The Department Services Program (DSP) is a partnership for Departments of Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, Criminal Justice, Culture, Social Sciences, museums and allied anthropology firms. The DSP provides department partners with exclusive benefits to assist heads of departments with resources to promote their department, recruit and support faculty and students while simultaneously supporting the AAA's mission of advancing knowledge and solving human problems.
DSP + AnthroGuide
New!International schools (outside of the United States and its territories, and Canada) receive a 50% discount on all dues packages. You can indicate this on the DSP join/renew application.
How it Works? Annually in April, you will receive an email from the membership department that requests your interest in joining/renewing your DSP partnership. Your DSP dues package will include your department's AnthroGuide listing rate. All DSP partnerships expire on and dues package invoices are due by July 31st.
How to manage your DSP Partnership We've tried to make managing your DSP partnership easy. If you are joining DSP for the first time, you will need to complete the join application. Renewing partners should complete the renewal application.
Once the application is received, we will email an invoice within 24-48 hours (unless its a Friday, then it will be on the next business day). The individual(s) who's listed as the primary contact and/or chair will have access to the department profile to apply payment and to edit their AnthroGuide listing. Information about how to manage both your DSP and AnthroGuide listings will be provided once payment is confirmed.
Active DSP Partners
We are grateful for the departments that have been able to partner with the AAA in support of its mission. You can view the most active list of Department Partners via their "official DSP badge" in the AnthroGuide directory.
Partner Benefits
Department Resources
AnthroGuide Listing>> All DSP Partner departments receive a complimentary listing and "official DSP badge" in the online guide. Graduate programs have the unique opportunity to be listed in both the online and print guide, while bachelors programs and those with affiliated programming are exclusively listed in the online guide. All departments will receive a print copy of the most recent issue and can order additional copies at 75% off.
ACE Job Board Discount & Career Development Opportunities>> Whether your department is looking to find the right candidate to join your team or looking to recruit students, DSP partners have access to resources to assist them. Partner resources include a 50% discount on ACE Job Board postings, access to the Career Center at the AAA Annual Meeting, which includes the Career Expo and the Virtual Graduate Fair.
Anthropology News >> An annual subscription for a print copy of our award winning, members-only publication is provided to partners.
Program Visibility To assist with increasing the visibility of your department's program, DSP partners receive access to complimentary digital ads on AAA websites including: News & Notes all member newsletter, Weekend Reads, and ACE Job Board and Career Center (when space permits. Some restrictions may apply.)
Department Building Resources Multilingual Research Professional Language Support | 15% discount or $75 off>>.
Department Survey Report The AAA Education and Research department compiles the bi-annual department survey into a comprehensive report that you can use to see how your department compares to other institutions via the Department Survey | $75 off.
Networking Opportunities
Department Leaders Forum >> The Department Leaders Forum provides an opportunity for monthly conversations about the happenings in your department,within your administration, and with your students. The forum is aplace fornetworking,social support, information sharing,and idea generation. Launching in May 2021, these meetups will be hosted virtually in January, February, March, April, May, August, September, and October.
Chairs Breakfast Each year, department chairs convene at the AAA Annual Meeting in November for networking with colleagues and dialogue with invited speakers. Recent topics have included curriculum and pedagogy, job prospects for PhD and BA anthropologists, and the AAA's institutional research program.
Summer Institute >> Every two years in June, the department leaders summer institute provides chairs with the opportunity to have in-depth conversations about the various challenges of administering a department and to share successful practices for dealing with these challenges.
Student Resources
Undergraduate Cohort Program An exclusive opportunity for DSP partners to sponsor aclass ofundergraduates fora one-year complimentary AAA + NASA (National Association of Student Anthropologist) section membershipand AAA Annual Meeting registration.
New & Recent Graduate Program An exclusive opportunity for DSP partners to celebrate their graduates with a one-year complimentary AAA membership.
Graduate Classroom Bundle Packs at the Annual Meeting (virtual only) Bundled packages of 10 discounted registrations (1 teacher/instructor and 9 students) are available for purchase. Each package will include a registration for the instructor as well as 9 additional registrations for students, and can be utilized for classrooms in higher education and K-12 contexts.
Dues Packages
PhD Programs: $995
Masters Programs: $495
Bachelors Programs: $295*
Affiliated Institutions/Museums: $295*
*Although the AnthroGuide is a benefit of being a DSP Partner, Bachelors Programs, Affiliated Institutions/Museums, and Field Schools are exceptions who may list in the AnthroGuide complimentarily without being DSP Partners. You can indicate this on the DSP join/renew application.
Note: International schools (outside of the United States and its territories, and Canada) receive a 50% discount on all dues packages. You can indicate this on the DSP join/renew application.
The following institutions may join the DSP Partnership community complimentary:
Community Colleges
Minors Only Programs
HBCUs and Tribal Colleges
Note: The DSP Partnership package rates assumes your institution's highestanthropology relateddegree offered.
Partnership Calendar
Your DSP Partnership is active from August 1 to July 31.
Note: For any departments who join/renew after July 31st, you are not guaranteed a print listing and your invoice may be pro-rated to reflect an online only option. For all applications received September 1 - April 30th, your department will only be included in the online guide. All DSP partnerships dues are pro-rated by one month after August 1.
