Julie K. Stein Geoarchaeology Undergraduate Travel Award
Nomination/Submission Deadline: 01 Jan 2026
The Geoarchaeology Interest Group funds the Julie K. Stein Award Undergraduate Travel Award to support travel to the SAA Annual Meeting for an undergraduate student presenting a research paper or poster in geoarchaeology.
Who Is Eligible to Submit Nominations or Apply for the Award
Recipients of the Julie K. Stein Geoarchaeology Undergraduate Travel Award will be
- actively pursuing a B.A. or B.S. degree in Earth sciences or archaeology,
- applying Earth science methods to archaeological research, and
- members of the Society for American Archaeology.
Nomination/Submission Materials Required
Complete applications for the Julie K. Stein Geoarchaeology Undergraduate Travel Award consist of
- the conference abstract accepted by SAA for presentation at the Annual Meeting, and
- a letter of support from the research or academic advisor that includes certification that the student conducted or is conducting the research to be presented.
Applicants should send their paper or poster abstracts as a PDF to the Geoarchaeology Awards Committee chair (see below for contact info). File names must include the applicant’s surname and SAA member number. Applicants should also instruct their advisors to send recommendation letters directly to the committee chair.
Other Special Requirements
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:
(a) I am not and have not ever been the subject of a discrimination or harassment lawsuit or related administrative complaint that resulted in an adverse finding; and
(b) I do not have and have not had a current or pending disciplinary action such as suspension or termination of registration, resulting from a Register of Professional Archaeologists’ grievance investigation.
Nature of Award (e.g. monetary, medal, symposium)
For 2026, the awardee will receive $500. As the Geoarchaeology Interest Group fund grows, the award amount may increase as the annual interest increases. In addition, the SAA recognizes the awardee with a certificate 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.
The Geoarchaeology Awards Committee solicits proposals and selects recipients for the Julie K. Stein Award Geoarchaeology Undergraduate Travel Award in support of undergraduate student travel to present a geoarchaeological paper or poster at the SAA Annual Meeting.
The committee also solicits proposals and selects recipients for the Douglas C. Kellogg Fellowship for Geoarchaeological Research and the Paul Goldberg Award. These two awards are presented in support of research, with emphasis on the field and/or laboratory parts of this research, for graduate students in the Earth sciences and archaeology at the Doctoral level and the Master’s level, respectively.
Committee composition is one chair and at least four members.
Term length is three years. Individuals ending their terms cycle off the committee at the close of the Business Meeting held during the SAA Annual Meeting, and new appointees begin their terms at this time.
Committee Chair and End of Term
Committee Chair Contact Information
Committee Members and Ends of Terms
Selection or Evaluation Criteria
Important questions the committee considers include the following:
- Did the applicant seek to do interesting and novel research?
- Are the methods and theory sound and applicable to the research questions?
- Is the abstract well-written and coherent?
Committee Deliberation Process (e.g. dates, venue)
The committee chair redacts the proposals for identity information in order to limit implicit sociocultural bias, favoritism, and/or nepotism in application assessment. The committee members then read and rank all eligible proposals. After each committee member reads and ranks the applications, the chair tallies the rankings. A simple majority is sufficient to declare an awardee; if there is a tie, the chair provides the deciding vote.