Information for Prospective Graduate Students

Why Study at Archaeology and Natural History?

There are lots of reasons! Our graduate students...

• Enjoy generous guaranteed scholarships and fieldwork expense support to qualified PhD applicants! (more information).
• Work with internationally recognized experts
• Can develop their own projects or join one of the Department's exciting projects (see Current Projects and PalaeoWorks)
• Take advantage of the full resources and prestige of The Australian National University
• Use well-equipped laboratories that were fully refurbished and modernized during 2009
• Relish the numerous social, cultural and civic activities of the National Capital
• Are able to borrow field equipment from ANH's equipment supply
• Are normally supplied with office space within the department's facilities
• Attend and present at exciting informal seminars that cover the entire range of ANH staff and student interests

So if you want an exciting, challenging and prestigious graduate program, contact Dr Jack Fenner, the convener of the Graduate Program in Archaeology and Paleaoanthropology, or email anh@anu.edu.au.

The PhD Program

Students form a supervisory panel which consists of a principal supervisor, an associate supervisor and up to three advisors. Advisors are regularly from outside the Department and students are encouraged to seek out other ANU faculty and external experts to supplement the expertise on their advisory panel. The program length is typically three to four years, although other arrangements are possible. Students are expected to develop projects that are compatible with the research strengths in the Department.

The Masters Programs

ANH is a key participant in the ANU Master of Archaeological Science program, and also offers research-based Masters programs. The research-based program is one to two years long and leads to a dissertation. Students form a supervisory panel which consists of a principal supervisor, an associate supervisor and up to three advisors. Advisors are regularly from outside the Department and students are encouraged to seek out other ANU faculty and external experts to supplement the expertise on their advisory panel.

Guaranteed Scholarships

The Department of Archaeology and Natural History at the ANU is now offering guaranteed PhD scholarships to suitably qualified applicants from Australia and New Zealand. The criteria are:

• Australia or New Zealand citizenship/permanent residency
• A First Class Honours or equivalent in Archaeology, Palaeoecology or other applicable discipline. A Masters degree or professional experience may be considered equivalent with First Class Honours but will need to be discussed on an individual basis with the department.
• A PhD topic relevant to the department's expertise and geographic specialisation (see Current Projects)

Applicants are required to apply in the first instance for an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) (see here for more information), and to contact a potential supervisor in the department prior to their APA application (contact information is available on the ANH staff page). In the event that an APA is not awarded to an applicant who meets the above criteria, the department may provide a PhD scholarship of A$22,500 per year with a minimum $7000 of research funding to the applicant.

International students and others who do not qualify for these scholarships are encouraged to apply for other scholarships funded through the ANU (see the Research Student Scholarship page).