Share in IFR’s Mission

The IFR’s mission is to transform individuals and communities through experiential education and field research. Our goals are to:

• Raise awareness and enhance protection of our shared world heritage and natural landscapes.
• Reinforce the importance of evidence-based research by fortifying its place in public consciousness.
• Foster hands-on, experientially immersive field research training opportunities to people around the world.
• Develop a system of excellence in both research and pedagogy in field schools.
• Promote collaborative research partnerships with local/Indigenous communities.
• Promote diversity, equity and accessibility in field school education by using economies of scale and raising funds for scholarships.

Benefits of Partnering with IFR

• Support for emergent and long-term research 
• Low overhead fees covering up to 8 semester credit units, global advertising campaigns, enrollment and fees collection, customer support, and insurance 
• Access to students around the globe who opt for IFR programs based on quality assurance and oversight, discipline breadth, affordability, transferable academic credits, and exclusive access to IFR scholarships

Program Director Eligibility

• Hold a PhD or equivalent terminal degree 
• Demonstrate ability to conduct and publish research
• Subscribe to excellence in pedagogy
• Uphold a commitment to ethical and community-engaged scholarship 
• Agree to engage with the annual IFR peer-review process

We welcome scholars who are affiliated with an academic institution as well as independent scholars. We accept applications from recently graduated PhDs and those who do not (yet) have an affiliation. Partnering with IFR provides recent graduates with the possibility to continue field research and to gain experience in directing a field project under the mentorship of the Academic Board. Teaching a pedagogically sound field school, furthermore, helps in advancing your career.

Field school directors offering their program through IFR agree to open their projects to students of all majors, from any country, ethnicity, gender, or race, 18 years and older.

 What Our Partners Are Saying

We are glad to be in partnership with the IFR and to share interest in changing academic cultures and practices for new generations. The Bornholms Museum and Bornholm Archaeological Research Center foster vibrant networks of graduate and undergraduate students from our partner institutions such as the IFR. In recent years, IFR students have attended one of our projects, and their dynamic participation, commitment, and critical feedback have increased the importance of students in the structure of our projects and research.

M. Nicolás Caretta, PhD, Bornholms Museum
Vasagård Archaeological Project, Bornholm Denmark

I could not be more pleased with my experience working with the IFR. I can say that the season was a success, due in part to working with the Institute for Field Research and having access to the professional resources the organization has to offer. Not only did I have direct access to amazing students, the staff and board of directors were clearly committed to the success of my field school.

Tracie Mayfield, PhD University of Southern California
Providence Island Archaeological Project, Colombia

We have worked with the IFR for several years now, on a range of programs relating to archaeology, public archaeology, bioarchaeology, and landscape archaeology – more recently having also diverged into environmental science programs. It is a relationship we value, that allows our schools to reach a much wider, international audience, and one we hope can continue to flourish over the coming years.

Denis Shine, PhD & Stephen Mandal, PhD Irish Archaeology Field School
Ferrycarrig Archaeological Project & Birr Environmental Studies Program, Ireland