An important component of the Mission of ARCS is to provide financial and logistical support for individual and team research projects and to promote the preservation of archaeological sites and the development of museums in Bulgaria. ARCS, therefore, currently offers, to scholars based in the U.S.A., fellowships for pre-doctoral students and research opportunities for postdoctoral scholars, and, to Southeast European scholars, fellowships for PhD students and young postdoctoral scholars. In the past the annual Gipson Dissertation Publication award has enabled young Bulgarian postdoctoral students to publish their dissertations in English. ARCS has also sponsored an annual competition for collaborative archaeology projects in Bulgaria (ICAB) and projects for site preservation, conservation and museum enhancement (SPCME) in Bulgaria.

In the past ARCS Pre-doctoral Fellowships, ARCS Postdoctoral Fellowship, Bulgarian Scholars Program, International Conference Travel Awards, ICAB and SPCME were funded by the America for Bulgaria Foundation; the Gipson Postdoctoral Fellowships and Gipson Dissertation Publication Award were funded by Robert and Nellie Gipson (Tianaderrah Foundation).