Jennifer C. Groot Memorial Fellowship

Jennifer Groot at work in Lejjun in 1980.

Terms of the Groot Fellowship

Jennifer C. Groot Memorial Fellowships provides two awards for undergraduate or graduate students to enable their participation in an archaeological excavation or survey in Jordan. The fellowships are to assist in partial payment of essential expenses and are strictly limited to students with little or no prior archaeological field experience.

The fellowship must be used during the period between May 1 of the award year and April 30 of the following year. Prior recipients of a Jennifer C. Groot Memorial Fellowship or applicants who have had more than one season in the field are ineligible. Senior staff whose expenses are being borne largely or entirely by the project are ineligible.  The Jennifer C. Groot Memorial Fellowship provides support in the amount of $3,000 for each award. Applicants must be U.S. or Canadian citizens and must be planning to participate in an ASOR/CAP affiliated project in Jordan. Open as well to individuals who graduated less than 12 months before the February 1 application deadline and/or have been accepted to a Graduate program for Fall of the application year. Required application materials include:

  • Completed application form
  • Academic review (either a letter from a project director confirming acceptance into an ongoing field or study project or, in the case of an independent research project, proof that your research has been accepted by ACOR or another academic institution as a scholarly and ethical project)
  • Project proposal narrative (up to 2,000 words, not including bibliography)
  • Transcript(s) (first-year graduate students should submit both graduate and undergraduate transcripts)
  • One recommendation

Deadline for applications is February 15.
Applicants will be notified in April.

Background of the Groot Fellowship

Jennifer C. Groot (1951-1987) was a field archaeologist who worked on many excavations in Jordan between 1974 and 1987.  She began as a square supervisor at Tell Hisban, and later worked on the Limes Arabicus Project with S. Thomas Parker (1950-2021) and at the Umm el-Jimal excavation under Bert de Vries (1939-2021).  In 1987, she published major articles on the barracks of the legionary fortress at el-Lejjun.

She is remembered as a precise and careful archaeologist and as a gifted and inspiring teacher for her students. She made significant contributions to archaeology in Jordan in her limited time. Jennifer Groot died of cancer at the age of 36 in 1987 and was survived by her husband Bruce Gould. Her colleagues on the Limes Arabicus Project and at ACOR were grieved that that such a young, gifted and loved person could pass away, and a group of family, friends, and colleagues decided to perpetuate her memory with a small fellowship to assist North American students with little or no field experience to join a dig in Jordan. The first fellowship in her name was given in 1989.

To donate to this fellowship, please click here and write “Groot” under the “Additional Details” section of the donation form.

Click here to apply for this fellowship.

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