Do you find yourself spending your vacations wandering among Maya ruins and visiting archaeology museums across the globe? At the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, there are a number of ways to get involved in archaeological research in Los Angeles and beyond.

Friends of Archaeology

Join the Friends of Archaeology, the Institute support group dedicated to sponsoring graduate student education, faculty research, and many other initiatives. There are three levels of membership—Basic Membership ($300/year), Director’s Fellow ($1,000-4,999/year) and Director's Council ($5,000+/year)—with many benefits, including special guided trips to archaeological sites, museum tours with faculty, and behind the scenes events at UCLA.

Public Programs and Events

Sign up for our Events List-serv to receive e-mail announcements about our events, including Public Lectures on campus given by local and visiting scholars from Anthropology, Art History, Classics, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, and many other fields. For current event information, please visit our Calendar.

Volunteer

Are you interested in cataloging rock art, analyzing animal bones, organizing notes and photos from field research projects, or cataloging ancient artifacts? There are many volunteer opportunities to be an active contributor to cutting-edge research projects with faculty, staff, and students at the Cotsen Institute in our laboratories, archives, or Press. For information on volunteer opportunities, please contact Chip Stanish.

Gift Giving

Cotsen Institute programs benefit significantly from private gift giving. These funds can be directed towards graduate student support, faculty research, Cotsen Institute Publications, or “Greatest Needs.”

We thank you for your enthusiastic support of archaeology at UCLA.