Archy GSA Guide

Contact | Equipment Requests | Teaching Collections | Summer Equipment Requests | FAQs about Fieldwork Equipment Request | Archaeology Laboratory Safety 

UW Anthropology GSA Equipment Rental 

Laboratory, Field Equipment and Teaching Collections Management

A hallway flanked by two open shelving units with books and objects on them

The Department of Anthropology at University of Washington has a variety of laboratories, laboratory equipment, field equipment and teaching collections available to support graduate and undergraduate student research and learning. This site contains documentation and forms that support the management of these collections and instructions of how to use facilities and borrow equipment/materials. 

Contact

For equipment questions or to make an appointment, please email archgsa@uw.edu

  • Archy GSA: Erin Gamble
  • Email: archygsa@uw.edu 
  • Office: Denny Hall, Room 425 
  • MTW 10:30 am - 3:30 PM, ThF by appointment

Equipment Requests 

Equipment Request Form 

https://forms.office.com/r/wWSUJsiYDr 
PLEASE fill out and submit a request form (UW NETID Login Required) of the equipment you will need for your field research and email archygsa@uw.edu so they can be expecting your request. Consider the following main rules: 

  1. Service is FREE
  2. You can check out as many pieces of equipment as you need provided is not in use
  3. The maximum borrowing length is 1 QUARTER
  4. Equipment can be re-checked out a total of 3 consecutive times
  5. Allow 2 weeks between request and check-out (travel) time
  6. Special rules apply for Summer quarter
  7. Use equipment with care, you are responsible for its correct use in the field. Damage, missing parts or fail to return will be subject to sanctions. 

Equipment List

List of Equipment for Rent 

Archy GSA Equipment List 2023

Laptop Specifications and Software

GSA Computer Information

Teaching Collections 

Teaching Collections Inventory 

Cage Inventory 2023 - The teaching collection is kept in "The Cage" or Room DEN 406. See map below to locate materials and the searchable. Use the spreadsheet to identify the materials you might need for your class. You can also download an excel version to better filter below. All materials are available for check-out for class section or Lecture regardless of discipline or department.

Summer Equipment Requests: Process & Criteria

  1. The Archaeology GSA will make STF/Anthropology summer equipment loan applications available at least 10 business-days prior to the submission deadline. 
  2. The online submission deadline for applications is MAY 22, 2024 at 11:59 PM.  All applications must be submitted online. If you cannot meet this deadline, email the Archy GSA ASAP. 
  3. If the number of applications exceeds availability, the Archaeology GSA first will attempt to work with applicants to resolve minimal equipment request overlaps. No applicant is under any obligation to alter any aspect of his or her request. 
  4. If the number of applications still exceeds available equipment, the Archaeology GSA and the Archaeology Program Coordinator will independently rank applications according to objective ranking criteria (Criteria 1 through 5 below) and, upon agreeing, forward the applications and rankings to the Archaeology Faculty for review. 
  5. The Archaeology faculty will review the applications within 10 business-days to confirm that all proposed use is in accordance with Department of Anthropology and University of Washington guidelines. 
  6. In the event of a tie, the Archaeology Faculty will rank tied applications in order of intellectual merit (Criterion 6 below). 
  7. The Archaeology Faculty will confirm their review and report final rankings to the Archaeology GSA. 
  8. Applicants will have 5 business-days to accept or decline equipment before the equipment is offered to the next highest ranked applicant on the list. The Archaeology GSA will be responsible for administering accepts and declines. 

Ranking Criteria 

Applicant must be a member of the UW (registered undergraduate or graduate student, faculty or staff). UW students must be in good standing to borrow STF/Anthropology equipment. All student applications must be reviewed and backed by the applicant's advisor. Additionally, applications from outside the Department of Anthropology must be reviewed and signed by a member of the Anthropology Faculty. 

The following criteria shall be used in ascending order to rank STF/Anthropology summer equipment loan applications: 

(1) Affiliation 

Applicant will first be ordered according to their affiliation to UW following:

  1. UW Student (undergraduate or graduate)
  2. UW Faculty Member
  3. UW Staff
  4. Associated member of UW (for non-STF equipment)
(2) Grant Authorship
  1. STF proposal authors who successfully obtain equipment receive a one-time exemption from ranking. This exemption automatically grants them top priority for this equipment. No more than two authors per proposal will receive this exemption, and no author will receive more than one exemption.
  2. If more authors apply than available equipment, their applications will be prioritized further according to Criteria 2 through 6 below.
  3. Authors who are unsuccessful in applying to borrow equipment retain their exemption until two exemptions have been extended for that proposal.
(3) Conformity of Use to Purpose of Original Grant 

Applications will be ranked in descending order of priority – archaeological, anthropological, other – by the degree to which proposed equipment use conforms to intended use as stated in the original STF grant.

(4) Relevance of Use to Degree Research 

Applicants will signify whether requested equipment is to be used for degree or non-degree research. Priority shall be given for actual or anticipated Senior Honors, MA or PhD degree research over non-degree research (i.e. fieldschools).

(5) Necessity of Equipment for Research

Applicants will evaluate the necessity of the requested equipment for completion of their project on the following scale (descending priority):

  • Critical: Lack of requested equipment makes project impossible.
  • High: Project can be done without requested equipment, but with significant difficulty.
  • Moderate: Project can be done without requested equipment, but with moderate difficulty.
  • Low: Project can be done without requested equipment with little or no difficulty.

Applicants with Critical, High, or Moderate need must provide additional justification in their project description. If two or more applicants apply separately to use the same equipment on the same project, the applicants must provide justification of need for duplicate equipment.

(6) Departmental Pre-Dissertation Funding
  • When multiple pieces of the same equipment type are available, 50% (or 50%+1, if odd number available) of equipment will be prioritized for students who have received departmental pre-dissertation pilot funding, but who have not yet passed the General Exam.
  • No priority is given if the department possesses only one of a particular piece of equipment.
(7) Intellectual Merit

In the event of a tie after applications have been ranked according to Criteria 1 through 6, the Archaeology Faculty will break each tie by ranking the intellectual merit of the tied applications based on project descriptions provided by the applicants. Evaluation of intellectual merit should include, but not be limited to, a consideration of the following:

  • Innovation: To what degree does the proposed project use the requested equipment in novel, creative or groundbreaking ways?
  • Significance: How important is the proposed project to advancing local, regional or global knowledge in archaeology or across disciplines?
  • Concept: How well conceived and organized is the proposed project?

The Archaeology faculty should avoid using the following criteria as a basis for breaking ties:

  • Seniority
  • Outside funding (or lack thereof)
  • Previous use of requested equipment
  • Duration of requested use
  • Distance of project from campus
  • Advisor

FAQs about Fieldwork Equipment Request 

Do I have to be in the Archaeology program to borrow equipment? No! You don't even have to be an Anthropology student (especially for STF equipment)  

Do I have to have funding to borrow equipment? No! Students often borrow equipment for self-funded research. Sometimes priority for equipment is affected by funding. See the criteria by which priority is established here: STF/Archaeology Summer Equipment Request: Process & Criteria 

Do I have to be registered for credits during the summer term to borrow equipment? No! 

What if I don't know what equipment I need? Make an appointment to consult with the Archy GSA (archygsa@uw.edu) about your research needs. 

Archaeology Laboratory Safety 

Safety in the laboratory is important not only for student researchers, but for all people in Denny Hall and for the entire UW campus community. Here are some useful links and information about laboratory safety. IF THERE IS AN EMERGENCY, MOVE TO SAFETY THEN CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY!!! 

In the case of equipment or other laboratory features that need repair or maintenance that is not an emergency, please send an email to archygsa@uw.edu with the room number and a description of the situation as soon as possible. Feel free to send photos or other supporting documentation to help us best identify the problem. The labs are checked by the Archaeology GSA regularly, and are inspected by UW Environmental Health and Safety inspectors. However, lab users are most likely to spot problems first, and we need your help to make sure that our community is safe and healthy! 

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