Award Description

In honor of the late Dienje M. E. Kenyon, a fellowship is offered to support a woman archaeologist in the early stages of graduate zooarchaeology training, Kenyon’s specialty. Two awards of $2,000 will be made. To qualify for the award, applicants must be enrolled an M.A. or Ph.D. degree program focusing on archaeology. Strong preference will be given to applicants in the early stage of research project development and/or data collection, under the mentorship of a zooarchaeologist.

Who Is Eligible to Submit Nominations or Apply for the Award

Woman graduate students in archaeology are eligible to apply. You do not need to be a member of the SAA or a US citizen to apply.

Nomination/Submission Materials Required

Any submission for the Dienje Kenyon Fellowship is required to have:

1)  a 1500-word statement of proposed zooarchaeological research by the applicant towards which the award would be applied, which must include a) a short budget section or statement regarding how the fellowship funds would be utilized and b) a bibliography/literature cited section (the budget and bibliography do not count towards the 1500-word limit for the statement)

2) a curriculum vita that clearly indicates when graduate studies began. These materials should be sent as an email attachment (Microsoft Word) to the committee chair. Additional materials are described below.

Other Special Requirements

In addition to the statement of proposed research and a curriculum vita, a letter of support from the student's primary advisor who can speak to the applicant's work and research potential is required. The letter must indicate the year in which the applicant began graduate studies. This letter should be e-mailed directly to the chair by the student's primary advisor.

Prior to any award recommendation being finalized and publicly announced, anyone recommended for an award, scholarship, or grant will be required to certify the following:

Nature of Award (e.g. monetary, medal, symposium)

The winning applicants will receive a $2,000 fellowship in order to complete the proposed research, described in the application materials. In addition, the awardee is recognized by the SAA through a plaque presented during the business meeting held at the Annual Meeting, a citation in The SAA Archaeological Record, and acknowledgment on the awards page of the SAA Website.

Current Committee Charge

The committee solicits nominations and selects recipients for the Dienje Kenyon Memorial Fellowship. The fellowship is presented in support of research by women students in the early stages of their archaeological training. It is presented in honor of Dienje Kenyon.

Committee Composition

Committee composition is chair and at least four members.

Term Length

Term length is three years. Individuals ending their terms cycle off the committee at the close of the Business Meeting held during the annual SAA Meeting, and new appointees begin their terms at this time.

Award Cycle

N/A

Committee Chair and End of Term

Brianna Pobiner [2026]

Committee Chair Contact Information

[email protected]

Committee Members and Ends of Terms

Names and term end dates for the chair and all members can be found on the committee page in the SAA Directory. 

Selection or Evaluation Criteria

Successful applications will demonstrate how the Dienje Kenyon Memorial Fellowship will make a significant contribution to the applicant’s research as well as to zooarchaeology in general.

Committee Deliberation Process (e.g. dates, venue)

The committee will meet electronically to evaluate the applications once the submission deadline has passed.