Funding Your Program
We understand that funding your program poses significant challenges, and that financial factors will play a central role in your decision to pursue a graduate degree. We know that choosing to do so represents a pivotal investment in your future.
It is our job to make that investment worthwhile.
Tuition, Fees and Financial Aid
Boston University seeks to make its graduate and postgraduate degrees accessible to everyone. Learn more about tuition, costs to plan for, and opportunities for financial aid.
How Do Our Students Fund Their Programs?
- The MACCP program provides a tuition-reduction scholarship to every student entering the program for full-time study. It is roughly equivalent to the cost of one semester’s tuition and is divided evenly across the four semesters of your program.
- Many of our students work while pursuing their degrees: some hold part-time jobs; some work full-time and study part-time. Boston University and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine employ hundreds of full-time and part-time technicians, technologists and assistants. Visit the BU Student Employment office for information on part-time student employment. (You will not be able to access this site until some time in May.)
- The Division of Graduate Medical Sciences has a limited number of Work-Study positions. If you are interested, be sure to let the program director know (lbarnes@bu.edu).
- Most of our students fund their programs through a combination of tuition-reduction scholarships, federal and private student loans, and tuition remission (for employees of Boston University). We strongly encourage all applicants and current students to regularly check scholarship listings both within Boston University and through outside organizations. There is money out there!
- Finally, let family, faculty, colleagues, and friends know about work you hope to do in medical anthropology. You never know when someone may be able to tell you about an organization that offers scholarship aid. We also encourage you to join listservs that will locate and alert you to upcoming scholarships. Think of this as an ongoing funding project rather than a one-time search.
Funding Inside BU
There are some funding options available through the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences, and through Boston University. We hope that the following resources will help you identify sources of support for your own graduate work.
Through Graduate Medical Sciences
- Provost Tuition-Reduction Scholarships in the form of tuition reduction are available to all incoming MACCP students. No application is required for this award. It is part of the admission offer.
- The MACCP Program and the school of GMS recognize the importance of sharing the work of graduate students with the broader scholarly community. To this end, travel grants for students presenting at conferences are available through Graduate Medical Sciences.
- The MACCP also provides stipends for costs related to your summer fieldwork, for student membership in a professional association, and for some of the costs related to conference registration, travel, and lodging. (We think of it as giving you back some of your tuition.)
University-Wide
- Boston University and Boston Medical Center employees may be eligible for tuition remission. (Those receiving this benefit cannot combine it with a Provost’s Scholarship.
- Boston University Women’s Council Scholarships: The BU Women’s Council provides scholarships to qualified women graduate students enrolled in a full-time degree program in any of the schools or colleges within Boston University. Applicants must have completed one year of their graduate studies and anticipate completing their master’s degree within two years or a doctoral degree within five years. For additional information, please visit the BU Women’s Council online.
- Boston University Women’s Guild Scholarships: The Boston University Women’s Guild awards scholarships annually to women over 30 years of age who are already enrolled in a graduate program at Boston University. For additional information, call 617-353-9253 or visit the Women’s Guild website.
- Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship: The African Studies Center at Boston University offers a program of instruction in African languages. Hausa, Xhousa, Zulu, Wolof, Swahili, Arabic, and Pulaar are regularly offered languages. Any full-time Boston University graduate student who is an American citizen or a US permanent resident is able to apply for a Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship through the African Studies Center. Fellows must study an African language while pursuing graduate studies at Boston University in order to be eligible for the FLAS Fellowship. Awards may include full- or partial-tuition funding as well as a stipend. Applications are available on the center’s website and are due February 15 for the following academic year. For additional information on FLAS Fellowship opportunities, please contact the African Studies Center at 617-353-7311 or visit the African Studies Center website.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship: Nominees for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship must be United States citizens who are new to Boston University and beginning full-time graduate studies in any department or school of the University, and who are committed to the principles of social justice espoused by Dr. King. This award provides a stipend for living expenses, a scholarship for up-to-full-time tuition at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences rate, BU health insurance, and student union fees. This fellowship is available to applicants who matriculate to Boston University during the fall semester only. The fellowship may be renewable for up to two additional years. Accepted applicants are nominated by their department or school. Applicants interested in this scholarship should discuss their commitment to social justice in relation to their graduate study, in the personal statement of their application. The nomination deadline for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship program is typically February 17 of each year. Applicants to the MACCP must have been accepted prior to this date in order to be nominated.
- Whitney M. Young, Jr. Fellowship: This one-year fellowship is open to entering and continuing graduate students who are US citizens and who have displayed academic proficiency, particularly in the fields of social work, urban studies, and/or Afro-American Studies. The fellowship provides a stipend for living expenses, Boston University health insurance, plus a scholarship for full tuition and fees. Completed applications must be submitted to the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Fellowship Committee by February 17 of each year. For this year’s application, click here.
Funding Outside BU
It is often said that scholarships are out there if you just look for them. But having some ideas about where to look can help you cut to the chase a little faster. We hope the following listings will give you ideas about prospects you may want to pursue.
Anthropology Scholarships
Scholarship Search Resources
- Fast Web: Database of over 1.3 million scholarships, fellowships, and grants
- FinAid: Information on scholarships, loans, saving plans, and military aid
- Scholarships and Grants: Free US College Scholarships, Grants, Competitions and Awards Resources
- CollegeBoard: College Board’s scholarship search from a database of over 2,300 sources
- CollegeNet: CollegeNet’s scholarship search for graduate students
- The Scholarship Page: Scholarship search engine resource
- Common Knowledge Scholarship Foundation: Scholarship competitions consist of one or more quizzes with topics ranging from general “common knowledge” to specific academic subjects, books, websites, and even movies.
- BUMC Student Financial Services : BUMC’s SFS is continually seeking scholarship, loan and other opportunities to help make obtaining your degree more affordable.
We also advise you to explore the possibility of local or regional scholarships in your hometown or state, for which you may be eligible.
External Funding Sources
- Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Program: The Aga Khan Foundation provides a limited number of scholarships each year for postgraduate studies to outstanding students from developing countries in financial need.. The foundation gives priority consideration to students completing masters-level coursework, but will also consider applications for doctoral programs.
- The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship: The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship – Boston is a one-year interdisciplinary, mentored fellowship program focused on health-related community service and leadership development. Students enrolled in graduate or professional degree-granting programs from any accredited academic institution in Greater Boston and Worcester may apply.
- Dr. Alma S. Adams Scholarships: Awards will be granted on a competitive basis for the following: a) a record of commitment to community service on behalf of an underserved community, preferably related to tobacco prevention and/or control and b) the best use of the visual arts, media, creative writing or other creative endeavor to convey culturally appropriate health messages aimed at raising awareness of tobacco’s harmful impact.
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation: The Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation awards merit and financial need graduate scholarships. Please visit website for eligibility details.
- American Association on Health and Disability Scholarship: The AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability is awarded annually to a deserving student with a disability who is pursuing undergraduate/graduate studies in an accredited university related to the health and disability, to include, but not limited to public health, health promotion, disability studies, disability research, and majors that will impact quality of life of persons with disabilities.
- Cancer for College Scholarship: Must be a cancer patient/cancer survivor. Perpetual scholarship recipients must be willing to attend regional events associated with scholarship awarded and available for selected interviews and or media coverage.
- Cathy L. Brock Scholarship: The Cathy L. Brock Memorial Scholarship recognizes graduate student leaders, who represent ethnically diverse cultural backgrounds, and is named in memory of Cathy L. Brock, Director of Operations for the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Health Research and Educational Trust.
- CSHEMA Scholarship: The Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association offers a $2,000 scholarship (and a waiver to attend the CSHEMA annual conference) to encourage the study of environmental and occupational health, safety, and related disciplines.
- Gates Mellenium Scholars Progam: The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program selects 1,000 talented students each year to receive a good-through-graduation scholarship to use at any college or university of their choice. Students are eligible to be considered for a GMS scholarship if they are African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic American are a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the United States.
- Giva Semi-Annual Student Scholarship: Giva’s Corporate Student Scholarship and Worldwide Community Ambassador Award is for anyone attending a college or university worldwide. This scholarship grant is aimed at assisting undergraduate or graduate students further their education as well as expand their social responsibility and community service footprint in the world.
- Humane Studies Fellowship: The Humane Studies Fellowship is a non-residency fellowship program that awards up to $15,000 per year. The fellowship is open to current or prospective full-time graduate students from accredited universities anywhere in the world whose research interests are related to ideas of a free society.
- The Iris -Samuel Rothman Scholarship: This scholarship, in honor of a promising young man who died at age 22. To be eligible you must be a young man who has lost his mother AND father (both). Also eligible is a young man who has lost his mother AND does not have a father available to him.
- JCC Association Graduate Scholarship: The Scholarship Program provides financial aid for students to use towards a master’s degree that will lead to or enhance professional careers in the Jewish Community Center movement.
- The Leopold Schepp Foundation Scholarship: The Foundation grants approximately 200 individual awards each year to both full time undergraduate students enrolled in four year bachelor programs and to full time graduate students. Awards up to $8,500.
- National Hispanic Health Professional Student Scholarship: The Scholarship is open to any student enrolled full time in an accredited graduate students in dental, medical, public health, policy, physician assistant, pharmacy, or podiatry students and BSN or graduate students in nursing school. Applicants are not required to be Hispanic; an affinity for the health of Hispanic communities and an interest in participating in NHHF Scholars Alumni activities is required.
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships: The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships are three-year full fellowships for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees in the areas of science, mathematics, and engineering.
- NEHA Scholarship: The purpose of the NEHA/AAS Scholarship program is to encourage early commitment by students to a career in environmental health and to stimulate past and present graduates to pursue post graduate studies in environmental health sciences and/or public health.
- Patsy Takemoto Mink Eduacation Foundation Award: The Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation for low-income women and children will offer five Education Support Awards of up to $5000 each to assist low-income women with children who are pursuing education or training.
- The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships For New Americans: Thirty Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans will receive awards up to $25,000. To be eligible you must be a New American (a green card holder or naturalized citizen if born abroad; a child of naturalized citizens if born in this country). You must be a college senior or a holder of a bachelor’s degree.
- Pedro Zamora Public Policy Fellowship: Pedro Zamora Public Policy Fellowship is open to young professionals, undergraduate and graduate students who seek experience in HIV-related public policy and government affairs. You must have strong research, writing and organizational skills and a willingness to work in a professional office.
- The Point Foundation LGBTQ Scholarship Fund: Point Foundation empowers promising lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential – despite the obstacles often put before them – to make a significant impact on society.
- Scholarships and Grants for Non-Traditional Students: This guide identifies who non-traditional students are, and provides information on 40 different scholarships and 15 different grants for which non-traditional students may be eligible. Additionally, it offers a section with additional resources that non-traditional students will find helpful on their path to a degree.
- SuperCollege Scholarship: The SuperCollege Scholarship is an award that is eligible to all students — high school, college, grad or adult — who are currently in college or plan to start. You can use the scholarship to pay for tuition, books, computers, room and board or any education-related expense.
- The Switzer Environmental Fellowship Program: The Switzer Fellowship Program offers one-year Fellowships to highly talented graduate students in New England and California whose studies and career goals are directed toward environmental improvement and who clearly demonstrate leadership in their field.
- William E. Simon Fellowship for Noble Purpose: The Simon Fellowship is awarded to those graduating college seniors who have demonstrated passion, dedication, a high capacity for self-direction, and originality in pursuit of a goal that will strengthen civil society.
Funding for International Students
We understand that the cost of graduate education at an American university is a challenge for international students, who are not eligible for federal loans from the U.S. government. To help with this burden, we provide a Provost Tuition Reduction Scholarship for each student admitted for full-time study in our program.
Funding Inside BU
Some scholarships are available from within Boston University. Please review the links on this page to see if you qualify for any of them.
Funding from Outside of Boston University
Similarly, although many of the scholarships at this link are for U.S. students, international students may also apply for some of them. Again, be sure to review the links.
We also very much encourage international applicants to explore the following:
Specific Fellowships
Scholarships for Students from Specific Continents and Countries
Africa
India
Israel
Mexico
Nepal
Pakistan
Ways to Make Your Program More Affordable
Boston may be an expensive city, but there are many ways to contain your costs:
- The Division of Graduate Medical Sciences recognizes that “For graduate students, this is a time of intense investment in intellectual capital and personal growth. This opportunity and endeavor sometimes comes at the sacrifice of finances that allow for other choices, especially maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet.” It has started the “Making Ends Meet” initiative to help students find affordable options.
- The B.U. Real Estate Office has listings for local apartments. Many students share an apartment with roommates, to reduce their monthly housing cost. You can access this resource by June of the year you’ll be starting the program.
- Our program has a closed Facebook page for all current students and faculty, as well as for all alumnae. It gives you an ever-growing network, whose members can answer questions and suggest cost-effective resources. Members sometimes post that they are looking for a roommate. You will be invited to join when you enter the program.
- Boston has a lot of thrift stores, where you can find bargains in clothes shopping and home furnishings.
- Most neighborhoods have access to supermarkets, where you can look for bargains. The four closest to the medical school are—Tropical Foods, Ming’s Supermarket, and Stop & Shop. There is also a Whole Foods, where the 365 store brand is usually quite affordable. Boston has a host of farmers’ markets, and there is always Haymarket, the city’s historic weekly open air produce market.
- There are also a lot of great places for cheap eats, and free entertainment.
What Can you Expect from This Investment in Your Career?
Following your decision to accept our offer of admission, we work closely with you to plan your program, and to maximize the likelihood of achieving your personal academic, professional and career goals. We are dedicated to doing all we can to ensure that your investment of energy, time and financial resources takes you where you hope to go when you graduate.
During the summer before you start the program, we begin discussions with you about what you want to be able to do with your degree following graduation. These discussions continue throughout your two years with us, and after.
Our mentoring includes:
- helping you choose your elective courses to customize your program and build expertise related to your specific career plans;
- identifying potential field sites for your Service-Learning Internship placement;
- working with you to develop your research question;
- advising in the methods design of your fieldwork study;
- helping you to identify and recruit experts as additional mentors and thesis readers;
- pointing you to local resources that can provide additional support;
- teaching all required seminars, which gives you weekly engagement with core faculty for ongoing input and support;
- training in professional skills;
- supporting your presenting your work at professional conferences;
- teaching you how to translate your thesis research into manuscripts you can submit for publication;
- helping you develop a professional portfolio;
- one-on-one coaching when applying to doctoral programs and/or for jobs, combined with related in-house guides to both;
- permanent access to program resources;
- continued advising and support following your graduation.
Some of our alumnae observe:
“You will get the opportunity to conduct original research, which is rare for a master’s program. Also, the seminar-style courses allow for great discussion and close mentorship with faculty. The thesis you produce will be of publishable quality, and will prepare you for entering a doctoral program or a job as an applied anthropologist.”
“MACCP is an excellent place to learn to do research. One is in constant conversation with social scientists, medical faculty, public health researchers, and laboratory scientists. One leaves this program with a solid skill set and the opportunity to learn how to communicate with a wide variety of health care practitioners. This is a unique aspect of the MACCP program.”
“I very much appreciate the support and guidance of the MACCP faculty as they helped us to craft a program best suited to our academic and professional interests. I was able to take complimentary coursework in the Charles River Campus and graduate with a certificate in African Studies. I was therefore a well-balanced candidate when I applied to doctoral programs.”
“It is really an ideal midpoint between a one-year masters and a doctorate, and ideal for people who are serious about conducting research and don’t just need a one-year background as additional preparation for a different career (e.g. as a clinician or consultant) . . . I’m now a student-affairs professional, and have spent six years in hiring positions in higher education. We can easily tell the difference between students who’ve done research themselves and people who’ve just sat in a few extra seminars and written a library thesis.”
When commenting on our graduates, employers point to strengths like internship experience, advanced training in research methods and theoretical analysis, a demonstrated ability to design and conduct an independent research study and disseminate the results, and familiarity with biomedical and other interdisciplinary environments. Employers routinely tell us that our graduates are their first choice.
You can expect the same.
