Degree Requirements

Master of Arts

The degree program is offered in two options: with a thesis or with a report. The thesis option requires 30 semester hours of coursework; the report option requires 33. Both options require students to complete the following: six semester hours of core coursework in anthropology; a minimum of 12 additional semester hours of coursework in anthropology; a minimum of six semester hours of coursework commonly taken as a minor outside the Department of Anthropology; and either a dedicated report or thesis course. Students in archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and biological anthropology must take at least one core course from their particular subfield. Students in sociocultural anthropology must complete the core course in social anthropology (Anthropology 392M, Introduction to Graduate Social Anthropology) as well as the core course in cultural forms (Anthropology 392P, Introduction to Cultural Forms). Recommended minor areas for supporting work include Asian studies, art history, biology, communication, comparative literature, computer science, economics, English, geography, geological sciences, government, history, kinesiology, Latin American studies, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, statistics, Middle Eastern studies, American studies, women’s and gender studies, cultural studies, African and African diaspora studies, Mexican American and Latino/a studies, Native American and indigenous studies, and ethnomusicology.

Doctor of Philosophy

A Master of Arts or an equivalent degree in anthropology or a closely related field is required for admission to the doctoral program. The student must complete a total of three of the following core courses: Anthropology 392K, Introduction to Graduate Archaeology, Anthropology 392J, Introduction to Biological Anthropology: Behavior, Genetics, and Variation, Anthropology 392L, Introduction to Biological Anthropology: Primate Morphology and Evolution, Anthropology 392M, Introduction to Graduate Social Anthropology, Anthropology 392N, Introduction to Graduate Linguistic Anthropology, Anthropology 392P, Introduction to Cultural Forms, Anthropology 392R, African Diaspora Anthropology, Anthropology 392S, Introduction to Graduate Feminist Anthropology, and Anthropology 392T, Mesoamerica and Borderlands. 

Students in archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and biological anthropology are required to complete the core course(s) in their subfield. Students in the sociocultural anthropology subfield are required to include both Anthropology 392M, Introduction to Graduate Social Anthropology and Anthropology 392P, Introduction to Cultural Forms among their core courses and may also, at their supervisor’s request, be required to complete the graduate portfolio in cultural studies. Additional information about the graduate portfolio in cultural studies is published by the Américo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies. Additionally all students must complete at least one core course from outside of their subfield.

Students with an extensive background in a subfield may petition the Graduate Studies Committee for exemption from the core courses in that area.

Finally, all PhD students, regardless of subfield, must also fulfill a foreign language requirement; information about this requirement is available from the graduate adviser. Before advancing to candidacy, a comprehensive examination is given in three areas of specialization. The topics are selected by the student in consultation with an examination committee. Students must also write and defend a detailed prospectus on their dissertation research. After completing the comprehensive examination(s), the student files an application for candidacy and researches, writes and defends the dissertation.