About the Institute
The Institute for Mesoamerican Studies (IMS) is a non-profit educational research institute dedicated to the study and dissemination of knowledge concerning the peoples and cultures of Mesoamerica (Mexico and Northern Central America).
IMS serves to organize and coordinate the work of the Mesoamericanist faculty at the University at Albany, SUNY. We have the largest number of full-time Mesoamericanists of any institution north of Mexico, and our members are among the most active and prominent scholars in the field of Mesoamerican anthropology.
The primary activities of IMS are research and publication.
Publications
The publication of scholarly books on Mesoamerica is one of the major activities of the Institute. IMS publishes two series of scholarly books on Mesoamerica: IMS Monographs and Studies on Culture and Society. Our books are produced by a commercial press.
IMS also periodically publishes Occasional Publications and Papers. These are usually project or site reports that are produced in-house as well. The only difference is that authors submitting occasional publications and papers are responsible for their own editing, design, and layout.
Procedures for Publication with IMS
The Institute for Mesoamerican Studies now works exclusively with the University Press of Colorado. If you are interested in submitting a manuscript for publication with us, please review this information:
Research
Archaeology Projects
Ethnographic Projects
Linguistic Projects
Awards & Scholarships
The Institute for Mesoamerican Studies offers several financial awards to UAlbany students each year for outstanding essays and research projects in Mesoamerican anthropology and to attend conferences or present at conferences on Mesoamerican topics and research.
IMS Graduate Student Conference Travel Award (new award!)
This award program is new, as of spring 2025, and will be available to eligible students contingent upon the availability of funds on a year-by-year basis.
- Conference support awards are for up to $ 200 US dollars.
- Applications for the IMS Graduate Student Conference Travel Award have a rolling deadline.
- Eligible applicants must be graduate students who are affiliated with the Institute of Mesoamerican Studies (regularly attend IMS events and contribute to the IMS annual newsletter and website) and whose studies and MA/Ph.D. research focuses on Mesoamerica.
- Students who have outstanding research and/or reports for this or other IMS awards are not eligible to apply (DeCormier, First Encounters, Grad Student Travel Award).
- Each Mesoamerica-focused graduate student is eligible to receive one conference award per academic year.
- Students may receive the conference travel award up to, and no more than, four years, although these may not necessarily be consecutive.
- Students who receive the award are required to attend the conference they applied for and participate in it as stated in the application.
- Upon completion of the conference, students must submit evidence of their participation in the form of a 200-500 word write-up and picture where they talk about their participation and conference experience. This write up must be turned in no later than a month after the conference is attended. All the write-ups may be included in the Institute's annual newsletter.
- Awards must only be used to cover the costs of travel, conference registration, and lodging.
- Students must submit an application using this form and email it to [email protected]
- Responses to the student's applications will be communicated via email.
Essay and Research support awards (early spring deadline)
Applications for these awards are received during the month of March and are intended to support summer travel and fieldwork.
The current deadline is Friday, March 13, 2026
See submission details below.
Essay Awards
Scholarships
Textile Collections
Over the years, through donation and acquisitions, the IMS has assembled a collection of textiles, mostly from Guatemala and Mexico.
Triqui Textile Collection
Thanks to the generosity of Román Vidal López and the Albany Triqui community, the IMS has been able to start a collection of Triqui textiles from San Juan Copala.
Palmer Textile Collection
In 2010, the IMS received a generous textile donation from Diane Palmer, who lived in Guatemala in the 1970s.
The Palmer collection focuses on daily-wear clothing with pieces dating back into the 1930s. The collection is currently being catalogued and will be available for research use.
The collection is divided by geographical provenience of the textiles:
- Mesoamerica: Diane Palmer has collected a variety of fajas (belts), cloths, and huipiles (women's blouses) from both Guatemala and Mexico.
- Andes: The Palmer Collection includes belts from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru
News & Events
IMS hosts faculty lectures, guest speakers, and other events throughout the year.
What to Know About Day of the Dead: A Q&A with Verónica Pérez Rodríguez
The Day of the Dead, a holiday traditionally celebrated in Mexico and Guatemala, has become increasingly popular in the U.S. as people look to partake in colorful, joyful celebrations honoring loved ones who have died. Verónica Pérez Rodríguez, director of the Institute for Mesoamerican Studies at UAlbany, explains the meaning behind the holiday.
Anthropologist Plays Key Role in $1.54M NSF Study on Socio-Environmental Factors in the Mesoamerican Classic Period ‘Collapse’
Associate Professor Verónica Pérez Rodríguez joins an international team of scientists studying the role climate change and human action played in the political collapse of the civilizations that developed across Mesoamerica in the Classic Period (250-900 AD). Research is supported by a $1.54 million five-year grant from NSF.
Past Events
On Friday September 27 the Institute hosted Dr. Pedro Guillermo Ramón Celis who gave a talk titled "Walls of Power: An Analysis of Defensive and Social Functions of the Fortified Zapotec Site of Guiengola."
News
There is a new publication by IMS faculty associate Dr. Marilyn Masson and colleague Dr. Patricia A. McAnany. It is a co-edited volume published through Dumbarton Oaks on the "Faces of Maya Rulership in the Maya Region."
IMS Faculty, Students & Alumni
Director
Faculty Associates
The Institute's Board of Directors is made up of our Faculty Associates, who come from all four fields of anthropology and work throughout Mesoamerica.
Jennifer Burrell
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology; Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies
Arts & Sciences 244
Lauren Clemens
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology; Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures
Arts & Sciences 237
Alexander Dawson
Professor
Department of History; Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies
Social Science 145J
Joanna Dreby
Professor
Department of Sociology; Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies
Arts & Sciences 342
Walter E. Little
Professor and Chair of the Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies
Department of Anthropology; Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies
Social Sciences 250B
Emeriti Faculty Associates
Student Associates
The Institute for Mesoamerican Studies has a dynamic group of student associates working toward advanced degrees in anthropology at UAlbany, with a regional focus in Mesoamerica.
IMS alumni
The Institute for Mesoamerican Studies has supported the early research and careers of a growing number of Mesoamericanist scholars who are now alumni of the Institute. Here is more information about them and where they are now.