasn't offered that year
but because they got my application they set up
special scholarship specifically for me that year
because they wanted to give me the funding
because they thought it was a good project look
look as far afield as you can for funding sources
and don't be afraid to apply for them because the worst
that can happen they say no and so you are
no worse off than you are to begin with
but you've given a shot and what you're wanting is those
occasions when you get the yes
really ask around because even in the last couple of
days I've become more open to the idea of getting more
funding in my undergraduate years and so I think every
cent helps when your a student so make sure
that you maximize your opportunities while they're there
you got to be in it to win it don't get discouraged
if you're easily discouraged then your life is going to be
hard in this game
but my final advice I suppose is look in your own
backyard look at who you are in your
own individual circumstances and have an honest look
about what kinds of things can you offer
or would somebody be interested in you for and ask
questions and apply apply apply
it's not going to come to you you got to go out and dig for it
for it but you should have the training for that shouldn't you
Any question? Feel free to leave a comment and we'll do our best to answer
Our thanks go to all our contributors for giving their time and their answers
UNE Archaeology Society
