SIMA Now Accepting Applications for Its 2025 Program

The Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA) announces that they are now accepting proposals from prospective graduate student participants for the 2025 program. The program will be held next summer at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, DC from June 23 – July 18, 2025.

During four weeks of intensive training in seminars and hands-on workshops in the research collections, students are introduced to the scope of the NMNH’s anthropology collections. Students become acquainted with strategies for navigating museum systems, learn to select methods to examine and analyze archival and museum collections, and consider a range of theoretical issues that collections-based research may address. Throughout SIMA, students are also taught about the ethics of engaging with communities’ belongings in museums, and the practicalities of doing collaborative research. In consultation with faculty, each student carries out preliminary collections research on a topic of their own choice and develops a prospectus for research to be implemented upon return to their home university.

Graduate students preparing for careers in cultural anthropology who are interested in using museum collections in their research are encouraged to apply for SIMA. The program is not designed to serve students seeking careers in museum management. Students at both the masters and doctoral level will be considered for acceptance. Students in related interdisciplinary programs (Indigenous Studies, Folklore, etc.) are welcome to apply if the proposed project is anthropological in nature.

The program covers students’ tuition and shared housing in local furnished apartments. A small stipend will be provided to assist with the cost of food and other local expenses. Participants are individually responsible for the cost of travel to and from Washington, DC. Application deadline is March 1, 2025. Questions and discussions about project proposals can be sent to: SIMA@si.edu.