The purpose of the scholarship is to train African American students in public archaeology and focus research on the rich and diverse African heritage of Florida. The J. Raymond Williams Memorial Scholarship provides support for two years of graduate study at the University of South Florida leading to an M.A. degree in public archaeology. The Department of Anthropology at USF has 15 full-time faculty members and 50 M.A. students in public archaeology and applied cultural anthropology. The M.A. program in applied anthropology was the first of its kind in the United States to focus on career training for anthropologists in nonacademic sectors of employment. Archaeology graduates typically work in the private sector or for public agencies in the field of cultural resource management.
Graduates also continue on to pusue doctoral studies at other universities.