Frequently Asked Questions

Our transcript states up to 9 credit hours depending on the work put in: 3 for completion of the course itself and one academic poster presentation. Another 6 credits for completion of a publishable research paper or another final project.

However, this does not always automatically guarantee credits with your home university. You should understand that it is up to the discretion of your home institution whether or not to accept these credits as transferable. So while a student can always have valid credits with Expeditions this may not automatically translate to an equivalent amount of credits towards their degree.

Here is a link to an example of our transcript of records.

Yes. As an organization that brings together people from all around the globe, the impact of behavior of participants, respondents and staff on another and the field has always been a central focus in our projects. We work hard to create an environment free from discrimination or harassment, in which thoughtful ethical conduct is the norm. Our code of conduct and engagement with ethics in and beyond the field are but two examples of this. Moreover, we uphold a student-staff ratio of 2:1 to ensure personal guidance and support throughout challenges and struggles that learning-by-doing fieldwork entails. Please also read our code of conduct.

Yes, you can find quite a bit about it in our Code of Conduct. We find the AAA’s Statement on Ethics a helpful guideline for doing fieldwork and research. But as one can expect from a field school, ethics in fieldwork are actively discussed during the project. Experience learns that general and abstract guidelines, written consent forms or declarations, do not suffice to guarantee ethical behavior. Instead, we take the time to discuss ethical implications of research ideas, actions and reports in the broader ethnographic process of developing ideas, doing research and sharing the lessons learned. Moreover, we ask participants to apply abstract ideas to themselves, the summer school setting and Gozo as a field site. The close mentorship and peer-to-peer relationships that our pedagogical approach builds on, allow for continuous awareness of the ethical impact of our project’s presence; before, during and after fieldwork.

Yes, and we encourage you to do so. If you have trouble finding a research topic, you can consult us beforehand. But plenty of former participants have let ‘the field' decide on a research topic while they were there.

Of course not.. When you’re with a group of people who share the same interest, even work will be fun. Next to this former participants and ourselves cherish beautiful memories of wild and quiet moments together. Yes, it will be fun!

Yes, and if you want that we will even assist you in this. PhD students are also welcome and will get personal research guidance. Quite a few of our previous participants used the field school to do gather data for their dissertation or other academic work. This is an excellent option that we want to encourage: the program provides in an intense follow up of the writing afterwards, so you'll have extra tutors/proofreaders at hand.

If you would want this, we gladly get in contact with your other mentors to see how we can further collaborate.

Yes, it certainly can. We start at any level and will hold your hand on your first steps in the wonderful world of anthropology. The project is also an excellent opportunity for people who are thinking about studying anthropology in the future. Next to our guidance you will get to know the other participants and share their experiences.

We work based on rolling admissions, meaning that we stop accepting applications when all three sessions are full.

Should your application be accepted while we don't have a slot in a session that suits your agenda, your acceptance can be transferred to the next year, should you want that.

With this program we honor our strong belief that anthropological theory has a symbiotic relation to fieldwork. The program is individually tailored around each student and therefore we designed a master-apprentice learning situation (staff/student ratio is one on two). We believe that anthropological fieldwork should be considered as a craftsmanship, a system of stepwise approach to mastery of a craft, (which includes the obtainment of a certain amount of education and the learning of skills). Imagine a blacksmith apprentice doing only theory for a year and then finding out (s)he can't stand the heat of the of the fire? Or a carpenter studying only the physics of a hammer and nail from a book: (s)he will hit his (her) thumb. This program is intended to introduce you to the heat of the fire and to make sure your first wounds aren't lethal. If you grasp these metaphors, you are already a step ahead in fieldwork.

With this we hold a different opinion than a lot of anthropology departments all over the world, who believe you first have to get "fully prepared" for fieldwork. We however, believe that as an anthropologist you can never be fully prepared and the confidence that you might have will trouble your senses. That said, we also maintain a strong belief in the academic framework anthropological theory and the body of knowledge it is building. But we are convinced this body of knowledge can only grow in a direct relation to fieldwork.

The price of the program is €3.750,00

This includes:
• Accommodation during the session (apartments)
• Tuition
• All training activities.
• Dinner (on weekdays only)
• Access to a stock of food and drinks for breakfast, lunch and weekends
• Official attendance certificate and credit transfer (transcript of records)
• Peer reviewed publication
• Supervision with fieldwork analysis and in the write-up stages
• Does not include transport (airfare & local)

Options:
• Attending a second consecutive session (upon special request and after approval only): €2.650,00
• Participants who sign up for two consecutive sessions and who wish to stay at the summer school premisses between sessions, will be charged an extra housing fee of €200 (this does not include any meals).

First of all, please understand that the optional projects are not the central focus of our program. Your own research project comes first at all times. If there is an overlap between your research and the focus of one of the projects, you can of course find a ground for collaboration.

Each optional project will present some activities in which you are welcome to participate, but this is not mandatory. It simply provides the opportunity to along with a researcher in his/her/their field, gain deeper knowledge and get inspired.

If you are specifically interested in one of these projects it is mandatory to contact the leading researcher beforehand. This can only be done through this online form.

We expect this to be handled within ten days after you received these forms. As we work with rolling admissions, we can not guarantee the availability of your slot outside this ten day window.

If you want to be enlisted in one specific session, kindly proceed with your registration as soon as possible, as counting on the availability of a slot there is risky.

The program reserves spots for our own scholarship students until the end of March (when the decision is made). We stop accepting applications when the other spots are filled.

There are basically two possibilities:
1. You register and pay tuition. If you are awarded a scholarship you will be refunded. If not your spot is still secured.
2. You wait until the scholarship announcements are made (beginning of March) to see if you still want to join the program. Please be aware that usually all 'regular' spots are filled by the end of January.

Yes, Expeditions will grant two full scholarships that will be assigned based on a research proposal call. But we strongly advise you to pursue other funding possibilities as well. Quite a lot of our participants get funding through other channels.

No, but all the info you need is provided in our scholarship section. This is the only way to secure an equal competition and to safeguard the creativity of the proposals. It also ensures that we don’t receive a huge amount of very uniform proposals. We recommend being concise, creative and consider feasibility.

Technically not. But the program fee does not cover your transport to Malta, or any local transport. How much pocket money you will need depends on yourself (discussed in another FAQ).

Expeditions does its own ethics review, together with you, during the course of your research. We don't require IRB approval, but if your university does, we will collaborate with them.

It will be mostly filled by doing independent research in your own chosen and approached field. There are a few mandatory general meetings or exercises that participants will be doing throughout the session. Sometimes (and also upon request) a more specific workshop or activity will be organized, but none of these are mandatory. You’ll also be assigned to two mentors from our staff team, with whom you will have 3 formal meetings over the course of the session. On week evenings we have dinner together on our roof terrace, where participants and staff alike will share experiences and reflect on their fieldwork.

Our basecamp is located on the border of Xlendi (a very small fishing village). We are staying in basic two bedroom apartments, each with its own (large) living room, kitchen, bathroom and balcony. Each bedroom has two beds, so each apartment will hold up to four students. There is no laundry machine available on site, but hand washing products are provided for.

We have 8 apartments, grouped in two-story high blocks, with an immense roof balcony that doubles as an evening meeting place for anthropological (and otherwise) discussion. It has been our base camp since 2005 and are very fond of the facilities and comfort it provides us. The view from the roof is astonishing!

Getting around on Gozo for your fieldwork by bus costs you at 2 to 4 euro a day, if you do it by taxi it will be 50 euro a day, if you hitchhike (perfectly safe on Gozo) it costs you nothing and will get you some very interesting contacts. For the strongest among us: walking is an option as well.

If you want to engage in leisure activities and want part of the time to be a holiday (and we don't have a problem with that by the way)... well that of course is not included.

Anyway, very few students will be able to manage without pocket money... (though some of our past students did, so it is technically possible). In reality, you need to get yourself a treat once in a while: an ice-cream, a cup of coffee on a beautiful terrace, dinner away from the group, renting one of those water-bikes, getting a taxi when you had a rough day in your fieldwork... So we leave this to your own judgement.


Some advice from a previous student:
Last year, I brought a couple hundred Euros, and I'd say that I spent more than most. --- Transportation is cheap. Last year we went for ice cream, coffee, or lunch fairly often, (and I should warn you there are some great places to shop), but these are the only things you'll really need spending money for. Cappuccino at a restaurant is only about a Euro, and lunch is inexpensive as well.

Everyone will differ, but if your budget is between 5-10 Euro a day, that will put you in the range of bringing about 100-200 Euro. Obviously you can survive on much less, since Expeditions is kind enough to supply you with virtually everything you'll need.

Many of the students used ATM machines, without any hangups and there is one very close by our apartments. Instead of bringing my debit card, I carried a credit card, which I found very easy. Almost everywhere will take your credit card, (minus small vendors at festa and a couple of shops). If you keep track of how much you've spent and pay it on your card when you get back, it saves carrying around a lot of cash. (TIP: It might be a good idea to tell your bank or credit card company that you will be traveling out of the country beforehand)

You will have your own kitchen and pantry stocked with food, you can eat as much as you like. Due to the climate though it's best to stick to a descent -early- breakfast and dinner (and a snack over lunchtime).

The products available on the island are varied enough to accommodate any preference you might have, regardless if this is a personal preference or a requirement for religious/cultural reasons. If you have specific allergies (eg. nuts) the staff will take all necessary precautions. That said, from aspiring anthropologists we expect an open mind towards all aspects of culture, food plays a key part in this.

No, nothing but a pencil and a notebook... but you’re free to make use of any equipment that you think is necessary for your fieldwork.

Yes, we hold high standards in this, food is a key factor in all our fieldwork. Sometimes we will be dining in a restaurant nearby, but we bring excellent cooks as well who are familiar with local cuisine.

Next to that, our field station has a pantry accessible for everyone at all times, it is stocked on a daily basis with basic food products and fresh produce from local farmers.

Especially if you are coming from outside the European Union, it can be quite expensive flying to Malta in one booking. A way to work around this is to find a bargain flight to Dublin, London, Paris, Brussels, Rome, Athens... and book a separate ticket from there to Malta. There are low-cost airlines flying from the aforementioned cities. Maybe this can even be an opportunity to visit one (or more) of these cities during an extended layover.

When flying with low-cost airlines: read their terms and conditions regarding luggage and check-in thoroughly! They are usually very strict about this and have high extra fees.

Always make sure while booking your tickets to check the cancellation policy!

1. Arrival date and time: we expect you to arrive on the exact date your session starts, around noon. So it is ideal to look for a flight that arrives between 9am and 5pm local time. Don't worry if that is not possible, we are available 24 hours a day. Even arriving one day later isn't that much of a problem (for example if that flight is much cheaper, or has a better stopover schedule). The first day is more or less a jetlag-day anyway.

2. Departure date and time: same here, on the final day of your session we expect you to leave the project accommodation (10am apartments have to cleared, but you can hang around longer that day, we can store your luggage). We are available 24 hours so you can get any flight that suits you. Most convenient for you will be to have a flight departing between 1pm and 10pm.

3. Expeditions can not provide housing or boarding outside these dates, but you are free to arrive earlier or leave later if you would want that. Usually we advise to spend a few days in Valetta in the British Hotel, it's pretty affordable and an experience in itself to stay there (look up the comments on Tripadvisor).

At the basecamp there will be WiFi, accessible for all participants. It won't be a fast connection, since a lot of people are using it, but e-mails, internet search and social networking are perfectly possible.