Graduate Research
Research is at the heart of the student experience for our thesis-track M.A. students. Prospective students usually reach out to faculty members and select a thesis advisor before entering the program. These students conduct independent research guided by their thesis advisor, usually in the summer following their first year. Students are also encouraged to present their work at regional, national or international conferences in order to build their professional network and reputation and to prepare their research for publication as a scholarly article.
Graduate Research/Conference Fund Grantees
Each year, we grant research and travel awards to support the M.A. research of our outstanding students. We are most grateful to all the alumni and friends of the department whose generous donations support this important funding.
Past Recipients
2025-2026
- Ethel Atubrah: Organizing for Environmental Justice on Chicago’s Southeast Side: Research on Strategies Behind Community Campaign Success Using The Fight against General Iron as a case study
- Abigail DeeWaard: Conference Travel (Society of American Archaeologists)
- Justine Dioneda: Conference Travel (Society of American Archaeologists)
- Meghan Hanson: Conference Travel (American Society of Primatologists)
- Jacob Harvey: Exploring Attitudes towards Green Burials at Two Midwestern Natural Cemeteries
- Mehrab Hasan: Conference Travel (American Association of Biological Anthropologists)
2024-2025
- Brianna Abba: Conference Travel (Midwest Primate Interest Group)
- Rowan Carter: Indigenous Futurities in Chicagoland & Implications for Urban Life
- Abigail DeeWaard: Conference Travel (Midwest Archaeology Conference)
- Mehrab Hasan: Understanding Social Relationships and Kinship in Western Hoolock Gibbons (Hoolock hoolock) in Lawachara National Park (LNP), Bangladesh
- Rokibul Islam: Humanitarian Organizations and its Strain: Analyzing the Impact of Humanitarian Aid Agencies on Host Communities in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
- Ruth Otaigboria: Cultural Models of Long COVID: A Comparative Anthropological Study of Illness Narratives among Nigerian Diaspora and Mainstream American Communities
- Bellamy Taylor: Validating a Non-Invasive Method to Assess Protein Absorption Capabilities of Diademed Sifakas (Propithecus diadema) in the Tsinjoarivo-Ambalaomby Protected Area
- Ruth Udoh: “Audit Culture” and Nonprofits in DeKalb, IL
- Edgar Villeda: The Role of the Gut Microbiome in the Dietary Adaptations of Diademed Sifaka to Tannin Rich Foods
