Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World

Costs and Funding

At Brown, all students accepted into the Archaeology and the Ancient World doctoral program are guaranteed 6 years of funding, which includes tuition and stipend support for these academic years and summers, as well as health and dental insurance. 

More information on funding can be found on the Brown Graduate School’s website, in the Financing and Support section. The exact stipend amount for doctoral students in Archaeology and the Ancient World for the current year is not a matter of public record, but is explicitly stated in the letter of admission to each student.

In addition to this broad pledge, there are also named fellowships available for excellent students who hold particular qualifications. These fellowships often (though not always) offer slightly higher stipends for one or more of the students’ years at Brown, or occasionally offer a small additional research stipend. There is no need to apply specifically or separately for these fellowships. The program can nominate certain applicants, in consultation with the Graduate School.

Brown does not accept applications for a Master’s degree in Archaeology and the Ancient World, and does not admit any so-called "self-paying" students.

Fees are listed on the Brown Graduate School's website

Applicants who wish to request a fee waiver for the application must submit the application 14 days in advance of the program’s application deadline, which in our case falls on the first Monday in January. For more information on waivers, visit the Brown Graduate School's webpage on Fee Waivers.

There may be a cost to request a transcript from your past (or current) university (or universities). We are pleased to say that our program no longer accepts GRE scores, so the cost of taking that exam is no longer a factor.

There are costs for taking the TOEFL exam, however. All international applicants whose native language is not English must submit an official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score. More detailed information can be found on the Graduate School’s Language Proficiency page.

Yes, yes, and yes. For students enrolled at Brown, the Joukowsky Institute and Brown's Graduate School both offer funding for research, travel, and other expenses. We understand that these activities are as essential as coursework in your doctoral education, and in preparing you for the job market after you complete your degree.

Doctoral students in Archaeology and the Ancient World typically receive fellowship funding (i.e., do not have additional tasks beyond their own classes and research) in their first and fifth years. For the remaining years, nearly all students alternate semesters as Teaching Assistants (TA’s) with semesters as Proctors. Students in our program usually TA for ARCH courses taught by Joukowsky Institute faculty, but students have, by request, also TA’ed for Anthropology, Classics, Egyptology and Assyriology, and History courses. Proctorships (non-instructional academic employment) can include a range of responsibilities, such as working with Institute collections, in the library, with computer facilities, or organizing seminar series and other events. The Graduate School and the Joukowsky Institute view teaching appointments and proctorships as prime opportunities to gain professional and pedagogical experience.

Students are also encouraged to seek out other Fellowships and Awards, both those awarded by other programs within Brown and external funding, such as the National Science Foundation or grant-making institutions.

A few students do choose to get additional part-time jobs, usually in other areas of the university. (One common choice is working as tutors at the Writing Center.) Students are also sometimes offered opportunities for paid work related to specialized skills, such as assisting with GIS mapping or creating databases or illustrations.

But overall, the majority of students find that additional funding beyond the stipend offered by the Graduate School is not necessary. Your primary job as a graduate student is to study and to do that well, and the purpose of a stipend is to allow you to do that.