Thanks to the generosity of Peter D. Finkel and Susan R. Finkel and their endowment of the Finkel Fund in Support of Cultural Internships, the Center for Material Culture Studies is able to offer financial support, typically up to $3,000, for eligible University of Delaware undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a material culture-based internship. Funds are to be used for lodging, food, and research materials.
The deadline for applications for summer of this academic year is November 1 and March 15. Applications will be accepted one month before the deadlines. To apply, submit the following materials to materialculture@udel.edu with “Finkel Fund” in the subject field:
- a brief statement (250-500 words, double-spaced) about your internship, its relationship to material culture studies, and how it will advance your academic and/or professional interest in material culture studies
- a detailed budget (please be as specific as possible about anticipated costs, and list other funding sources and amounts you will apply for in support of this work)
- a current CV
- Please arrange to have your advisor send a letter of reference to materialculture@udel.edu.
Preference is given to students whose focus is on preservation, conservation, administration, collections management, exhibition, research, and services of museums. Awardees agree to submit a one-page report within one month of completing their internship and no later than the end of the academic year in which the funds were disbursed. Preference shall be given to students who are advanced in their studies.
In accepting a grant the awardee allows CMCS to use any original materials they submit (such as a report and images) for promotional purposes, which could include posting to the website.
Learn more about the experiences of our recent recipients of the Finkel Fund below:
Marcus Beardsley — 2024
Department of History, Ancient Greek and Roman Studies
“My summer experience has not only greatly improved my archaeological skill set, but has resoundingly confirmed classical archaeology as an area that I wish to incorporate as a secondary specialty to my teaching classical history in a university. With this knowledge, I am now better prepared to seek
out a PhD programs that will support and nurture my particular interests within the field of classics and provide me the best chance of academic success..”
Marcus Beardsley sifts through excavated material in a sieve at Santa Susana Archaeological Project, a field school for classical archaeology based in Redondo, in southeastern Portugal.