Would a fieldschool in ethography help my app?

[EvelynD]

One of the reasons I got rejected this year was that other applicants had an actual MA degree in anthropology (mine is in archaeology) and that others had more research experience in the field. I'm not in the position to obtain another MA degree and relevant jobs are non-existent in the Netherlands.

It seems that to gain more relevant research experience I need to do something else. What about an ethnographic field school during the summer, do you guys think that would help me? Or maybe a training program, online course, etc. My finances are limited since I have a low income and high rent, so I won't be able to afford a 4000$ tuition fee.

 

 

[museum_geek]

If you can fit it into your budget then I'd say go for it.  You might also consider getting in touch with the anthropology department at your local university to ask for advice on summer opportunities - they might be able to steer you in the right direction.  AAA also has some good resources.  In any case, I think looking for something to strengthen your CV over the summer is a good idea.

[EvelynD]

Do you think it would have to be an ethnographic fieldschool, or would volunteer work do? Is there such a thing as funded fieldschools, or scholarships international students can win? Paying the amounts I've seen online so far just isn't an option

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

I would reach out to professors to see if you can volunteer on a research project, or maybe do some exploratory research on your own and present at conferences. I don't think an ethnographic field school is necessarily better than working as a volunteer on ethnographic research, but presenting ethnographic research at conferences could help bridge that gap.

[museum_geek]

24 minutes ago, EvelynD said:

Do you think it would have to be an ethnographic fieldschool, or would volunteer work do? Is there such a thing as funded fieldschools, or scholarships international students can win? Paying the amounts I've seen online so far just isn't an option

I think @GreenEyedTrombonist makes a good point about volunteering on a research project.  I don't know much about funding for field schools - the one I did in undergrad was run by my university and counted toward my degree, so it ended up costing the equivalent of 6 credit hours of tuition.  Not sure how other field schools handle expenses, though.