Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society

Lambda Alpha is the National Anthropology Honor Society which both acknowledges and rewards academic excellence in anthropology. We support scholarship and research by acknowledging and honoring superior achievement in the discipline among students engaged in the study of anthropology.

Superior academic performance is recognized through membership in the society. Our members hold their membership for life and are inducted in their junior or senior year of study.

The Lambda Alpha national organization rewards academic excellence through student scholarships, research grants, and student paper prizes.

General Membership Policy

To become a member in Lambda Alpha, an anthropology major or minor joins our chapter after being invited to join by the faculty. The requirements are as follows:

B average or 3.0 GPA in anthropology.
No less than a 3.0 cumulative GPA for ALL coursework.
Students will be considered based on their record in their junior or senior year.
Undergraduate students pursuing a major in anthropology must have completed a minimum of 12 hours of coursework in anthropology.

Exceptional students who are not majors, but have a minor in one of the following disciplines may be considered by the discretion of the Lambda Alpha sponsor (Dr. Justin Lowry): archaeology minor, biological anthropology minor or cultural anthropology minor. This includes a minimum GPA of 3.5 and a minimum of 12 anthropology credits.

Membership Application

A complete membership application consists of submitting a printed copy of your application form to your chapter faculty sponsor upon invitation to join the honor society. Once we receive all of the applications to join, the application information is then sent to the national office and recorded in the chapter records at the Lambda Alpha national office.

The Lambda Alpha national office confirms your membership with a certificate.

Induction Ceremony

All new members may participate in an induction ceremony during a special event in May of finals week (date to be announced) each year. During the event, you will receive membership certificates, an official welcome letter and a stole to wear at graduation. The students who receive a stole will be responsible for paying for half of the stole which is $12.

Awards & Grants

Several undergraduate scholarships and six graduate student research grants are awarded. The number of awards offered is dependent upon available funding and the applicant pool. All new members must be inducted into their chapter by the application deadline of March 1, 2022. The chapter faculty sponsor nominates one student applicant per award for these awards. All chapters across the country submit nominees.

Lambda Alpha National Scholarships

One graduating senior nominee per chapter for the Lambda Alpha National Scholarship.

All applicants must be anthropology majors. In 2022, the scholarship is $5,000. A statement of future professional plans limited to one page or less and single spaced is required. Also, a paper must be submitted in manuscript form, double spaced, 10-20 pages in length, ready for consideration for publication in the Lambda Alpha Journal. The purpose of submitting a paper is to evaluate formal writing skill and an ability to compose a research paper. Original thesis manuscripts, previously published papers, co-authored publications, and contract archaeological reports are not acceptable.

The undergraduate scholarship will be awarded to the top applicant selected by the National Executive Council members. The application submission deadline is March 1. Dependent upon funding and the applicant pool, several additional undergraduate scholarships will also be awarded, typically in lesser amounts than the $5,000 scholarship.

The rules for the scholarships and the grant awards are available below:

Lambda Alpha National Scholarship Call for Applications
Lambda Alpha Graduate Student Research Grants
One graduate student for each of the three sub-disciplines:
- Archaeology — 2 grants at $2,000 each
- Biological Anthropology — 2 grants at $2,000 each
- Cultural Anthropology — 2 grants at $2,000 each
The graduate student research grants will be awarded to the top two applicants in each grant category as selected by the National Executive Council. Two-thousand dollars will be awarded annually with the maximum of one applicant per discipline, per chapter. The scholarship nominees must be majoring in anthropology. The winner of the scholarship is usually announced in April or May.

Applicants must:
1. Be a member of Lambda Alpha.
2. Be enrolled in the graduate program in their department for at least one academic year.
3. Have selected their thesis advisor.
4. Have formally formed thesis or dissertation on an anthropological topic.
5. Have their advisor agree to be responsible for the dispersal of the grant funds to the student, possibly in conjunction with the university’s research office.
The applicant’s thesis/dissertation proposal is to be in manuscript form and no longer than five pages double-spaced. In addition to the five pages, the proposal must include an itemized budget for no more than $2000 and any references cited.

This scholarship is intended to help pay for the students graduate education costs. This grant is designed to encourage thesis field research. Request for financial support for travel, basic field equipment, and on-location labor costs would be favored. The grant cannot be used for indirect expenses.

The entire application must be submitted digitally to [email protected] by midnight on March 1, 2022. The paper copy of the application to be mailed to the national office, postmarked by March 1, 2022.