phd in cultural anthropology

Anthropology

Ph.d. program.

• Graduate Studies

The graduate program in Brown’s anthropology department encourages a diversity of doctoral research agendas in socio-cultural anthropology, anthropological archaeology, and linguistic anthropology.

Our program balances a rigorous curriculum of core classes with more specialized training in advanced courses. Our graduate seminars and independent study courses provide an engaging and rigorous tutorial approach to training. Graduate courses offered this academic year are listed on  Courses@Brown .

Brown’s graduate program is primarily PhD granting; students are not admitted to the department solely to seek a Master’s degree. Doctoral students complete requirements for a Master’s degree during their course of study, as well as additional requirements described below.

Degree Requirements

Generally awarded as part of the overall requirements for a Ph.D.

Four core courses

• ANTH2010: Principles of Cultural Anthropology
• ANTH 2020: Methods of Anthropological Research (or equivalent)
• ANTH 2501: Principles of Archaeology
• ANTH 2800: Linguistic Theory and Practice
• Four approved electives
• A Master’s Thesis
• 12 additional elective courses beyond the 8 required for the Master’s Degree (or the fulfillment of equivalent through coursework at another university) 
• Preliminary examinations in three topics
• One year of teaching experience, usually as a teaching assistant
• Approved research proposal for doctoral research
• Foreign language requirement (if required by the candidate’s doctoral committee)
• Dissertation, based on independent field research

More detailed information about the program, including a general outline of the timeline for completing the program, can be found in the Anthropology Graduate Handbook . 

Specialized Ph.D. Tracks

They choose a topic within Anthropological Demography as one of their preliminary examination topics, participate in the activities of the Working Group in Anthropology and Population, and attend the regular colloquia of the Population Studies and Training Center (PSTC). PSTC also has a set of requirements trainees must meet. Special fellowships are available to students in this program.

More information @ PSTC

The program offers specialized courses, funds field-based research, provides fellowships, hosts visiting faculty, and promotes collaborative research initiatives with partner institutions in the global south. The program builds on a core group of faculty internationally renowned for their research and scholarship in the area of development and inequality. Program activities are open to all PhD students at Brown. All trainees and fellows are eligible for summer fieldwork research grants.

More information @ Watson

Medical anthropology is a subfield of anthropology that seeks to understand human experiences of health, illness, and suffering. Medical anthropologists study topics such as global health, local health systems, indigenous medicine, violence and trauma, disability and the body, gender and sexuality, biotechnology, bioethics, and social suffering. Brown’s PhD program offers an array of opportunities for students seeking specialized training in medical anthropology. Brown’s anthropology faculty are actively engaged in researching a wide variety of topics within the subfield of medical anthropology, including HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, mental illness, reproductive health, gender and sexuality, violence and trauma, biotechnology, language and medicine, anthropology of drugs, and bio-archaeology.

For more information, contact  Professor Daniel J. Smith or  Professor Katherine A. Mason.

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CollegeRank.net

Best College Rankings

30 Best PhD Programs Cultural Anthropology

Quick Highlights:

• Our #1 ranked school for a PhD in cultural anthropology is  University of Washington , followed by  Ohio State University .
• Ph.D. programs in cultural anthropology prepare students for diverse careers in academia , research, and applied fields.
• Specializations within these programs may include archaeology, sociocultural, and biological anthropology .
• Practical experiences, such as fieldwork and internships, complement the rigorous coursework .

The best Ph.D. in cultural anthropology can set you up for a lifelong career that has both excellent growth prospects and high earning potential, while also leaving you open to countless opportunities in a broad range of different fields. 

Cultural anthropology is a broad field of study that can lead to many different career paths. Let’s face it: the world is changing rapidly, and the anthropology field is also constantly expanding and looking for qualified experts. As a student who specializes in the development and movement of past and present human communities, you’ll be ready to take on leading roles in this dynamic industry.

Other popular roles include those based in the community, such as a career as a social worker. 

For graduate students whose specialization leans more greatly towards archaeology, you may find work curating and constructing exhibitions or directing the conservation of natural land or artifacts.

Alternatively, you could be designing educational programs. Other graduates find work in speech and language therapy, using their background in linguistic anthropology to understand and treat speech problems. 

Related (Campus):

• Best Bachelor’s in Public Administration Degrees
• Top Bachelor’s of Social Science
• Top Political Science Schools Bachelor’s
• Top Bachelor’s Degrees in Public Policy
• Best Colleges for Sociology Bachelor’s

Related (Online):

• Best Online Anthropology Programs Bachelor’s
• Top Online Bachelor’s of Social Science

What Are the Best PhD Cultural Anthropology Degrees?

At CollegeRank , we strive to do our best to guide you and your family toward a fruitful academic career. The pursuit of knowledge is a noble one, and we want to help you reach your goals. Please feel free to visit our dedicated methodology page for a step-by-step breakdown. For questions, comments, badge downloads, or data corrections, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington

Average Net Price

Recently ranked at number 25 in a recent ranking of the world’s top academic universities, the University of Washington is home to over 50,000 students annually. With campuses based in Bothell, Tacoma, and Seattle, over 12,000 degrees at every level are conferred each year. 

At the University of Washington, you’ll be able to pursue a doctoral program in one of three concentrations, including:

• archaeology
• biological anthropology
• sociocultural anthropology

Each of these top anthropology graduate programs has its own set of requirements and admission criteria; for more information on each respective program, you can visit the above links to see the program page. 

As part of your graduate program, you also have the option of pairing additional courses or concentrations to enhance your experience and future employability. These include:

• a specialization in medical anthropology and global health
• a concentration in the area of statistics
• one of several graduate certificates in areas that include feminist studies, global health, or public scholarship. 

Resident tuition at the University of Washington costs $11,745 for state residents, while non-residents pay around $39,114. Housing and food costs vary from $4,458 to $17,316 depending on your living situation. This makes for a total annual cost of around $20,106 to $33,597 for residents and between $47,475 and $60,966 for non-residents.

Ohio State University

Columbus, Ohio

Established in 1870, Ohio State University welcomed its first graduating class in 1878. Today, the institution regularly ranks highly in numerous areas. Two of  these rankings are the top university among Ohio public institutions and the best choice for online undergraduate programs ( U.S. News & World Report ). 

The Ohio State University’s anthropology department includes 19 faculty who are actively contributing towards research projects in the fields of biological and cultural anthropology and archaeology. The graduate program heavily emphasizes thorough training to enforce theoretical concepts, in addition to training you in the use of modern methodologies that are designed to drive the discipline forward. 

As part of this cultural anthropology program, you will have the opportunity to work with these faculty members within established sites throughout the world. This could include working directly with communities across the globe and even primate communities. This could also include studying subject areas that include:

• Life history theory
• Human migration
• Political ecology

Tuition for graduate studies at Ohio State University is charged on a per-credit-hour basis. Each credit hour costs $755.50, with an additional $25.50 general fee per credit. These fees are for students who are also state residents; non-residents pay an additional surcharge of $1,622.56 per credit hour.

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Students at the University of Arizona are known as ‘Wildcats’ and benefit from an education that comes from a highly regarded institution. The U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the University of Arizona as one of the top 40 public universities in the nation. UArizona also takes the 11th position for providing the best online bachelor’s degrees. 

Graduate students choosing this program will earn a Ph.D. in anthropology and linguistics (ANLI), which requires a solid educational background in both subject areas. You will study language in a social context, utilizing the university’s longstanding resources at the Department of Linguistics and School of Anthropology. As part of your application, you’ll need to explain how your prior experience and future interests align with these departments. 

Studying at the main university campus in Tucson, you’ll be based at the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. Your core courses will cover areas such as:

• Psycholinguistics

These areas will prepare you for careers in fields such as teaching and research. 

For graduate programs at the University of Arizona, the average tuition costs including fees are around $13,200 for state residents or $39,600 for non-residents. For an accurate estimation of the tuition and fees you’re likely to pay for your program, you can use the university’s tuition calculator on their website.

University at Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

Outside of the classroom at UB, students have a wealth of opportunities. There are more than 600 clubs and organizations to participate in, in addition to a Division I athletics program. The campus also regularly hosts concerts and guest speakers who are experts in their respective fields. 

The University at Buffalo’s Ph.D. in anthropology combines specialized instruction in both teaching and research, including numerous field projects designed to give you hands-on experience. The graduate program includes a total of 72 credit hours of coursework, and you will also regularly participate in material and technical laboratory work. 

Your first year of study will focus mostly on coursework, requiring you to complete six mandatory courses in addition to a minimum of one course in each subdiscipline chosen. At the end of your second year of study, you’ll have completed a further eight courses of your choosing, as well as completed a research paper that applies the research skills you’ve gained from the program. 

Full-time graduate students pursuing a PhD program who are also residents of the state will pay around $10,526 per semester in tuition and fees. For non-residents, this total rises to around $28,196 per semester. There are, of course, additional fees for medical insurance, meal plans, and housing, which you can find via the links on this page. 

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Founded in 1851, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus—part of the University of Minnesota System—welcomes around 50,000 students annually. Currently, nearly half a million living alumni call the University of Minnesota home.

Sitting on the banks of the Mississippi River, it is one of only five institutions in the country to have dedicated schools for engineering, medical, law, veterinary, and agricultural programs within a single campus. 

This Ph.D. in anthropology has three core areas of focus:

• Archaeology
• Biological anthropology
• Sociocultural anthropology

For admission into the program, you do not need to have a master’s degree, making this a particularly strong choice for those coming from a non-traditional educational background (provided that you have completed a bachelor’s degree program). 

The program comprises 36 academic credits and 24 thesis credits in total. You may also apply to transfer up to 12 graduate credits from an institution at which you have studied previously. For a more detailed description of the key study areas and the courses you can expect to take, check out the university’s program page. 

Graduate tuition varies based on your college of education or program. For students pursuing this Ph.D. in anthropology, the general graduate rate applies. As a resident, your annual costs including tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and other expenses will come to around $33,848. As a non-resident, this figure rises to around $54,588.

Texas State University

San Marcos, Texas

Texas State University (TXST) calls its students Bobcats. Texas State Bobcats  have access to over 400 student groups in the arts, academic areas, and social scenes. But that’s not all; students also participate in a Bobcat Build event, which is a student-led community service project taking place every year.

Texas State University offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) major in applied anthropology through the Department of Anthropology. It’s a graduate program that closely examines subjects areas such as:

• Intercultural communication
• Grant writing
• Project management
• Data collection

Thus, graduates have many opportunities available to them outside of research and teaching, including a career as a project manager, for example. 

Your program’s requirements will heavily revolve around research techniques and theory and professionalism. You’ll be well-versed in utilizing modern tools for researching topics in-depth, understanding historical and contemporary theory in anthropology, and applying key skills such as ethical decision making and leadership.

Upon acceptance into this program, you will also be designated a dissertation advisor for guided study. Tuition and fees at Texas State University vary from program to program, but the average cost of tuition for a graduate resident is around $357.36 per credit hour. For non-residents, tuition is around $765.36  per credit hour. Various other fees apply, which you can find detailed here.

University of Illinois

Champaign, Illinois

Founded in 1867, the University of Illinois welcomes almost 50,000 students annually from over 100 countries around the world. According to the university website, this institution has also seen 29 Pulitzer Prize winners among its alumni, in addition to being ranked in the top 15 public universities in the nation. 

This Ph.D. in anthropology requires a minimum of 96 hours’ worth of graduate credit to complete, of which 64 hours must be completed at the Urbana-Champaign campus. Additionally, students do not need to have completed a master’s degree to be eligible. 

As part of this program, you will however be expected to take a two-semester course called An Introduction to Illinois Anthropology. This course provides an essential foundation and introduction to the discipline. You will also be expected to show a high degree of proficiency in one foreign language or ordinary proficiency in two. 

Your tuition at the University of Illinois can vary for graduate studies depending on the program you’ve enrolled in. However, the Ph.D. in anthropology is charged at the base graduate rate. For residents of Illinois, the base tuition rate stands at around $15,150 annually, or $32,600 for non-residents and international students. 

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

The University of Iowa was founded in 1847, which makes it Iowa’s longest-standing institution of higher education. Located close to the Iowa River, more than 30,000 students enroll annually. It has also been named on national rankings, including having 12 graduate programs that rank within the top 10 in their field nationally. 

In addition to gaining a strong foundation and broad, in-depth knowledge of the field of anthropology, this doctoral program involves specialized training in one or more of the subject’s key concentrations. What’s more, if you studied anthropology or similar at the master’s degree level, the faculty will develop a custom program for you based on your previous experience and coursework. 

As part of this degree, you’ll develop an annual portfolio that demonstrates how your knowledge, competencies, and research skills are progressing throughout your studies. You’ll also write and defend a dissertation prospectus, plus two extensive exam essays as part of the assessment process. To successfully graduate from the program, you’ll also be expected to conduct your own anthropological research project. 

Graduate tuition is charged at around $12,065 annually for residents or $31,012 for non-residents. Housing and meals cost $14,744, and books and supplies $650, regardless of residency. This makes for a total annual cost of around $27,459 or $46,406 respectively, excluding personal and transportation expenses.

The University of Texas at San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas

With an annual attendance of around 32,000 students, The University of Texas at San Antonio is the largest university in the San Antonio metropolitan region. Four campuses are spread across the state, including:

• The Main Campus
• Downtown Campus
• Hemisfair Campus
• Park West Campus

Through this program, you’ll gain specialized training in applying theory and research into practice, solving the environmental crises facing our modern world. As a student of environmental anthropology, you’ll study topics such as:

• Power relations
• The impact of socio-physical environments on both humans and primates
• How humans build and organize their environments

This doctoral degree in anthropology is led by a highly experienced faculty. Additionally,  specializations are broad and numerous, and you can read more about their expertise on the program page. It’s worth noting that many Ph.D. students are offered some degree of financial aid, and in addition all incoming Ph.D. applicants are automatically considered for teaching assistantships.

Graduate tuition at The University of Texas at San Antonio costs around $9,362 for residents of Texas or $27,310 for non-residents. To get a more accurate picture of your tuition and fees, you can download a comprehensive spreadsheet of tuition rates from the university’s website here.

Indiana University Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana

Indiana University Bloomington has one of the largest offerings of student recreation and engagement, with more than 750 student clubs and organizations for you to get involved with. For anthropology students, it’s also a great place to be; there are more than 380 study abroad programs available to choose from. 

This doctoral degree in anthropology offers a broad spectrum of study in all of the following anthropological subfields:

• Bioanthropology
• Linguistic anthropology
• Social-cultural anthropology

You will choose one of these areas of specialization, though you may also opt to take other courses or a minor within another field. 

Regardless of your specialization, you will be required to pass a qualifying examination as part of the foreign language requirement. During your studies, you will also be expected to participate in research and teaching activities to satisfy the requirements of the program. 

Locating up to date and comprehensive tuition and fees data for the University of Indiana Bloomington is difficult. However, they tend to be around average compared to the rest of the nation and below average compared to other universities within Indiana. You can use the tuition calculator on the university’s website for the most accurate picture of your tuition and fees.

Colorado State University

Fort Collins, Colorado

Colorado State University’s Department of Anthropology pledges to incorporate hands-on teaching and training into as many parts of the curriculum as possible. As such, there are three field schools linked to the department, which provide comprehensive instruction in three key areas:

• Cultural anthropology

This cultural anthropology PhD program is relatively new, having only been launched in 2018 at the Department of Anthropology. It was designed and taught by a faculty that specializes in three key fields of anthropology, in addition to both human and physical geography. 

The program curriculum will see students gaining knowledge that allows them to address important research questions. These questions apply to both anthropology and geography, apply modern geographic methods to fields of anthropology, and require critical analysis of the impact of place and space on the environment. 

Graduate tuition at Colorado State University is charged at $846.02 per credit hour for residents or $1,719.92 for non-residents. This useful comparative table on the university’s website gives you a full breakdown of tuition and associated fees for both residents and non-residents.

University of California, Irvine

Irvine, California

Since 1965, the University of California has been committed to enhancing lives through the provision of comprehensive academic programs and cutting-edge research. Today, students may choose from more than 150 majors and minors. The institution was recently named the number one university for “doing most for the American dream” by The New York Times . 

This PhD program focuses on both social and cultural anthropology, including a long-term period of independent fieldwork. More often than not, this fieldwork will take place outside of the United States. It may also require fluency in a foreign language, which is common for doctoral programs in anthropology. 

You’ll be supported by a strong faculty that will guide you in both theory and practice. Areas of expertise include legal, political, and economic anthropology and anthropology applied to medicine, science, and technology. However, the faculty are also open to innovative ideas and the ability to question existing or assumed theoretical methods.     

At the University of California Irvine, residents of the state will pay annual tuition of around $11,700 excluding fees. Non-residents pay a supplement of around $15,102.00, making for totals of $18,709 and $33,811 including all fees, respectively. A full breakdown of all expenses and fees is available from the university website.

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Founded in 1787 under the name Pittsburgh Academy, the University of Pittsburgh is a research university and a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU). The AAU includes 63 universities within the United States that grant doctoral degrees. The University of Pittsburgh’s  writing program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation.  

This Ph.D. in anthropology requires around five years to complete and does not require a master’s degree for admission. With 72 credits of coursework, you will need to be fluent in at least one foreign language to be eligible for completion, in addition to completing written comprehensive examinations.

Upon admission into the program, you will be assigned a faculty advisor who will support you throughout your studies. This person will consult you on your choice of courses, in addition to providing guidance around your research activities and career aspirations. Your progress will be monitored throughout the program to best support you. 

The University of Pittsburgh has been ranked as the number one institution for value in all Pennsylvania universities and public colleges. To find detailed information about the graduate tuition rates and associated fees, you can use the tuition page on the university’s website, which breaks down expenses based on student type and residency.

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, New York

Located in Stony Brook, N.Y., Stony Brook University offers 209 graduate programs, with 59 doctoral programs among these. Founded in 1957, the university has over 25,000 students and 2,500 faculty members. There are also 20 NCAA Division I athletic programs, and many faculty members have earned prestigious awards in varied areas. 

This doctoral program in anthropological sciences is an interdisciplinary program that draws on the expertise of mixed faculties and resources from multiple departments, including:

• Anatomical sciences
• Ecology and evolution

You’ll be trained for varied careers in both teaching and research. It is one of the top-ranked anthropology programs in the U.S. according to the National Research Council. 

This program has been running for over 35 years since its inception in 1982. Students enrolled in the program will have access to a broad selection of state-of-the-art resources and laboratories, in addition to being assigned a dedicated, full-time graduate coordinator. For a full breakdown of the program’s four-year curriculum, you should consult this page on the university’s program website. 

The average tuition and fees for graduate programs at Stony Brook University is around $6.971 for residents of New York or $12,866 for non-residents and international students. According to the university’s website, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the university among the top 40 public universities within the nation for return on investment.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is located just five minutes away from Lake Michigan and just fifteen minutes from a vibrant downtown area. The institution has been nationally  recognized for its undergraduate research, while providing students numerous real-world opportunities to participate in internships and other preparative activities. 

This anthropology PhD program has been structured to provide students with a broad foundation in all areas of the discipline, including:

• Sociocultural
• Archaeological anthropology

However, there’s still scope for specialization in a particular discipline. It’s suited to students who want to pursue an academic career in the subject area, or students who want to apply anthropological concepts to their practice in another career. 

The program encourages cross-discipline research projects, with many students and faculty collaborating with other departments at the university, plus a number of other institutions across the nation and globe. You’ll undertake a dissertation while also being required to pass a number of preliminary examinations. 

Graduates who are residents of Wisconsin will pay around $12,220 tuition annually for a total of $27,046 including other fees and expenses. Illinois residents pay slightly more at around $32,396 in total. For other students, including those from other countries, this rises to around $40,476 annually. 

University of Tennessee Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1794, The University of Tennessee Knoxville was the first public university to be founded west of the Appalachian Divide. It has been deemed as a place of high research activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and provides degree programs at every level of study. 

For admission into this graduate program, you’ll be required to hold an existing bachelor’s or master’s degree in anthropology; alternatively, a minor in anthropology will be sufficient provided that your degree is in a closely related field such as the sciences or social sciences, or geography. Your cumulative undergraduate or graduate GPA should also be above 3.3. 

As a student enrolled in this program, you will complete two semesters of full-time residence before you take your comprehensive doctoral examination. Minimum coursework requirements include the necessity to complete 48 credit hours if your previous college study was to an undergraduate level or 24 credit hours if you have a master’s degree. 

Graduate students at The University of Tennessee Knoxville can expect to pay around $13,380 as state residents or $31,798 as non-residents. For information on meal plans, housing, and other associated fees, you can check out the university’s one stop website here, or use the net price calculator.

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia

The University of Virginia dates back to 1819, having been founded by Thomas Jefferson. Today, it’s ranked as the second best value public university by Money Magazine (2020). It has also ranked within the top five national public universities according to U.S. News & World Report . 

This PhD program is designed to take your existing, foundation-level knowledge of anthropology and encourage you to develop your own personalized portfolio of research. By the end of the program, the intention is that you will contribute your own knowledge to the field through a combination of fieldwork, research activities, and writing. 

Your first year in the program will be almost entirely spent in understanding the necessary foundations in social theory. This foundation will be achieved through a number of elective courses that look at the history of the theory and contemporary discoveries. Year two involves collaborating closely with faculty members, and writing two essays to provide a critical analysis on the current state of the anthropology discipline. 

As a resident of Virginia, you’ll pay tuition of around $18,382 in your first three years of study, followed by around $5,728 in your fourth year. As a non-resident, these figures are $30,790 and $5,728 respectively. Additional fees include health insurance premiums and other expenses, which you can find more information on here. 

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Founded in the mid-1700s, the University of Pennsylvania enjoys low student-faculty ratios of just 6:1, thanks to its nearly 4,800-strong faculty. Student clubs and organizations number in the hundreds and provide a means to blow off steam between time spent in lectures.  

This graduate program in anthropology emphasizes the importance of independent research to a professional standard of competency in at least one subfield of anthropology. You’ll typically take around four units per term, with a requirement of at least twenty units—one unit per course—to complete the program. 

You’ll also be required to take the comprehensive examinations, a set of exams that you will undertake during the final week of May in your first year of study. Lasting for eight hours, these exams will test you on your first year courses and serve as a checkpoint for the second year of study. 

Many of the graduate school programs at Penn State are charged on a per credit hour basis, while others are charged at a flat rate. For an overview of the cost of attending the University of Pennsylvania, you can check out the university’s Graduate School of Education costs page here. 

Columbia University in the City of New York

New York City, New York

Located in New York City, Columbia University has close links with a huge array of resources that provide valuable experiences that can help boost your studies and employability after graduation. Founded in 1754, it is the longest standing institution of higher learning in New York State and the fifth oldest in the entire nation. 

Graduates of this anthropology PhD program commonly progress into teaching and research positions within universities. They also work within archaeological and museum positions. depending upon your career aspirations, you’ll have the choice of specializing in either archaeology or socio-cultural anthropology, while taking courses in other key subfields. 

Research facilities at this institution are extensive, including an archaeology laboratory. You’ll also benefit from the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the American Indian, and numerous other well-known research hubs. These will both serve you in your completion of coursework and provide essential fieldwork experience. 

At Columbia University, the cost of graduate tuition is around is around $52,924. These categories include resident unit, extended residence, and matriculation and facilities. You can see a breakdown of these categories and what they mean here.

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts

The first graduate to receive their Ph.D. from Harvard’s graduate department did so in 1873, with the institution quickly becoming known as one of the best institutions in the world. Truly, Harvard University is much coveted by prospective students across the globe. But it’s not all about academia; students benefit from a vast range of clubs and organizations, in addition to close links to Massachusetts. 

Students enrolled in this PhD anthropology program will focus on two subfields of the discipline: archaeology and social anthropology. Both of these specializations come with their own curriculums and set of examinations, with the department of anthropology also offering an MA in medical anthropology to interested students. 

More specifically, you’ll choose to specialize in one of the following areas:

• Archaeology of complex societies
• Archaeology of ethnicities and languages
• Archaeology, art, and religion
• Archaeology of human evolution
• Environmental archaeology / archaeological science

More information on each specialization can be found on the program page. Graduate school students are charged tuition based on a tiered system, which reduces over time throughout the program. For the first two years of your program, you’ll pay around $52,456. For the third and fourth years, you’ll pay around $13,638. A full breakdown of other expenses can be found on this website.

University of California, San Francisco

San Francisco, California

UC San Francisco is a leading institution for health service programs, with five Nobel laureates who have made significant contributions toward our understanding of major health conditions. According to U.S. News & World Report , the university’s programs and hospitals are regularly ranked among the top in the nation. 

This program sees collaboration between UCSF and UC Berkeley, combining one of the top medical universities in the nation and a leading arts and sciences institution. This dynamic combination provides a varied curriculum to Ph.D. students. You’ll study new and emerging concepts in medical anthropology, with no other programs offering such a unique curriculum. 

The faculty is highly experienced and will vary depending on your study location. The UC San Francisco campus comprises eight members of faculty from the university’s Department of Anthropology, History, and Social Medicine, whereas the UC Berkeley campus has an eight-strong faculty from the respective campus’ Anthropology Department.

State residents pay around $11,442.00 in tuition, while non-residents pay an additional $15,102.00. Including the associated fees, this makes for a total of $18,975 and $34,077 respectively. A full breakdown of all program tuition and fees can be found here.

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York

Located in Ithaca, New York, Cornell University is a private institution whose mascot is the Big Red Bear. Almost 25,000 students make up the student body, supported by a faculty of nearly 1,700 professors. Founded in 1865, Cornell comprises 15 different colleges and schools, including four graduate and professional units. 

In addition to a fieldwork research proposal, this top anthropology graduate program in anthropology comprises an interdisciplinary curriculum that features just four courses. As a result, most students accepted into the program will either pair their studies with language-related courses or have a highly individualized program designed for them by the special committee. 

Some students who are admitted to this program will be lucky enough to receive financial aid covering the cost of five years of study on-campus. Priority admission is given to those whose primary reason for studying to the Ph.D. level is due to the lack of funding or career support available for students who have graduated with only a master’s degree. 

Doctoral degrees at Cornell University are charged at different rates of tuition depending on the subject area. You’ll pay between $10,400 to $14,750 per semester, or $20,800 to $29,500 per academic year. For more detailed and accurate estimates, follow the links at the top of the table on this page.

George Washington University

Washington, D.C.

The George Washington University Department of Anthropology was established in 1892 and is situated a short distance from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. A number of other valuable resources are also around the corner, including the National Parks Service, making this the perfect location for budding anthropologists. 

This anthropology doctoral program combines rigorous coursework with fieldwork and independent study. Specifically, you will work within a small group with an assigned faculty mentor. You will explore ethnographic concepts and conduct your own research studies that integrate numerous subfields within the discipline, including:

• Gender studies
• Museum studies

For admission into this program, your GRE scores will not be required nor taken into account; the university is of the opinion that the GRE can promote injustice among candidates. However, for certain funding options, you may still need to submit your scores for consideration for financial aid. 

The graduate school tuition and fees at George Washington University average at around $1,885 per credit, though this can vary based upon your individual college and program. Tuition at the graduate level is charged per credit hour, and you can find a full breakdown of tuition for each college and school via this link.

The New School

Founded in 1919, The New School brings together scholars, designers, artists, and other professionals. This combination creates a leading faculty that is committed to challenging the norm and innovating solutions. Students may choose from over 130 programs at a university that has been ranked first for being the most international university in the nation. 

Comprising 60 credits in total, this Ph.D. in anthropology is open to students who have completed a master’s degree in the same field at The New School. Graduating students will be prepared for careers in teaching or for their own creative independent research projects. 

As part of the PhD program, students will be encouraged to work on their own specializations by taking part in mandatory doctorate seminars and guided tutorial assignments. Guidance will be provided by an assigned member of faculty who will act as a mentor throughout your studies. 

Your program will be based at The New School for Social Research, which charges tuition on a per-credit basis. Each credit costs $2,260 for both MA or MS and Ph.D. students. Additional fees will apply, and you can find more information on fees on the university’s tuition, fees, and billing page.

Brown University

Providence, Rhode Island

At Brown University, there are 34 varsity sports teams and a huge variety of clubs and organizations in which to get involved. In addition to over 400 student clubs, there are also 60 public service groups and 4,100 intramural sports participants on-campus, plus Greek and program houses. 

This Ph.D. program covers three key subfields of the discipline:

• Socio-cultural anthropology
• Anthropological archaeology

The curriculum consists almost entirely of seminars at the graduate level, with independent study courses making up the rest. This drives students towards tutorial-based and independent learning that encourages a rigorous and discovery-based academic process. 

You’ll take four core courses, which are:

• Principles of Cultural Anthropology
• History of Ethnological Theory
• Principles of Archaeology
• Linguistic Theory and Practice

The remainder of your studies will allow you to choose 12 additional electives, giving you a highly individualized course of study that’s aligned with your career aspirations and interests.

Tuition for graduate studies at Brown University ranges between $59,254 and $71,312, varying from program to program. Additional fees include a health services fee, health insurance, student activity and recreation fees, and an academic records fee. More information and costs are available on the university’s website.

American University

Located in Washington D.C., The American University saw 89% of recent graduates participate in an internship during their studies, while 92% of all graduates were either working, enrolled in graduate school, or both. Comprising eight different schools and colleges, the university offers students access to over 200 registered clubs and organizations. 

This highly rigorous program will prepare you for a career as an anthropologist, offering in-depth study of issues that include:

• Urban anthropology
• Language and culture

Assessment will take the form of written research work, and oral and visual presentations. You’ll also learn how to obtain funding from external agencies for the purpose of research. 

With this exposure to the end-to-end research process, you’ll be geared for a successful career in anthropology. However, you can also specialize to a greater degree in archaeology if it aligns with your career plans. You’ll have the opportunity to work on issues both at home and abroad, and you will be given multiple opportunities to develop your skills in public anthropology, too. 

Graduate students at American University are charged a flat rate for all tuition, based on the number of credit hours taken. Tuition currently costs approximately $1,866 per credit hour, with payment normally due in January for students beginning their program in the fall. For a breakdown of mandatory university fees, you can consult the university’s tuition and fee information page.

Brandeis University

Waltham, Massachusetts

Situated on a 235-acre campus, Brandeis University is just a stone’s throw away from Boston, located in leafy suburbs. Established as a nonsectarian institution, Brandeis was founded in 1948 and has a total enrollment of around 3,591 for undergraduate programs and 1,967 for graduate programs. 

With this doctoral degree program, you will gain the in-depth training required to become either an archaeologist or professional anthropologist. This program’s areas of emphasis include archaeological and ethnographic field placements and comparative studies, among others. You’ll be able to choose an area in which to specialize based on your interests and goals. 

This is a highly competitive program that provides detailed career planning support for students who are admitted. You’ll be mentored throughout your time at Brandeis, taking part in workshops, mock job interviews, and other activities to prepare you for life after graduation. You’ll also design and deliver your own seminars, take part in reading groups, and present your own research at the American Anthropological Association’s yearly meeting. 

Average graduate tuition and fees typically comes to around $55,104. Brandeis University provides detailed information on graduate expenses here, including applicable fees and other useful advice. The most accurate estimates of your cost of attendance can be obtained by using the cost of attendance calculator on the university’s website.

Southern Methodist University

Dallas, Texas

Southern Methodist University (SMU) has a total attendance of around 12,000 students, which means that you’ll benefit from having small class sizes with excellent support. The institution comprises seven schools and colleges, and is known for being a distinguished hub of research activity and teaching. 

When you enroll in this anthropology Ph.D. program, you’ll choose to specialize in either cultural anthropology or archaeology. While archaeology students focus on New World archaeology, anthropology students can further specialize in medical anthropology or subfields related to globalization, depending on interests or career aspirations. 

Students focusing on New World archaeology will be guided by faculty with an interest in areas including complex societies across the Americas and early human civilizations. Your studies will examine subfields that include contemporary theories in archaeology. You will also spend a large amount of time on field placements across the Americas. 

Tuition at this university is dependent on the college under which you are studying. The average cost of attendance for graduate students at Southern Methodist University is around $47,256.70. A more accurate estimate of your program costs may be found by checking the individual department and college fees highlighted on this page.

Emory University

Atlanta, Georgia

Situated within a picturesque neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia, Emory University is a highly regarded and top-ranking private research institution. Nearly $700 million in research funding is generated by the institution annually. It’s also one of just 65 universities within the Association of American Universities (AAU). 

Emory University’s department of anthropology has been ranked within the top 10 departments in the nation by the National Research Council. Combining cultural and biological anthropological studies, students focus on the key areas of “cultivating dialogues and combinations of people, interests, and ideas that cross, connect, and transcend the field’s received sub-disciplines”. 

It’s worth checking out this infographic, which features some useful and insightful information on the program and the activities that previous students and alumni have been involved in during their studies and after graduation. 

Based on the assumption that you’re enrolled in a full-time program of study taking 9 or more credit hours, your tuition will cost $21,900 per semester. The tuition and fees page does not highlight any specific supplemental fees for non-resident students, though it’s worth confirming with the university whether this would be the case.

Frequently Asked Questions

You can apply cultural anthropology to any field of human culture, which includes economy, food customs, family, and socialism. Graduates of these degree programs continue their research with careers in the public or private sector. Most work in social science fields. Common careers include becoming university professors, researchers, or curators in museums.

In many cases, obtaining a master’s degree is not a strict prerequisite for pursuing a PhD in Anthropology. Some anthropology PhD programs accept students directly from a bachelor’s degree program. Admission requirements can vary between universities and programs, but most do not offer a master’s degree.

It takes, on average, between 6-7 years to get a PhD in Cultural Anthropology. This includes completing coursework, conducting fieldwork, and writing and defending a dissertation. The exact timeline varies by program, individual progress, and the nature of your research.

With a PhD in Cultural Anthropology, you can earn an average of $83,870/year working in federal government jobs. Engineering services pay cultural anthropologists $70,100/year on average. If you work as a professor at a college or university, you can expect to earn an average of $85,000/year.

Academic rigor and standards are high with any PhD program, and this rings true for cultural anthropology. The workload is heavy, and students must commit themselves to research. Here are some aspects that contribute to the challenging nature of getting a PhD in Cultural Anthropology: • Competitive Admission • Coursework and Exams • Interdisciplinary Nature • Limited Funding Opportunities • Research Intensity • Time Commitment • Writing a Dissertation

Employment for anthropologists is expected to grow 4% through 2032. This rate is about as fast as the average for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 700 new jobs should result each year, on average, for the next 9-10 years.

Deciding if you should pursue a PhD in Anthropology depends on various factors, including your career goals, personal interests, and commitment to an extended period of academic study and research. If you want to teach at the college or university level, you’ll need a PhD. Most federal government jobs in the field also require PhDs.

The biggest employer of anthropologists outside academia is the federal government. These career paths include working in: • Cultural resource management • Defense and security sectors • International development • Legislative branch • Natural resource management Government jobs offers good pay. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that anthropologists working for the federal government make $83,870/year, on average.

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Ph.D. Cultural Heritage and Applied Anthropology

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Our doctoral program specializes in Cultural Heritage and Applied Anthropology. Students in this program focus not only on cutting-edge research but also the application of anthropology to one or more central issues of the 21st century. These include the preservation of heritage and traditions, whether objects, landscapes, or language; international social issues, particularly global development and health delivery; or understanding the biological basis of humankind. This program requires more extensive coursework than the M.A. and, even more importantly, the achievement of independent professional-level scholarship demonstrated by the completion of a major research project presented to the faculty as a dissertation. This comprehensive yet individualized program provides seasoned professionals and recent B.A. and M.A. graduates alike an opportunity to earn a Doctorate.

Cultural heritage studies analyze 'heritage' as an archaeological, ethnohistorical, social, biological, linguistic, and legal construct. Heritage reflects a socially and personally important set of cultural, linguistic, and biological attributes that have developed through historical processes, which have social and legal meanings and consequences. The concept recognizes diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds while grounded in principles of the unity of heritage for all people. Different notions of heritage are explored from a theoretical perspective using various anthropological and other relevant paradigms. The course of study covers topics such as cultural resource management, social impact assessment, the interaction between cultures, the invention of tradition through time, cultural landscapes, cultural property, biological heritage issues, and retention of culture and language. An overlapping concern of the Ph.D. program is applied anthropology, the use of the anthropological perspective to solve real-world problems, including cultural heritage, medical anthropology, and a host of international development issues.

At the heart of our program is a strong commitment to employ anthropological theory to engage contemporary relevant issues with focused research for communities. While some that are awarded a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Montana will look toward teaching careers, a goal of the program is to produce applied anthropologists who will serve in government agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), tribal and ethnic associations, and businesses.

Admission to the anthropology Ph.D. program is competitive and open to students with

• a bachelor's or master's degree
• a GPA of 3.2
• optional  GRE scores and/or TOEFL scores
• positive letters of recommendation
• and a statement of purpose that indicates professional goals compatible with the research specialties of the faculty.

There is no minimum GRE score, and GRE scores are only one measure used to assess an applicant's suitability for the program. Provisional admission may be offered for promising students who do not meet the GPA standards. If the student's bachelor's degree is not in Anthropology, the student will work with their advisor to develop a course of instruction that includes developing a background in the four fields of Anthropology.

Applicants to the Ph.D. program should include a significant writing sample as part of their application. For students with a master's degree, this should be their Master's level original work such as a thesis or professional paper. For students without a master's degree, this should consist of a selection of term papers or research reports that they have completed.

Students in an M.A. or B.A./B.S. program (at the University of Montana or another institution) may apply for admission to the Ph.D. program up to one year before completing the M.A. degree, but their admission to the program will be provisional, contingent upon finishing their M.A. or B.A./B.S. program.

Graduate student applicants may apply online through the Graduate School .

Degree Requirements

The Cultural Heritage Studies and Historical Anthropology Ph.D. program requires coursework, a reviewed portfolio, a comprehensive examination, and a defended dissertation. The faculty expects completion of the Ph.D. within three years of earning the master's degree.

The faculty will assign the student a Ph.D. committee chair upon acceptance into the Ph.D. program; and the student, in consultation with the chair, will select at least two more members for the committee within their first semester in the program. The Ph.D. committee chair will guide the student in choosing appropriate courses and research experiences to accomplish their desired educational outcomes, including serving as the dissertation committee chair. If a student's interests change to the extent that another faculty member would be more appropriate as the dissertation committee chair the student may present a written petition to the graduate advising coordinator, who will consult with the student's existing committee chair, the prospective new committee chair, the Department Chair, and any other relevant faculty in making a decision to grant the student's request.

Graduate Contract and Portfolio

The student and their Ph.D. committee will formulate a plan of study, in the form of a graduate contract, tailored to the student's specific goals and consistent with Graduate School policy (section D.2000), within the student's first semester of entering the program. The contract will state the student's desired educational outcomes, the way in which the outcomes will be achieved, and the manner in which the outcomes will be assessed. The contract may only be altered with the approval of the student's Ph.D. committee. The student will create and maintain a portfolio of work documenting progress toward fulfillment of the graduate contract.

Students are expected to complete the following course requirements:

• A total of 30 credits beyond those required for the MA degree (total of at least 60 credits post-bachelor degree).
• The core course sequence consists of ANTY 600, 601, and 602.
• At least nine credits in research (ANTY 697) and/or dissertation (ANTY 699). Students may apply up to 10 credits of ANTY 593/597/599 or the equivalent and 10 credits of ANTY 697/699 or the equivalent toward the 60 post-baccalaureate credits required for the degree. After students have earned an M.A. degree they may not enroll in ANTY 593/597/599.

Dissertation Research Proposal

Before accumulating 45 postbaccalaureate credits and before enrolling in ANTY699 the student will develop a detailed dissertation research proposal. A funding proposal to an appropriate source may be substituted for the research proposal. At a minimum the proposal should include:

• The goal of the scholarly work, including hypotheses to be tested;
• The materials and methods to be used;
• A significant annotated bibliography or literature review;
• A completed, but not submitted, the University of Montana Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects in Research checklist form if the scholarly work involves living human subjects;
• A complete, but not submitted, Graduate School Application for Graduation.

Dissertation Committee

After completion of the dissertation proposal, the candidate will form a dissertation committee consisting of five members who meet the requirements listed in Graduate School Policy (sectionsD4.100 and D4.300), including one University of Montana -- Missoula faculty member who is outside Anthropology.

Comprehensive Examination

Each student will orally present their research proposal at a meeting with their dissertation committee. During this meeting, the committee will ask questions designed to assess whether the proposal and the student's background demonstrate the likelihood of successful completion of the dissertation research. The committee will also review the student's portfolio to assess the student's progress toward their desired outcomes. If the student has demonstrated substantial progress toward fulfillment of their graduate contract and is, in the opinion of the committee, prepared to undertake dissertation research, then they will be invited to continue work toward the completion of their dissertation. If deficiencies exist the committee may prescribe remedial action or direct the student toward graduation with a terminal M.A. degree. However, students may not earn a second M.A. degree in Anthropology from the University of Montana by this mechanism.

Dissertation Defense

After the dissertation is completed, the student's dissertation committee will review it and ask the student to defend it following the process described in Graduate School policy (section D5.000).

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Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology

General info.

• Faculty working with students: 15
• Students: 18
• Students receiving Financial Aid: 100% for 5 years
• Part time study available: No
• Application terms: Fall
• Application deadline: December 6

Ralph Litzinger Director of Graduate Studies Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Box 90091 Durham, NC 27708-0091

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (919) 684-4544 (Director of Graduate Studies Assistant: Jason Woerner)

Website:  http://culturalanthropology.duke.edu/

Program Description

The graduate program in Cultural Anthropology aims to provide students with a thorough grounding in both current theory and methods of research. Issues that concern the faculty include transnational and national processes; political economy and history; identity and ethnicity; popular culture, the media and advertising; culture and the individual; religion; public health; aesthetics; class, gender, and race relations; and environment and ecology. The program as a whole takes a comparative perspective that encourages field research in diverse societies, including the contemporary United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the African Diaspora, South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Interdisciplinary work in other departments and programs is encouraged. 

• Cultural Anthropology: PhD Admissions and Enrollment Statistics
• Cultural Anthropology: PhD Completion Rate Statistics
• Cultural Anthropology: PhD Time to Degree Statistics
• Cultural Anthropology: PhD Career Outcomes Statistics

Application Information

Application Terms Available:  Fall

Application Deadline:  December 6

Graduate School Application Requirements See the Application Instructions page for important details about each Graduate School requirement.

• Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts required with application submission; official transcripts required upon admission
• Letters of Recommendation: 3 Required
• Statement of Purpose: Required (see department guidance below)
• Résumé: Required
• GRE Scores: GRE General (Optional)
• English Language Exam: TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test required* for applicants whose first language is not English *test waiver may apply for some applicants
• GPA: Undergraduate GPA calculated on 4.0 scale required  

Department-Specific Application Requirements (submitted through online application)

Statement of Purpose Guidelines The statement of purpose is an especially important part of the application because it gives applicants a chance to describe their research interests. There is no single way to write a good statement of purpose. However, you can download some sample statements of purpose (below) from a few successful applicants.

At the beginning of the statement of purpose, applicants must also list three keywords best describing their research interests and geographical area of study (for example: Mass Media, Indigenous Rights, Latin America). 

Download Sample Statements of Purpose  (doc - 70 KB)

Writing Sample Applicants must upload a roughly 10-20 page sample of relatively recent written work via the online application portal.

We strongly encourage you to review additional department-specific application guidance from the program to which you are applying: Departmental Application Guidance

List of Graduate School Programs and Degrees

Graduate Program

The Anthropology graduate program provides students with excellent training in theory and methods, enabling them to pursue an advanced graduate degree in many subfields of Anthropology, including archaeology, ecology, environmental anthropology, evolution, linguistic, medical anthropology, political economy, science and technology, and sociocultural anthropology.

The doctoral program prepares students to conduct independent research and analysis in Anthropology.  Through completion of advanced course work and rigorous skills training, the doctoral program prepares students to make original contributions to the knowledge of anthropology and to interpret and present the results of such research.  Eligible PhD students from other disciplines at Stanford University may also pursue a PhD Minor in Anthropology. See PhD Program Flyer for more information.

The department offers a Coterminal MA degree in Anthropology for current Stanford undergraduates seeking to obtain a MA degree while completing their BA degree in the same or different department. The department also offers a Terminal MA degree in Anthropology for Stanford graduate students, either in anthropology or in other disciplines, who have fulfilled the MA degree requirements for the MA 'on the way to the PhD'.

Over 1,500  doctoral dissertations  have been completed in the department since 1895.  Anthropology alumni pursue successful careers in teaching, research, or non-academic careers in the United States and worldwide.

Beyond the Classroom

In close collaboration with Stanford  faculty members  and  department leadership , our graduate students organize number of event series that contribute to the department's intellectual life and community.  The Graduate Student Organization (GSO) representatives act as a liaison between the department leadership and the graduate student body, actively participating in department issues, and providing a supportive community for the first-year PhD student cohort as well as other for other PhD and M. graduate students. Graduate students also engage with unique research, curricular, and professionalization activities. 

Fields of Study

Our graduate s tudents may choose from the following Department tracks: 1) Archaeology; 2) Culture and Society.  Students work closely with faculty members who are engaged in research informed by a wide array of theoretical perspectives from political to spiritual. Subfields in Archeology include: cities, gender and sexuality, and materiality. Students interested in Culture and Society can focus on a wide range of issues such as: linguistic anthropology, culture and mind, medical anthropology, and global political economy.   Explore each Research Area and its faculty .

The Anthropology Department offers 5 years of financial support to PhD students.  No funding is offered for student enrolled in the co-terminal and terminal MA programs.

Join dozens of  Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students  who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as  Knight-Hennessy Scholars  (KHS). As a scholar, students join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of leadership programming, and receive full funding for up to three years of Doctoral studies at Stanford. The KHS application deadline is October 11, 2023. Learn more about  KHS admission .

How to Apply

Please review admissions for policies and requirements for each degree program by visiting the specific degree program page listed above. Please also consider reviewing the Stanford School of Humanities & Sciences'  Guide on Getting into Grad School  to explore which graduate program may best suit your interest, what graduate committees look for, and the benefits and challenges for pursuing a graduate degree.

Program Contacts

Angela Garcia

Lochlann Jain

Ph.D. in Anthropology

Earn Your PhD in Anthropology

Our Ph.D. program in anthropology is designed to provide a broad background in the field with a primary emphasis on sociocultural anthropology, biological anthropology, or archaeology. The degree prepares students for careers in academia, consulting, or other applied professions in the discipline. 

The major foci of research and instruction in sociocultural anthropology include religion, law and politics, ethnicity, gender, history and anthropology, problems of social change and economic development, culture and the environment, cognition and culture, and medical/psychological anthropology. The study of the Islamic world, East and Southeast Asia, and Africa are the greatest strengths among our sociocultural faculty and students. 

In biological anthropology, our faculty and students primarily study living and fossil human and non-human primates, including their evolutionary morphology, behavior, genomics, and sensory adaptations. For more information on ongoing research in biological anthropology, visit our laboratories page . 

Finally, the major foci in archaeology include human-environment interactions, urbanism, households, and material culture viewed in deep historical perspective. Faculty and students are primarily interested in Mesoamerica, North America, and the Mediterranean. To learn more about research and fieldwork in archaeology, click here .

PhD Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate mastery of the fundamentals of the traditional four subfields of American anthropology (social/cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology) sufficiently to make them effective and competent teachers of introductory undergraduate courses in general anthropology, social/cultural anthropology, and/or biological anthropology.
• Demonstrate the ability to conceive, plan, propose, carry out, and write up a major piece of anthropological research, related to current theoretical discourse in their chosen subfield and constituting a significant contribution to the discipline.
• Be able to make compelling and interesting presentations of their ideas and findings to audiences of professional anthropologists in several forms—oral, written, and graphic.
• Carry out all these tasks in a manner consonant with the highest prevailing standards of ethical and professional conduct in research and teaching.

Each year, Boston University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GRS) offers incoming Ph.D. students Dean’s Fellowships, which include full tuition, a living stipend, and health insurance for five years; along with a new summer stipend beginning in 2021.

For more information on financial aid for doctoral students, visit the GRS page on fellowship aid .

Anthropology

Share this page, fall 2024 admissions update.

Admissions to the PhD in social anthropology and the AM in medical anthropology have been paused and will not be accepting applications for fall 2024. The PhD in archaeology will be accepting applications.

The Department of Anthropology is one of the world’s leading institutions for anthropological research. Our PhD programs provide in-depth conceptual and methodological training in archaeology and social anthropology , with faculty whose work covers every time period—from the Paleolithic to the present—and every major world area. The department also offers an AM in medical anthropology .

You will have the unique opportunity to work with a world-renowned faculty that has a long tradition of foundational research across nearly every continent. You will have access to a wide range of resources including the Harvard Medical School, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, various area centers such as the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Korea Institute, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Asia Center, and Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. You will also have access to extensive archaeological and anthropological collections of the Peabody Museum, an important resource for both research and teaching.

Projects that students have worked on include “Archaeology of the 19th and 20th Century Chinese Labor Migrants,” “Zooarchaeology in Ancient Mesopotamia,” and “Mass Media in Indonesia.” Our PhD graduates are now on the anthropology faculties at some of the top universities in the world. Others have secured positions with Facebook, the World Bank, and various museums.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Anthropology , and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Areas of Study

Archaeology (PhD only) | Medical Anthropology (AM only) | Social Anthropology (PhD only)

Admissions Requirements

Please review the admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Anthropology .

Academic Background

Previous concentration in anthropology is not required; however, applicants must be able to clearly state their interests in anthropology and demonstrate familiarity with intellectual issues in current anthropological theory and method.

Writing Sample

For PhD applicants, a writing sample is required as part of the application and can be a term paper or thesis no longer than 20 pages (double-spaced) not including bibliography. Do not submit a longer sample with instructions to read a particular section. Applicants should select an example of their best academic writing that demonstrates their capacity for rigorous analysis and independent work. It is not essential that the writing sample be directly related to the topics or areas that you are proposing to study in the future.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose should demonstrate a geographic cultural region and/or a particular topical or theoretical interest in anthropology. Language skills related to an applicant’s intended area or areas of specialization should be explained in the statement of purpose.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Not Accepted

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Anthropology

Anthropology Faculty

See list of Anthropology faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

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Cultural Anthropology at NYU

Cultural anthropologists in the department share a belief that study and research must be firmly grounded in rigorous training in general social and cultural theory, both in contemporary writings and in the classics of anthropology and sociology. The faculty also believes that basic ethnography remains the cornerstone on which all cultural anthropology rests and are concerned with the representation of anthropological knowledge in writing and film. There is a commitment to an understanding of complex societies that is informed by a comparative perspective and knowledge of smaller-scale settings. Recent field research by faculty and students has been conducted in East and West Africa, North and South America (including research among Native Americans), Australia, the Caribbean, China, Eastern and Western Europe, Melanesia, the Middle East, Polynesia, South Asia, and the former Soviet Union. Faculty interests converge around gender relations, emotion, religion and belief systems, expressive culture and performance, the anthropology of history, colonialism and post-colonial nationalism, the cultural context of legal and political institutions, transnational processes, and urban life. Much faculty research focuses on the mediation of identities though popular and public cultural forms - such as art, television, indigenous media, urban space, regional cultures, and ideologies of language use - in a variety of changing social contexts.

Sociocultural Anthropology Mission Statement

Sociocultural anthropology, which we understand to include linguistic anthropology, is concerned with the problem of difference and similarity within and between human populations. The discipline arose concomitantly with the expansion of European colonial empires, and its practices and theories have been questioned and reformulated along with processes of decolonization. Such issues have re-emerged as transnational processes have challenged the centrality of the nation-state to theorizations about culture and power. New challenges have emerged as public debates about multiculturalism, and the increasing use of the culture concept outside of the academy and among peoples studied by anthropology. These are not "business-as-usual" times in the academy, in anthropology, or in the world, if ever there were such times. Questions about cultural processes and theorizing about "human nature" escape the boundaries of anthropology as a discipline. The major paradigms framing cultural difference and human universals are profoundly contested; migrations, political collapses and social reorganizations transform the context in which the production of cultural meanings and theories of culture have been embedded and reproduced. For many of us, this is a moment in which it is necessary to take up the sort of broad challenges with which our disciplinary predecessors struggled -- to redefine the field of inquiry and research in relation to debates that have enormous significance in our own lives and those of the people we study. Like our colleagues elsewhere, we are working to place contemporary social anthropological practice in the cross-currents of a burgeoning interest in culture and cultural differences. This is part of the changing historical conditions of the analysis of cultural practice in anthropology, shaped by a shifting of boundaries between those who study and those who are the objects of study, as well as the reorganization of disciplines and their location in the world. Our collective enterprise is to help make an anthropology that grapples with the changing situations of contemporary life. The worlds in which we work, both inside the academic institution and outside, demand more than ever a rethinking of basic concepts and methods and formulation of research projects to engage a range of changing ethnographic objects. At NYU there has been extraordinary cooperation in engaging with these issues, reformulating anthropological traditions of study in order to conceive new problems and comprehend changing circumstances in the world outside the academy. However much anthropology might need to be transformed in the light of criticism, what holds us together is a firm grounding in the traditions and methods of the field focusing on two key disciplinary commitments. The first is the commitment to "fieldwork" -- a coeval presence with social actors -- as a way of challenging one's embeddedness in systems of theoretical knowledge. We recognize the need to retheorize this kind of practice, but continue to regard it as the foundation of anthropological knowledge. The second commitment is to the study of cultural processes and practices through which human action is individually and collectively mediated -- that is, to the study of people doing things, of action and practices, rather than the study of culture as an object. Our interest is in how actors (or agents) constitute themselves and organize social life with particular attention to material culture, performance, and expressive media. Some of us began our research careers with ethnography in small-scale societies, but we all recognize the difficulty of any anthropological project now that would disregard the way such social worlds are embedded in economic, political, and cultural processes of a larger order. The shared project of the sociocultural faculty concerns the problems of how to develop an anthropological approach to such complex sociocultural phenomena. There has clearly been a movement among students and faculty to pursue research at the level of what are commonly known as "complex societies," and especially an interest in the development of anthropological approaches to the study of ‘Western’ society (France, Spain, the U.S.), but we are deeply committed to the view that such study should be informed by a comparative perspective and the knowledge of small-scale societies developed within anthropology. The faculty believes that basic ethnography remains the cornerstone on which all cultural anthropology rests; that study and research must be firmly grounded in rigorous training in general social and cultural theory, both in contemporary writings and in the classics of anthropology and sociology; and that we need to examine what is at stake in representations of anthropological knowledge in writing and media. A distinctive emphasis has emerged in this department around the study of "cultural mediations": religion, ritual, language, art, poetry, indigenous and mass media, music, and cultural spectacles -- as they mediate social relations at many levels of social action. Faculty interests fall into three interrelated configurations. The first concerns the study of a range of signifying practices--language, emotion and personhood, art and material culture, media, museums, music and popular culture, religion and ritual, and history and "social memory." These interests intersect with a second configuration around urban space, nationalism, historical processes, cultural policy, language ideology, social movements, and transnational processes such as migration, the circulation and consumption of cultural capital, and tourism. Faculty and student research that has focused on the mediation of national, diasporic, and indigenous identities through popular and public cultural forms in a variety of changing social contexts has brought many of us to participate in both of these configurations. The development of the Program in Culture and Media -- with its rigorous training in theory, production, and ethnography of media -- has been a particularly vital component of this configuration, as a site for rethinking the relationships among different kinds of cultural production. A third configuration is now being developed by several faculty in Medical Anthropology and Science Studies. Ongoing research projects are examining the intersection of reproductive technologies and the medicalization of social practices; the construction of genetic knowledge in labs, clinics, and genetic support groups; the social construction of diagnoses of emotion-related disorders and their relationship to the production of psychotropic drugs; ways in which social formations come to grips with the revolution in genetics and the effects of the production and dissemination of new scientific knowledge; and the remaking of the public sphere -- from policy to social movements -- as new media, information technologies and neo-liberal economies transform these arenas. Crosscutting all of these configurations is a record of strength and continuing work in linguistic anthropology, feminist anthropology and gender and sexuality studies. Departmental emphases draw on the great benefits that come from being at a large, first-rate urban university. We have important cross-disciplinary formations in area studies (the Institute of French Studies, The Center for Caribbean and Latin American Studies, the Kevorkian Center and Middle East Studies, Africana Studies, Asian/Pacific American Studies, American Studies, and East Asian Studies) as well as in other areas including our collaborative arrangements with Cinema Studies and the Film School; Museum Studies; Linguistics; and the Institute for the History of the Production of Knowledge--giving students access to a broad range of expertise.

Special Resources and Facilities in Sociocultural Anthropology

The Annette B. Weiner Fellowship in Cultural Anthropology supports ethnographic fieldwork by graduate students in the Department of Anthropology. The fellowship carries on the inspiration and dedication that Annette Weiner gave to the field of anthropology, so that her vision will be carried forward to the next generation. Applications for the fellowship are invited each April. Doctoral students who anticipate doing socio-cultural or linguistic fieldwork in the upcoming year and who wish to be considered should normally submit a recent example of a fieldwork grant application. Post-Master's preliminary fieldwork applications will be considered, but on a lesser order of priority.

Jane E Anderson   Research/Interest: Property law (spec. intellectual property) and the cultural life of law; coloniality and colonial governance; critical indigenous studies; Indigenous rights and sovereignty; museum studies; repatriation and digital return; cultural property; heritage studies; international organizations; institutional policy; cultural protocols; applied anthropology; transformative practice and ethical frameworks for social change. Americas, South East Asia, Pacific.

Sean Brotherton   Research/Interest: Anthropology of medicine, science, technology, and the body; social theory; subjectivity and health; humanitarianism; post-coloniality/decoloniality; governmentality; theories of post-/socialism; psychoanalysis/psychological anthropology; Latin America and the Caribbean.

Aimee Cox    Research/Interest: Urban and rural United States, performance ethnography; dance studies; critical race theory; embodiment and spatiality; youth cultural production; longitudinal ethnography.

Ethiraj Gabriel Dattatreyan Research/Interest: media anthropology; visual ethnography; critical digital studies; popular culture; youth cultural production; masculinities; urban studies; Afro-Asian interactions; histories and practices of radical education.

Arlene Dávila Research/Interest: comparative race/ethnic studies, media studies; political economy, globalization; visual culture, urban studies; consumption; Latinos in the U.S., Latino/Latin American studies. 

Tejaswini Ganti   Research/Interest: Anthropology of Media, Media Industries, Production Cultures, Political Economy, Visual Anthropology/Visual Culture, Cultural Policy, Nationalism, Capitalism, Neoliberalism, Globalization, Postcolonial Theory, Indian Cinema, South Asia

Faye Ginsburg   Research/Interest: Social anthropology; ethnographic film; ethnography of media; indigenous media; social movements in the United States; Disability.

Bruce Grant   Research/Interest: Former Soviet Union, Siberia, the Caucasus; cultural history and politics; religion.

Aisha Khan   Research/Interest: Caribbean, Latin America, race and ethnicity, religion (particularly obeah, Islam, Afro-Atlantic religions), theory and method in diaspora studies, creolization

Fred R. Myers   Research/Interest: Indigenous people and politics, Aboriginal Australia; exchange theory and material culture; anthropology of art and contemporary artworlds; the production and circulation of culture; in identity and personhood; theories of value and practices of signification

Elayne Oliphant   Research/Interest: Christianity; secularism; critical approaches to the study of religion; visual anthropology; public space; France; Europe; contemporary art; museums; capitalism; xenophobia and privilege

Maryani Rasidjan Research/Interest: Reproductive health, race and racialization, indigeneity, community health workers, science and technology, West Papua, Indonesia.

Amy Zhang Research Interest: Environmental anthropology, waste, material culture, science and technology, urban studies, development, China. 

Angela Zito   Research/Interest: Cultural history/historical anthropology; critical theories of religion; religions of China; filaility in China; religion and media; history and anthropology of embodiment; gender; performance and subjectivity; documentary film.

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PhD in Anthropology

The PhD program normally requires about five years, and is completely separate from the MA program. That is, students may enter the PhD program directly following their undergraduate degree, and do not necessarily earn a master's degree (although earning the master's degree can be incorporated into the PhD program without increasing the total length of time needed). Students who have already earned a master's degree elsewhere can often receive credit for previous coursework which may shorten the time needed to earn a PhD by as much as a year. Requirements for the PhD include 72 credits of coursework; a foreign language; three of four core courses (cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, or anthropological linguistics); two quantitative methods courses (for students in archaeology and biological anthropology) or a course in field methods and a course in contemporary theory (for students in cultural anthropology); written comprehensive examinations; fieldwork or equivalent research; and the dissertation.

Complete PhD Requirements

Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences requirements for the PhD also apply. More information on requirements can also be found in the Anthropology Graduate Handbook . 

Advising and Supervision

A faculty advisor is assigned to each incoming student. Students are free to change their advisors at any time to a faculty member who has agreed to work with them. Advisors consult with students on their course selections and on their research and career plans, and monitor their advisees' progress in the graduate program.  Progress of all active graduate students is systematically reviewed by the faculty in each subdiscipline annually in the spring term. Students must petition the Graduate Studies Committee for approval of committees and at other points, as discussed below. Students may also submit petitions about other academic issues that may arise during the course of their studies. Concerns of any kind may be discussed with advisors, the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee, and the Department Chair.

Course Credits

A minimum of 72 course credits in the Anthropology Department at the University of Pittsburgh is required for the PhD degree. Of these, at least 42 credits must be in formal courses (as opposed to readings courses, independent study, or thesis or dissertation credits). The remaining 30 credits may be any combination of formal courses, readings courses, independent study, and/or thesis and dissertation credits.

Generally, a full-time student will be enrolled in a minimum of three formal courses during fall and spring terms until the required 42 credits of formal coursework are attained. Full-time students may or may not register or take courses during the summer term. Reading or independent study courses, if taken prior to completion of the 42-credit minimum of formal courses, are generally taken during the summer term or in addition to the three formal courses that are the minimum for full-time students during the fall or spring terms.

A student may petition the Graduate Studies Committee to have courses taken outside of the University of Pittsburgh count toward the 30 credits required for the MA or the 72 credits required for the PhD. Students can transfer up to 30 credits from another approved degree-granting graduate program (12 towards formal coursework and 18 towards informal coursework).

Students who enrolled in the PhD program prior to Fall 2017 are allowed to have 12 1000- level credits count towards the MA or PhD. Students who enrolled during or after Fall 2017 are not eligible to have 1000- level credits count towards either degree.

Core Courses/Preliminary Examination

The core course system of the Department of Anthropology fills the role of the preliminary examination in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences requirements for the PhD. A broad foundation based on a general familiarity with all four subfields is considered to be highly beneficial to the practice of anthropology, and core courses are offered in the four subfields of anthropology: cultural anthropology, archeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. PhD students are required to pass (with a grade of B or better) at least three of these four core courses, one of which must be the core course in the student's subdiscipline. (Linguistic anthropology students must complete the core courses both in linguistic anthropology and in cultural anthropology.) Full-time students are expected to pass the required core courses by the end of their first year in residence.

A student with an MA from another institution, or with a strong undergraduate background in one or more subdisciplines, may present transcripts and other relevant documents to petition the Graduate Studies Committee to waive the core course in that subdiscipline(s), as long as it is not a core course specifically required for the student's own subdiscipline. If not granted a waiver, after consultation with the instructor and review of the core course syllabus, a student can take the final exam (when it is normally given) instead of taking a core course for credit. A student may opt to selectively audit a core course to remedy weaknesses in only a few areas and then take the regular final exam. It should be stressed, however, that all exams will be evaluated in the same manner as those of students taking the course for credit.

Language Requirement

Before students advance to candidacy, they must demonstrate  competence in a language other than English  that possesses a substantial body of anthropological literature. For common foreign languages (e.g. French, German, Spanish), the student may choose either to 1) pass with a grade of B or better the level 4 or 8 course offered by that language department, or 2) pass at a level determined by this department the examination for evaluating graduate students currently offered by that language department. In the case of languages for which such avenues of evaluation are not available, the student, after seeking advice from an advisor, should petition the Committee on Graduate Studies for alternative forms of evaluation.

Method/Theory Requirements

Students in archeology must pass with a grade of B or better Anthropology 2534 and Anthropology 2524 (Archeological Data Analysis I and II). They may petition the Graduate Studies Committee to accept other courses in quantitative methods in lieu of these.  Students in biological anthropology must pass with a grade of B or better: 1) Biostatistics 2041 and 2042 (Introduction to Statistical Methods I and II), or, for bioarchaeology concentrators with the approval of their advisor, Anthropology 2534 and Anthropology 2524 (Archaeological Data Analysis I and II). Students in cultural and linguistic anthropology must pass with a grade of B or better Anthropology 2763 (Field Methods) and Anthropology 2750 (Seminar on Contemporary Theory in cultural anthropology). They may petition the Graduate Studies Committee for approval of other courses to satisfy this requirement.

Comprehensive Examinations

After completing the core course requirement and prior to advancement to PhD candidacy, students must pass two comprehensive examinations designed to test breadth and depth of knowledge in the chosen areas of expertise. Students generally take their comprehensive examinations at the end of their third year of residence. A student who fails a comprehensive examination or who has not passed comprehensive examinations by the end of the fourth year of residence (fifth for students in the joint PhD/MPH program) may be dismissed from the program.

Each examination is designed and administered by a committee constructed by the student in consultation with the advisor or the chair of the comprehensive examination committee. The committee consists of at least three faculty members (at least two of whom must be in the department). One of these is designated as chair of the committee. Well in advance of the exam, students submit to the committee a bibliography of sources from which they intend to work. Members of the committee may recommend additional sources. The student must petition the Graduate Studies Committee for approval of the topic and committee for each examination.

The structure of the comprehensive examinations differs from subfield to subfield:

In  cultural anthropology , one examination is in the student's ethnographic area (e.g. Africa, East Asia, Latin America, the Pacific). Students should demonstrate mastery not just of ethnographic work that is relevant to their projects, but also of the wider fields of literature that have informed anthropological study of their regions as identified by the members of the comprehensive exam committee. Reading lists should display historical depth and awareness of significant work in fields beyond cultural anthropology. The second examination is of a more theoretical nature in a field chosen and defined by students in conjunction with their advisors. Examples are gender and sexuality, migration and transnationalism, medical anthropology, media anthropology, etc.

In  archaeology , one examination is on either a significant world area (e.g. Eastern North America, Mesoamerica, Europe) or a significant time period (e.g. the Paleolithic). The other is on the theory and history of archeology, with special emphasis on broad topics and questions of relevance to the student's research.

In  biological anthropology , one examination covers a major body of theory, e.g. evolutionary theory or developmental theory, and the second focuses on a coherent, substantive body of research, e.g. hominid evolution, functional anatomy, paleopathology.

In  linguistic anthropology , one examination is in the student's ethnographic area (e.g. East Asia, Latin America, the Pacific, etc.). Students should demonstrate mastery not just of ethnographic work that is relevant to their projects, but also of the wider fields of literature that have informed anthropological study of their regions as identified by the members of the comprehensive exam committee. Reading lists should display historical depth and awareness of significant work in fields beyond linguistic and cultural anthropology. The second examination is of a more theoretical nature in a field chosen and defined by students in conjunction with their advisors. This exam should cover significant works relevant to the study of linguistic and cultural anthropology.

Areas of Concentration

Students may designate cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology, or linguistic anthropology as an area of concentration, depending on which subdiscipline's degree requirements they satisfy. Alternatively, students may designate medical anthropology as an area of concentration if they have taken Patients and Healers, Medical Anthropology 1, Medical Anthropology 2, and 12 elective credits from a list of approved courses . The area of concentration will be officially recorded on the student's transcript, but does not appear on the diploma. In any case the degree awarded is not in the area of concentration but simply in anthropology.

Dissertation

Committee:  As soon as possible after completion of the core course requirements, and certainly by the third year in residence, prior to admission to candidacy, the student must establish a doctoral dissertation committee that will: 1) participate in the student's preparation of the dissertation research proposal; 2) administer the oral dissertation overview; 3) offer advice while the student is collecting field or laboratory/museum data as well as while the student is writing the dissertation; and 4) conduct the oral dissertation defense. This committee consists of at least three Graduate Faculty members from the Department of Anthropology, including the student's advisor, and at least one graduate faculty member from another department of the University or from another university. If a member of the graduate faculty of another university is selected, she or he must be approved in advance by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. The student must petition the Graduate Studies Committee for approval of the dissertation committee.

Overview:  Before actively pursuing dissertation research, the student makes an oral presentation of the intended project to the dissertation committee. The student gives the members of the committee a proposal at least one month ahead of time. The overview should not be the first discussion of the project between the student and committee members. If the committee members approve, their recommendation is forwarded to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. For research involving human subjects or animals, IRB or IACUC approval must be obtained before the student can be advanced to doctoral candidacy. A student who has not passed the dissertation overview by the end of the fourth year in residence (fifth year for students in the joint PhD/MPH program) may be dismissed from the program.

Dissertation Format: In addition to the standard dissertation format, students have the option to write their dissertations following the three-article format. 

Three Article Dissertation

Students should decide at the time of their overview examination whether to pursue the three-article dissertation format. This decision must be made in consultation with the members of the student’s dissertation committee. All members must unanimously agree to the student’s plan to complete a dissertation in the three-article format. Students can also choose the three-article format after the overview, or switch from this format to the regular dissertation format with committee approval.

This dissertation format will be comprised of three full-length articles of publishable quality within a peer-reviewed journal, an introduction, and a conclusion.

The articles are expected to develop various aspects of an overarching theme presented in the introduction. Additional papers may be added above the minimum of three if approved by the committee. The student must be the sole author or lead author on all articles. The student should be responsible for the conceptualization, data analysis, and writing of the articles.

Only one of the three articles can be an article that has been published or accepted for publication prior to the student’s overview at the discretion of the committee. If the article is co-authored, the student must be the first author. The published article must represent work undertaken while the student was enrolled in the PhD program and be related to their dissertation project. The student is responsible for securing necessary permissions from the copyright holder and other authors. See the Pitt Library for questions and assistance.

The goal of writing an article-style dissertation should be to publish the articles that appear in the dissertation. Journals to which articles are being submitted must be approved by the dissertation committee. Serving as an “editorial board” for the student, the committee will help select journals that will challenge the student and offer a reasonable chance of publication success. Dissertation papers can be submitted for publication while the student is ABD. If a paper is rejected by a journal during the dissertation process, the student may submit to another journal approved by the committee. In the case of a “revise and resubmit” during the dissertation process, major revisions to the paper that change the paper’s overall relationship to the dissertation topic must be approved by the dissertation committee. After the successful dissertation defense, any new submission or resubmission, including changes in the authorship or article content, will be at the discretion of the PhD graduate. 

The introduction of the dissertation should clarify the rationale for grouping the three articles together. It is expected to include a summary of the research problem the three articles tackle, the methodology used to answer the research question(s), the significance of the research, the theoretical foundations of the research introduced in the context of an overview of pertinent literature.

The conclusion should summarize the dissertation’s major findings. It should also reinforce the linkages between the chapters, tying together the three articles into a cohesive body of scholarship. The conclusion is a place where the student can restate and reinforce the through-line that connects the individual chapter. The conclusion might also present a plan for future research on the research problem(s) engaged in the dissertation.

Large datasets and specific methods discussed in a published paper but not presented in their entirety, or presented in supplemental sections, should be (if permissible) included as appendices as appropriate.

Public Presentation:  Each student presents a formal colloquium to the department based on the dissertation research. This may form part of the dissertation defense, or it may come at an earlier stage so that the experience may be of benefit as the ideas in the dissertation take shape.

Defense:  By the time of the oral defense of the dissertation, students will have prepared and presented to their committee members a final version of the dissertation. It is expected that there will be sufficient interaction between the student and the committee members that revisions subsequent to the defense will be minimal and minor. All members of the doctoral dissertation committee should be present at the defense. The procedures for the final oral examination are outlined in the requirements for the PhD degree of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

Statute of Limitations

Dietrich School regulations stipulate that the PhD must be completed within 10 calendar years of initial matriculation (8 years for students entering with a Master's degree). They also stipulate that comprehensive examinations must be retaken if they were originally passed more than 7 years before completion of PhD requirements.

Part-Time Students

Part-time students should take the core courses in their subfields before taking more than 18 credits of formal coursework. They should complete the core course requirement before taking more than 36 credits of formal coursework and proceeding with the other aspects of the program.

General MA Degree

An MA degree may be awarded during the course of a student's PhD program after completion of: 1) 30 course credits; 2) the language requirement; 3) the core course in the student's area of concentration; 4) course(s) that satisfy the MA method/theory requirement (see MA requirements); 5) an acceptable MA paper; and 6) fulfillment of all Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences regulations (e.g., at least 12 credits of course work, not including readings or independent study, must be at the 2000 level). The student selects at least three graduate faculty members (at least two of whom must be in the Department of Anthropology) to participate on the MA advisory and evaluation committee. The Graduate Studies Committee should be petitioned for approval of the committee composition and the MA paper topic well in advance of the expected date of completion.

Supplementary Statements

Review of Student Progress

Procedures for Satisfying the PhD Comprehensive Examination Requirement

List of Courses for Medical Anthropology Concentration

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PHD Program Guide

Graduate training in anthropology in governed by requirements set both by the Department and the University. However, the most critical mediating role in the implementation of these requirements and in the achievement of the goals of graduate training is the relationship of each student to their faculty advisors.

Students with questions about program requirements and milestones should contact Americia Huckabee ( [email protected] ), Anthropology Student Affairs Administrator. Students may also contact Brett Baker ( [email protected] ), Associate Dean of Students in the Social Sciences, and Amanda Young ( [email protected] ), Director, Graduate Student Affairs in UChicagoGRAD. 

The graduate program can be divided into five overall phases. The first phase is the initial year of study and involves introductory work. During the first year, all graduate students will be introduced to the Development of Social and Cultural Theory and to the scholarly interests of the faculty of the Department. They will also take courses in particular specialized areas of ethnography, archaeology, and theory, with a view to defining or refining their own research interests and preparation for their dissertation projects. Depending on their particular interests and in consultation with their first-year advisor, they may also take relevant courses in other departments, or special language training.

The second phase of training is a continuation of the first, but is directed toward acquiring a deeper knowledge of the special area and theoretical topics on which a student’s research will be focused, as well as a broader anthropological understanding in preparation for the PhD Qualifying/Oral Examination and in completing a Master’s paper.

At the end of the second phase students are expected to complete their Master’s Degree. The department requires a Master’s paper/degree as a prerequisite for admission to candidacy for the PhD. For students entering without a previous MA, the degree will be awarded upon completion of the Phase I (First-year) course requirements (9 courses) plus the acceptance of a written research paper. Work on this paper may begin during the summer following the student’s first year, but it will normally be completed under the supervision of a faculty member with whom the student registers for an MA.

Preparation for the Qualifying Examination. Along with preparation of the MA paper, students begin preparing, in consultation with their advisory committee, a reading list covering the special theoretical and ethnographic areas that will be the foci of the Qualifying Examination. Ideally, the Examination takes place some time in the 3rd year.

The third phase in a student’s graduate career may be considered a pre-research training period during which he/she will be putting the finishing touches on a dissertation proposal and grant applications, and will be developing the necessary advanced research skills. Continued study in a variety of areas in this and other departments may further extend the student’s knowledge and effectiveness as an anthropologist.

Proposal Preparation Seminar. Anthropology 52200: Proposal Preparation is required of all students preparing for field research. Completion of the MA is a prerequisite for this course. Ideally, students should also have finished the Qualifying Exam, or at the very least, have their reading lists assembled and an exam date scheduled so that they have a firm grasp of the relevant bodies of literature necessary to develop the research question for their project. This course is typically taken in the third (or possibly the fourth) year.

The fourth phase is dissertation research. For most anthropology dissertations, long term fieldwork is expected. But dissertation research may also involve research in a library, archive, or museum.

Requirements for Dissertation Research. Although preparatory work on the dissertation (preliminary field trips, language study, exploration of archival sources, etc.) may have been undertaken earlier, Phase 4 research will not formally begin until the student has been admitted to candidacy for the PhD degree.

Phase five is dissertation write-up. The production and interpretation of a body of research material is a continuous process, never so clearly marked as the traditional notions of “field research” and “write up” suggest. Even so, the actual writing of the dissertation is a distinct phase of the training process, in which analysis and presentation of the research material becomes the focus of each student’s attention.

Residence in Chicago. Students are strongly urged to spend the write-up period in Chicago, unless otherwise agreed by your advisory committee. With each annual cohort dispersing in the research phase, returning students represent an important sub-community within the Department. Students reporting on their research can reinvigorate intellectual discourse in Haskell Hall. Reciprocally, their interaction with each other, as well as with the faculty and other students, can greatly facilitate and enrich the writing process.

First year advisors are appointed at the beginning of the year in consultation with the interviewing committee. The second-year advisor is selected by the student and serves as the student’s mentor until such time as the student selects a formal committee chair. Each advanced student is advised by a committee that consists minimally of three members, at least two of whom, including the chair, must be active, current faculty of the Department. It is the student’s responsibility to seek out members for the committee and to secure their written consent. Committee Forms (obtainable in Haskell 119) and any correspondence regarding constitution of the advisory committee should be deposited with the Administrator for Student Affairs. If appropriate, additional committee members may serve as readers of proposals and theses. 

The advisory committee chair (or first- or second-year advisor, or an agreed upon substitute) will advise you on your course registration, sign Plan of Study Forms, and keep a continuous record. Any changes in advisory committees (whether initiated by the student or by a faculty member) must be recorded by submission of additional Committee Forms available in Haskell 119. Changes of committee after admission to candidacy are generally undesirable, and will be permitted only under exceptional circumstances.

Although the role of the advisory committee (or first- or second-year advisor) is central, a role may also be played by the Director of Graduate Studies, by other faculty, or by the Department Chair, who in addition to having final approval on various matters, is also directly available for consultation. Aside from the formal petitions and reviews variously specified in the Guidelines, issues may occasionally arise which students or advisors may wish to refer to the Committee on Graduate Affairs or the Chair. In any case where some special interpretation of Departmental or University guidelines may be required, it is a good idea to raise the matter in writing.

Although we assume that most issues relating to your graduate education can and should be addressed through regular departmental channels, beginning normally with your advisor, we recognize the possibility that there may be certain kinds of problems, either of a personal or interpersonal nature, which can best be handled through some other means. If such problems or difficulties arise, you should feel free to speak with the Department Chair, members of your advisory committee, members of the Student-Faculty Liaison Committee, the Graduate Student Mentor, or anyone else in the departmental community in whom you have confidence.

Outside the Department there are also both formal and informal channels through which to raise issues of this sort. The Division of the Social Sciences has established policy to assist students who are seeking resolution of difficult interpersonal conflicts through informal and formal grievance procedures. These procedures consider complaints about academic impropriety that arise as a result of the actions of a member of the faculty or administration, or a Department or Program committee, regarding academic matters; students interested in learning more about the Grievance Process can meet with the Dean of Students in the Social Sciences or with the Associate Director for Graduate Student Affairs in UChicagoGRAD, Students can also consult with the Student Ombudsperson , and the University Equal Opportunity Programs , including Title IX and Sexual Misconduct ; Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment ; and Accessibility programs.

Prior to admission to doctoral candidacy (i.e. before you begin field research), all doctoral students must meet the Departmental requirement of demonstrating competence in a language in which there is a substantial and relevant scholarly literature. Although you are encouraged to satisfy this requirement at an early point in your work by passing an examination in one of the customarily specified languages (e.g., French, German, Spanish, Russian), your advisory committee may require additional language training, depending on your research interests. To satisfy the Departmental Language requirement, you must receive a “High Pass” P*/P+ on a university administered language exam . (A grade of “Pass”/“P” will not suffice.)

With similar concerns in mind, the advisory committees may in certain cases decide that a student’s career requires a demonstrated competence in some formal research method.

Your academic record, including course grades, are an important basis for recommendations written to prospective funding agencies and employers. While arrangements to take Ps (“passing”) and Rs (“registered”) are sometimes appropriate, a record filled with these grades is not a useful indicator of the quality of work. We therefore encourage (and in the first year require) students to take courses for quality grades (A or B).

More specifically, the program requires a total of 18 courses to be taken for quality grades prior to admission to candidacy: 9 in the first year (8 for grades of A or B and Intro to Chicago Anthropology which is taken for a P), and another 9 prior to the Proposal Hearing. Of the 18 courses, Intro to Chicago Anthropology and Proposal Prep are taken Pass/Fail. As a rule of thumb there should be no more than 2 more of the 18 courses taken for “P.” The Reading Course used for the MA paper should receive a grade of A or B subsequent to completion of the paper.

The distribution of Quality Grades (for A or B) should be as follows:

• 8 courses in the first year
• MA Reading/Research course
• At least 5 more courses taken prior to admission to candidacy

This totals 14 courses taken for quality grades; 10 of those must be in Anthropology (ANTH)

For grades of “P”:

• Intro to Chicago Anthropology
• Proposal Prep
• No more than two others of the 18

It is advisable that, with the exception of the MA Reading/Research course, most of the other 12+ courses taken for grades of A or B be regular, substantive courses, not Reading/Research courses. Basic courses in French, Spanish or German taken for purposes of preparing for the language examination may not be used to meet the 18-course requirement. Once the 18-course requirement is met, students still in Research Residence must continue to register for at least one course per quarter for a grade of P, A/B, or (least preferably) R.

• Development of Social/Cultural Theory 1 & 2 (two-quarter double-course) (required of all students)
• Proposal Preparation (required of all students)
• Modes of Inquiry-1 and 2 ("1" required of Sociocultural/Linguistic anthropology students; "2" strongly recommended)
• Archaeological Theory & Method (double-course) (required of Archaeology students; part I required, parts 2 strongly recommended)
• Archaeological Data Sets or another approved statistics course (required of Archaeology students)

Prompt completion of course work is indispensable if the instructor and Department are to be able to adequately evaluate student performance. Students should be aware that fellowship decisions, both within and outside the University, take a student’s ability to complete courses into account. The Office of the Dean of Students reserves the right to withhold stipend checks from students with excessive numbers of incomplete.

Specific regulations regarding incompletes:

• Incomplete grades are NOT permitted in required courses (Development of Social/Cultural Theory; Anthropological Methods; Archaeological Theory and Method; Statistics/Archaeological Data Sets; Proposal Preparation; and Archaeological Research Design)
• In all other anthropology courses, you have one-year maximum to complete incomplete course requirements. Students with overdue incompletes will not be allowed to register until the course requirements are completed. First year students should make every effort to clear all incompletes prior to registering for the second year.

Early in the spring quarter of each year, every student in the Department is asked to submit two academic progress reports. One is required by the Dean of Students; the other is intradepartmental and provides information for our Annual Review. In preparing these reports, you are encouraged to check that your departmental records are up to date.

Every year, late in the spring quarter, the faculty reviews the progress of each student in the Department. We take into account the results of all examinations, reports on hearings, coursework, writing projects (including Master’s papers), and detailed faculty comment on all of these. It is in your interest to see that copies of papers and reprints of any publications are deposited in the departmental files. At the spring review, the faculty make recommendations concerning continuance in the program and University financial aid. A statement of the faculty evaluation is sent over the summer to each student in the program, with a copy placed in the departmental file. You are encouraged to discuss these with your advisor, or with the Department Chair, if there are issues that appear to need further clarification. Although the Department is required to make preliminary recommendations about continuation of fellowships early in the spring quarter, these recommendations are always contingent upon the outcome of the subsequent Annual Review.

When students are not making satisfactory progress, they will be placed under Academic Probation within the department. Academic Probation is activated when:

• 2 or more incompletes have accumulated.
• The dissertation committee is not formed by the end of Fall Quarter of Year 3.
• The MA thesis is not approved by the end of Spring Quarter of Year 3.
• The qualifying exam has not been passed by the end of Fall Quarter of Year 4.
• A draft of the dissertation proposal has not been approved by the end of Fall Quarter of Year 5.
• When students fail to show adequate progress post-candidacy.
• Or by the failure to defend the dissertation within the 8-year deadline (extendable to 9 years by petition).

Probation status means that registration for new courses must be approved by the main advisor or committee chair, as well as the DGS. Students who are placed on academic probation will receive a letter from the department that details the reason for the probation, a clear plan for lifting the probation, and clear deadlines for realizing this plan. The faculty advisor will also be alerted. In addition, the student must meet with the DGS once a month (in person, via skype/zoom, or by phone) until the status is cleared.

Once a student has been placed on academic probation, there is a one‐quarter grace period for resolving the condition.

Each student may be placed on academic probation only twice during their enrollment in the program. Incidents of probation are cumulative (i.e. missing two consecutive deadlines results in two separate incidents of academic probation). A third incidence of academic probation will result in a student’s removal from the program.

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Cultural Studies

PhD in Cultural Studies

A PhD in Cultural Studies, a dynamic, growing field of inquiry, equips you with the cultural expertise and critical research methods needed to transcend disciplinary boundaries as you examine ideological dimensions of culture and power struggles among competing systems of representation.

Cultural Studies situates culture as a site of power struggles between competing systems of representations and the ways of life that they support. Our scholars use critical theory to examine cultural practices and activist politics in a variety of intellectual and practical settings. As a student in one of the oldest Cultural Studies programs nationwide, you will study with faculty-scholars active in American and hemispheric literary studies, African American and Black Diaspora studies, feminist and queer studies, and many other fields. Your study includes training in field- and text-based research, ethnography, textual analysis of film and media, archival studies, and oral history, spanning the humanities and allowing you to tailor your academic experience. The PhD program offers ideal circumstances for collaborating with colleagues in other CGU departments and schools as well as with the other member colleges in the Claremont University Consortium.

Program Highlights

• CGU is only 35 miles from Los Angeles, one of the most multicultural and diverse cities in the world with a wide array of internship and field opportunities.
• You can pursue a PhD in Cultural Studies in conjunction with another degree program at CGU, such as an MA in Religion. You earn a diploma for each degree and “double count” some units from one program to the other to decrease your required total units.
• You can pursue elective coursework in other CGU departments and schools and across the colleges of the Claremont University Consortium.

Program At-a-glance

required units

degree awarded

Program Entry

Spring, Fall

4-7 years | full time*

estimated completion time

Areas of Concentration

American studies.

The American Studies concentration takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of United States culture, society, civilization, and identity through the curricular lenses of history, literature, critical theory, and more.

Early Modern Studies

The Early Modern Studies concentration undertakes interdisciplinary examination of history, culture, politics, and society within the transitional and transformative period that stretched between Medieval and modern societies, marked especially by the advent of print, Christian confessional war, and the rise of the modern state.

Hemispheric & Transnational Studies

A comparative analysis of culture in the Americas, the concentration in Hemispheric & Transnational Studies explores how scholarship on the Atlantic, borderlands, and diaspora have reshaped U.S. American Studies, Caribbean Studies, and Latin American Studies, emphasizing the topics of empire, race, religion, and revolution.

Media Studies

Situated at the bustling intersection of cultural studies, new media, critical theory, and popular culture, the burgeoning field of Media Studies examines the creative and critical practices of media consumers, producers, artists, and scholars, focusing on questions of representation, power, technology, politics, and economy.

Museum Studies

The Museum Studies concentration investigates the history and political role of museums in society, the interpretation and display of a wide variety of cultural productions, and topics of special concern to museums as cultural organizations, using a multidisciplinary, practice-based approach to understand the historical development of this evolving field.

Gigi Audoma

Director of Recruitment for the School of Arts & Humanities

Where You Can Find Our Alumni

California State University, Long Beach

Associate Professor, School of Art, Programs of Art History, Museum Studies, and Curatorial Studies

Associate Professor, Department of Chicano and Latino Studies

California State University, Los Angeles

Professor of Theater Arts

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Associate Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies

Cal Poly Pomona

Associate Professor, Department of Ethnic and Women’s Studies

Pitzer College

Assistant Vice President of Community Engagement, Assistant Professor in Urban Studies

Professor, Department of Media Studies

Visual and Performing Arts Education Program at UCLA

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Curator, Public Programs

Fullerton College

Professor, Department of Anthropology

Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies

Public Fellows Postdoctoral Fellowship

Saddleback College

Chair, Department of Journalism and New Media

Lucia Cantero

Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies

Research Interests

Consumer culture, social media, algorithms and data science, infrastructures and urban public space

Deshonay Dozier

Black studies, urban geography, policing and carceral studies, abolition studies, cultural studies, indigenous studies, racial capitalism.

Joshua Goode

Associate Professor of Cultural Studies and History Chair, Cultural Studies (Fall 2022)

Modern Spain, 19th- and 20th-century Europe, Genocide and racial thought, Museums and commemoration, Memory

David Luis-Brown

Associate Professor of Cultural Studies and English Chair, Cultural Studies Department

Hemispheric Americas studies, Latino/a/x studies, Black diaspora studies, American literature and culture

Darrell Moore

Visiting Associate Professor of Cultural Studies Philosophy Teachout Coordinator

Aesthetics, Africana Intellectual Thought, Critical Theory, Continental Philosophy

Associate Professor of Cultural Studies

Cultural studies, Media studies, Feminist and queer theory, Asian American studies

Extended Faculty

Elizabeth affuso.

Spectatorship, Fandom, Branding, Technology, Architecture, Moving image media art, Reality television

Aimee Bahng

Pomona College

Gender and women’s studies

Myriam Chancy

Scripps College

African diaspora with specialization in its literature

Jih-Fei Cheng

Feminist and queer of color approaches to media representations of public health issues

Ciara Ennis

The appropriation of Wunderkammer tactics in contemporary curatorial practice

Paul Faulstich

Cultural ecology, Ecological design, Ecology of expressive culture, Aboriginal Australias

Jennifer Friedlander

Cultural studies, Contemporary art controversies, Film theory, Psychoanalytic theory

Martha Gonzalez

Chicanx-Latinx studies

Jesse Lerner

Media studies

Susan Phillips

Community, gangs, and environment

Erin Runions

The intersections of biblical interpretation and political philosophies, with their multiple impacts on political subjectivity, gender, sexuality, U.S. national sovereignty, and biopolitics

David Seitz

Harvey Mudd College

Cultural geography

Additional Program Requirements

Course Requirements 72 units

• Three 300-level Cultural Studies foundation courses
• One Research Methods course
• One Transdisciplinary course
• Thirteen elective courses

Up to 24 units transfer credit from previous graduate work in relevant fields may be substituted for the elective coursework.

Research Tools Requirement

• Two research tools

PhD Completion

• PhD qualifying exams
• Dissertation

Application Guidelines

Key dates and deadlines.

CGU operates on a priority deadline cycle and applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit complete applications by the priority dates in order to assure maximum consideration for both admission and fellowships.

Spring 2024 Priority Deadline – November 1, 2023 Final Deadline (International) – November 15, 2023 Final Deadline (Domestic) – December 1, 2023 Classes begin – January 16, 2024

Fall 2024 Priority Deadline – February 1, 2024 Final Deadline (International) – July 5, 2024 Final Deadline (Domestic) – August 1, 2024 Classes begin – August 26, 2024

Review General Guidelines

Tuition and Fees

Estimated tuition (california residents, non-residents, international).

*Based on 2023-2024 tuition rates.

STUDENT FEES (PER SEMESTER)

For estimates of room & board, books, etc., please download CGU’s  Cost of Attendance 2022-2023  .

Review General Costs

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PhD in Anthropology: Sociocultural Anthropology

Program overview.

Admission | MPH/PhD | Program Structure  | Ethical Conduct

The graduate program in sociocultural anthropology is designed to train professional anthropologists to work in either academic or non-academic settings. Each student is expected to achieve high levels of competence in the theories and methods of the discipline through successful completion of a series of requirements, as outlined below.

To obtain a PhD, the student must:

• Complete the first-year core curriculum, which includes core courses in sociocultural anthropology history and theory, with a minimum grade of 3.5 in each, and meet the requirements of the first-year portfolio evaluation.
• Complete the second-year sequence in ethnographic methods, and research design with a minimum grade of 3.5 in each.
• Complete a research competency paper that has passed review by the student's pre-Masters’ Supervisory Committee by the end of the eighth quarter of full-time work in the program, and completion of nine ANTH 600/700 credits in conjunction with this requirement. Upon completion of steps 1- 4 the student will obtain a Master of Arts (MA) in Anthropology: Sociocultural Anthropology.
• Demonstrate basic competence in a language other than the candidate's native language.
• Pass the General Exam.
• Make a formal presentation about the project at a dissertation colloquium.
• Conduct ethical and methodologically sound dissertation research.
• Acquire training and experience in teaching at the university level.
• Complete a PhD dissertation that is approved and signed by the supervisory committee.
• Pass an oral defense of the dissertation (also called the Final Exam).
• Satisfy all Graduate School requirements (see the UW Graduate School ).

Sociocultural Anthropology is looking for graduate students whose research interests can be supported by our faculty expertise, and who show promise for success. We desire to build a more diverse field of sociocultural anthropology and are committed to recruiting students who could contribute to these efforts. We strongly suggest that prospective students review the profiles of current faculty for areas of common interest, and email prospective faculty mentors to discuss plans.  Prospective graduate students must have completed a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) degree before enrollment, but this degree does not have to be in anthropology. During the process of earning the PhD, students will also earn a Master of Arts (MA) in Anthropology: Sociocultural Anthropology. 

Applicants are not required to submit GRE's.  The next admission cycle for Sociocultural Anthropology will be for Autumn 2026 enrollment. Applications open on September 15th, 2025 and must be submitted by December 15, 2025.  Applicants may apply for and be admitted for autumn quarter only. Offers of admission are usually mailed prior to the first of March. Those receiving offers of admission must respond by April 15.  Please visit the Graduate School's  Admission Requirements   page for a complete list of requirements. Visit Anthropology's Graduate Admissions page for admission information specific to our department. Please visit Apply Now to submit your application. 

MPH/PhD Concurrent degree program

This concurrent degree program offers interdisciplinary curriculum in the fields of public health and anthropology. Students who complete this program will receive two degrees, a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Anthropology. Students will matriculate into one of four MPH tracks and complete either the Sociocultural OR Biological Anthropology PhD track programs. For more information about this option please visit MPH/PhD Program .

Statistics Concentration

Graduate student pursuing a PhD in anthropology may also consider completing a  Statistics Concentration in Anthropology .

Ethical Conduct

Sociocultural students must demonstrate high standards of ethical behavior. Breaches of ethics and/or irresponsible behavior in any of the following areas (at any time in the program) will be considered evidence that the student should not remain in the program.

• Ethical conduct in one’s academic life.  Students are expected to strictly adhere to the university’s guidelines for ethical academic conduct, including its policies on plagiarism and integrity of research. Please see the university’s code of student conduct  for a complete list. 
• Ethical conduct as a researcher.  Field research in anthropology requires sensitivity, honesty, and an awareness of the potential ethical hazards of studying the lives of others. Students are expected to adhere to the AAA and  HSD  guidelines for protecting human research subjects. This includes avoiding deceptive or covert research, behaving with consideration and respect toward one’s research participants and their communities, respecting the laws of the country in which a student conducts research, and taking responsibility–to the extent possible–for the uses to which the research is put.
• Ethical conduct as a teacher.  A University of Washington Faculty Senate resolution notes that teaching requires “respect for the dignity of others and their right to free speech,” “intellectual honesty,” and “a proper environment for learning.” As a member of the Department of Anthropology, each student is expected to adhere to these and other standards for ethical conduct, including those mentioned under personal ethics. 
• Ethical conduct toward the discipline of anthropology.  Students are expected to fulfill their obligations to funders and sponsors, and to conduct themselves in the field so that their behavior does not have negative consequences for researchers who come after them or for the reputation of anthropology as a discipline. It is also expected that when the time comes to seek employment as an anthropologist and to publish their work, that students will do so with integrity and intellectual honesty.

Program Structure & Standards for Evaluation

Advisor & Supervisory Committee |  First-Year Core Curriculum & Evaluation |  Annual Evaluations | Second-Year Sequence | Demonstration of Research Competency  | Basic Competence in a Foreign Language  | General Exam  | Dissertation Proposal & Colloquium  | Teaching Experience  | Dissertation  | Oral Defense (Final Exam)

Advisor & Supervisory Committee

Upon entry, all first-year sociocultural graduate students are invited to select or be assigned a faculty advisor who will advise them until they determine which faculty member will serve as the chair for their Supervisory Committee. Students are allowed to invite their faculty advisor to become their Supervisory Committee Chair. The chair must be chosen no later than the end of the fourth quarter of full time work in the program. At the pre-Masters level, the Supervisory Committee need only consist of the committee chair and one other member of the sociocultural faculty. No official paperwork needs to be submitted to create a pre-masters Supervisory Committee. 

Please refer  Policy 4.2: Supervisory Committee for Graduate Students for a complete list of Supervisory Committee composition requirements. Faculty become official members of the committee when (1) the student submits a completed form for establishing a PhD Supervisory Committee  to the Graduate Program Assistant, and (2) the Graduate School responds by officially inviting all proposed committee members to serve as members of the supervisory committee. Sociocultural anthropology requires that a full PhD Supervisory Committee be in place before the end of the sixth quarter of full-time work in the program. At least three members of the Supervisory Committee will also serve on the PhD dissertation Reading Committee. Students should contact the Graduate Program Assistant if they would like to change the composition of their committee after it is officially established.

First-Year Core Curriculum & Evaluation

Core sequence in anthropological theory  , 400- or 500- level sociocultural anthropology courses, first-year portfolio .

• a brief self-assessment of the first year, and forward-looking plan of study
• coursework completed during the first year, including at least one 15-20 page paper that examines some material (textual, ethnographic, historical, visual, etc) in terms of a current debate within anthropology, and sets forth an argument.  
• evidence of teaching (if any)
• evidence of conference participation or other professional activities (if any)
• evidence of applications submitted for fellowships, grants or other opportunities (if any)

Detailed guidelines for the portfolio and its evaluation will be provided to students at the start of fall quarter.

First-Year Evaluation

• The student has demonstrated careful and critical reading of course materials. They are able to state the major points of the reading and make effective connections with other course materials. In cases where the student has encountered difficulties with course content, they have sought out the instructor for recommendations for remedial reading or clarification.
• The student has contributed effectively to class discussions. The student shows a willingness to engage with the course materials and is developing skills of good communication and citizenship in scholarly exchange. In cases where English is a second language or where there are other difficulties inhibiting participation, the student has communicated this to the core course instructors and sought recommendations to remedy the problem or has negotiated accommodations in redefining appropriate expectations.
• The student has demonstrated the ability to write well or is making significant progress in developing good writing skills. In cases of writing difficulties, the student has pursued recommendations to remedy the problem.

Annual Evaluations

Once the student has passed the first-year evaluation, their progress through the program will be evaluated annually at the end of each academic year by the sociocultural faculty as a whole and the results of that evaluation will be communicated to the student in writing by the student’s committee chair.

Second-Year Sequence 

Core sequence in ethnographic methods and research design .

During the second year in the program, all sociocultural students must complete the required seminar sequence in ethnographic methods (ANTH 550; 5 credits, autumn) and research design (ANTH 551; 5 credits, winter) and must obtain a minimum grade of 3.5 in each.  The purpose of this requirement is to help students develop the research and writing skills they will need in order to successfully complete a dissertation.  Core course grades are awarded as follows: 

400- or 500-level Sociocultural Anthropology Courses 

Demonstration of research competency.

Prior to the end of the eighth quarter of full-time work in the program, each student must have successfully completed a substantial research paper on a topic that is to be developed in discussions with their pre-masters Supervisory Committee and 9 credits of ANTH 600. The research competency paper must demonstrate the student’s ability to do original research, although it need not be fieldwork based. This requirement can also be met by successfully completing an MA thesis in anthropology, and 9 credits of ANTH 700. Students must submit a Master's Degree request (non-thesis) in MyGrad .  Please refer to the Procedural Steps to Degree page for details about how to submit requests in MyGrad.  Once the Graduate Program Assistant is informed that the student has completed their Research Competency paper and fulfilled all related degree requirements, the request will be approved. A copy of the approved research competency paper should be sent to the Graduate Program Assistant. 

If an incoming student has earned an MA in anthropology (or a related discipline) within five years prior to the date of admission, they may petition for the MA thesis to be accepted in lieu of the research competency paper. Approval of such a petition is at the discretion of the student's pre-masters supervisory committee.

Research Competency Paper Details:

• It is expected that an RC paper should be the length of a publishable article. In other words, it should not be as long as many MA theses, but should be about 25-40 pages (double-spaced) in length
• The topic for research should be developed by the student in consultation with their pre-masters supervisory committee
• The RC paper must be evaluated through feedback and approved by a student’s pre-masters supervisory committee members .
• The RC paper does not need to be based on primary ethnographic research. Many RC papers are based on library research as a prologue to ethnographic research. Students are encouraged to use archival material, to the extent that it is available for access with the assistance of modest grant and/or graduate school travel funding
• An RC paper should be an attempt at a publishable article based on applying theory or concepts to data. Neither a literature review nor a research proposal may be used to meet the RC requirement. Students should strive to complete a product worthy of publication, however, publication of the RC paper is not a requirement.
• A student may opt to write a formal MA thesis rather than writing an RC paper. In such cases, students must adhere to all the guidelines set out by the Graduate School for eventual submission, including the completion of 9 credits of Anth 700. Submission information needed for completion of a thesis MA can be found here: http://grad.uw.edu/for-students-and-post-docs/thesisdissertation/

Basic Competence in a Foreign Language

Each student must demonstrate basic competence in a language other than their native language. By no later than the end of the fifth quarter of full-time work in the department or by two years after the date of entry into the program (whichever is sooner), each sociocultural graduate student, in consultation with their committee chair and other members of the supervisory committee, must formulate, justify, and submit to the Graduate Program Assistant, a plan for meeting this requirement. This plan should indicate (a) what the language is, (b) why it was picked, (c) how the student's competence will be determined, and (d) when the student is to complete this requirement.

General Exam

Students must establish a Supervisory Committee before completing their general exam. The general exam is the method used to determine whether or not advanced graduate students have the skills and knowledge necessary for undertaking original dissertation research in, and otherwise being a doctoral candidate in, sociocultural anthropology. There are two parts to this examination: (1) a written exam, which consists of either a timed examination (usually 6-8 hours long, but the exact length is to be decided by the supervisory committee in consultation with the graduate student) or a one week take-home exam, and (2) an oral examination. The examination is to emphasize the sociocultural theories, methods, and ethnographic knowledge that constitutes four areas of the student's primary areas of specialization established by mutual agreement of the student and their Supervisory Committee.

This exam must be attempted no later than the ninth quarter of full time work or no later than five years after the date of entry into the program (whichever is sooner) if the student is to remain in good standing. On the basis of the performance, the Supervisory Committee  will recommend that the student be either:

• advanced  to candidacy
• re-examined  after a further period of study; or
• dropped  from the Ph.D. program.

General Exam Details:

• Students must submit a Doctoral (General Exam) request in MyGrad prior to the exam. Please refer to the Procedural Steps to Degree page for details about how to submit requests in MyGrad.
• Students will develop reading lists around 4 topics negotiated with their Supervisory Committee . The reading lists will be further developed in consultation with the student’s Supervisory Committee , and will go through several drafts
• Final reading lists tend to be 2-3 pages of bibliography per topic. However, reading lists may be longer or shorter dependent upon individual factors.
• The format of the written exam (whether a 2 day-timed test or a take home exam) must be decided by the student in consultation with their Supervisory Committee at the beginning of the quarter in which the exam is to be taken.
• The written general exam must be completed at least one week prior to the oral portion of the exam.
• All members of the committee must be present (enough to make quorum) including the GSR.
• Written exams will consist of 1-3 questions per topic, with students required to answer 1 question per topic.
• Written answers will vary in length depending on whether the student opts to take the 2 day timed test, or the one week take home. Answers will likely be between 12 and 20 double-spaced pages including the bibliography.

The PhC is normally conferred once the student receives a Pass on their General Examination, and all department and  UW Graduate School requirements are met. Once the Graduate Program Assistant is informed that the student has completed their General Examination and fulfilled all related degree requirements, the exam request will be approved.

Dissertation Proposal & Colloquium

Upon advancement to candidacy, each student in the PhD program in sociocultural anthropology must prepare, in consultation with their Supervisory Committee , an acceptable proposal for dissertation research. Usually dissertations are grounded in an extended period of field research. The proposal must follow human subjects protocols and pass review by the Human Subjects Review Committee.

At a time no later than two quarters after passing the General Exam, the student must make an oral presentation of the dissertation proposal at a sociocultural dissertation colloquium. In this context, in a format typical of panels at professional meetings, the student is to indicate the intent of the project and the methods to be used. 

Colloquium Guidelines

The student will speak for about 40 minutes, followed by about 40 minutes of discussion. It is important that the student presentation not run overtime to allow for discussion.

The student presentation should cover the following:

A statement of the research question

An introduction to the place of research (including some images if available)

A description of the research methods and how they address the question

A discussion of the special challenges that the student anticipates having to face in the field.

Teaching Experience

Before the final oral defense is scheduled, the candidate is required to have training and experience in teaching, preferably anthropology, at the post-secondary level. This experience and training can be gained in various ways, subject to the approval of the supervisory committee. These teaching efforts are to be formally evaluated by methods deemed appropriate by the student and their supervisory committee, which usually include student and/or peer evaluations.

Dissertation

Students must register for a minimum of 27 credits of Dissertation Writing (ANTH 800) over a period of at least three quarters.

The student must complete a dissertation based on primary research, which is judged by the Reading Committee Members  to constitute a substantial and original contribution to anthropological knowledge. Once complete, the candidate must submit the dissertation to the Reading Committee .  For information about how to submit a dissertation, visit the Dissertation Submission  page and the Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs): Overview . 

Oral Defense (Final Exam)

Upon the recommendation of the Reading Committee , the candidate will schedule the final oral defense of the dissertation, covering any of the relevant issues raised in and by the dissertation. Students must submit a Doctoral (Final Exam) request in MyGrad  prior to the exam .  Please refer to the Procedural Steps to Degree page for details about how to submit requests in MyGrad.  The oral defense must be held within ten years of the date the student entered the graduate program in Anthropology at the University of Washington.  Please visit the   Final Examination: Dissertation Defense  for details.

Please take note of any relevant deadlines on the Graduate student dates & deadlines and the Academic Calendar .

Please visit the Graduation Requirement page for a comprehensive list of University requirements. 

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Department of Anthropology

Cultures and traditions.

The Department of Anthropology specializes in socio-cultural anthropology: the study of social and cultural forms of human life using ethnographic, historical, and comparative methods.

• Degrees Offered BA, PhD
• Major Anthropology
• Minor Anthropology

Explore the Department

Graduate Program

Train in anthropological theory, using regional and cultural understanding to cross-cut problems, and ethnographic research methods conducted through intensive fieldwork.

Faculty explore themes such as the everyday, the state, religion, media, and health; focusing on the challenges of our own moment in history.

Major in Anthropology

Undergraduate coursework introduces the methodologies and theories of anthropology through discussion and directed research.

News & Announcements

7th annual sidney mintz fellowship awardees.

We are delighted to announce the awardees of the 7th annual Sidney Mintz Fellowship. Inaugurated in 2015, the Sydney Mintz Fellowship seeks to support graduate field and archival research that […]

In Memorium: Jane I. Guyer (1943-2024)

The Department of Anthropology mourns the loss of Professor Emerita Jane I. Guyer, who passed on at the age of 80 on January 17, 2024. Known widely for her original […]

Scott MacLochlainn Receives Society for Linguistic Anthropology Book Prize

Assistant Professor Scott MacLochlainn won the 2023 New Voices Book Prize from the Society for Linguistic Anthropology, for his first book The Copy Generic. The New Voices Book Prize was established […]

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PhD Program in Anthropology

Anthropology, by its very nature, is an interdisciplinary enterprise and is sought out by many other disciplines for cross-fertilization of ideas.

The Anthropology graduate program at Emory encompasses three subdisciplines: archaeology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology, placing special emphasis on cultivating dialogues and combinations of people, interests, and ideas. The program balances rigorous courses with a tutorial approach to advanced subjects and is designed to be intense and demanding for both students and faculty.

We encourage a diversity of doctoral research agendas across the entire range of cultural and biological anthropology. We believe that the successful anthropologists of the future are created not through a monolithic theoretical orientation but through exposure to alternative explanatory paradigms.

Ranked in the Top 10 Anthropology Departments in the US, our faculty are experts at training students for tenure track faculty positions in Cultural and Biological Anthropology, as well as developing professionals for non-academic career paths.

As a whole, our program provides students with a grounding in cultural and biological anthropology that is sophisticated and unique. Specialization within cultural or biological sub-fields is encouraged, as are combinations and creative dialogues between them.

What are you looking for in a graduate program?

Top research program.

Learn about what makes our program great! 

Program Summary  

  A competitive stipend of $36,376+/year (2023/2024)

Learn more about funding from the Laney Graduate School  (Financial Support Overview)

• Distinguished   faculty
• AGSA - Anthropology Graduate Student Association

Professional Development

• An expansive and cooperative  Alumni Network

Professional Development opportunities   with Laney Graduate School

• Research Labs
• The Grant Writing Program
• The Writing Center

Top Job Placement for PhDs

• 95 th percentile for Biological Anthropology
• 75 th percentile for Cultural Anthropology

Director of Graduate Studies

Kristin phillips, associate professor, director of graduate studies, laney graduate school.

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Anthropology & Social Change, Ph.D.

In this section, program overview, 4 - 7 years, 42.2 - 43.6, our approach.

Our mission is to generate dialogue between social justice leaders and academia. We seek to establish an institutional space where social movement activists immersed in organizing can meet scholars engaged in theoretical work. You will work with some of the most prominent activist scholars and progressive organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as program faculty. Activist research with a focus on concrete utopia makes this investigative experience rewarding both for you and for the local community.

We believe another world is within our grasp. Systematic research of counter-hegemonic knowledge and practices has gained supreme relevance with the world in crisis. Our Ph.D. program will equip you with the necessary skills to participate in the "nowtopian" task of constructing social scientific knowledge that looks beyond capitalism, hierarchy, and ecological disaster.    

CIIS’ online Ph.D. in Anthropology is distinctive for its emphasis on:

• Activist research of concrete utopias
• Global social movements and lost revolutionary treasures
• Issues of colonialism, globalization, development
• Anarchist, Marxist, and feminist theoretical perspectives
• Political ecology
• Integration of activism and scholarship: developing research skills in activist research, intercultural translation, and emancipatory thinking

You will gain an excellent command of history, debates, and perspectives of contemporary social justice movements and the intertwined historical processes of colonization, development, and liberal modernity.

Through your coursework and research, you will work with some of the most prominent activist scholars and progressive organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as the program faculty and the wider University.

Career Paths

As a graduate of Anthropology and Social Change the benefits of your theoretical and practical knowledge are applicable to careers in academia, publishing, policy, social justice in business, government, and communities, and more. Our graduates are equipped to participate in scholarly ideas and debates, as well as apply their practical skills in non-academic environments such as:

• Grant writing
• Policy analysis
• Legal and environmental organizations

The online coursework is presented in weekly modules that includes readings, discussion forums, and synchronous and asynchronous video instruction.

Each semester, a week-long, on-campus intensive is also held to foster community-building while also accruing units. Over the week, you will have an inspiring experience that includes fieldwork exercises, skills-based in-person courses, attending public talks and film screenings, and other collaborative sessions.

Curriculum Highlights

ANTH 6163 Alternative Economic Systems (3 units) This course offers a critical examination of economic possibilities, alternative production systems, and subjectivities that can be considered “postcapitalist” in that they strive to transcend what is conceivable within the current socioeconomic order. The critiques and experiments examined here include both past and present attempts to carve out autonomous spaces of non-capitalist production. We will embark on a journey through popular economic organizations, communal self-management of land, experiments in solidarity economy, community economy, participatory economics, and self-organized workplaces and cooperatives. In doing so, we arrive at a very different notion of “development,” a perspective grounded in a number of noncapitalist or postcapitalist struggles in different parts of the world. Such struggles for dignity and alternative production systems are epistemic, critical, and prefigurative. At once challenging and reimagining development, those struggles contribute to an emerging sensibility that another world is possible (McMichael 2009).

ANTH 6172 Other Ways of Knowing: Alternative Epistemologies, Rival Knowledges, and Systems of Justice (3 units) As sociologist and critical legal theorist Boaventura de Sousa Santos (2008) writes, there is no global social justice without global cognitive justice. According to this theorist, epistemicide was the other side of genocide. From a postcapitalist perspective, such recognition is crucial. The epistemological privilege granted to modern science from the 17th century onward, which made possible the technological revolutions that consolidated colonial/capitalist order, was also instrumental in establishing what de Sousa Santos calls “abyssal thinking”: drawing an abyssal line between scientific knowledge and other, nonscientific forms of knowledges. Our intention is to explore how the reinvention of social emancipation is premised upon replacing the “monoculture of scientific knowledge” by an “ecology of knowledges.”

ANTH 6166 Other Ways of Being Human: Alternative Sexualities, Family, and Kinship Systems (3 units) Being human under the conditions of late capitalism has become increasingly more precarious as neoliberal forms of governmentality produce less viable forms of life and sociality. Yet we can qualify this statement with two observations. First, a longer history of oppression has been creating an extreme state of uncertainty or “state of emergency.” As Walter Benjamin famously wrote in 1940, “The tradition of the oppressed teaches us that the ‘state of emergency’ in which we live is not the exception but the rule.” Second, alongside the violent legacies of oppression—including colonialism, capitalism, sexism, and others—there have always been forms of resistance, survival, and even flourishing of lives lived otherwise. While human social relations have always been anthropology’s object of study, in this course we will focus on how critical, feminist, queer, and postcolonial theories and experiences have challenged and transformed anthropological engagements with human social and cultural formations. We will consider how categories of difference and experience are not static but shifting and mutually constitutive and always in relation to power. Therefore, much of the scholarship we will be reading thinks through different forms of social belonging, some tethered to normative privileges and others that move toward non-normative or other ways of being. Our approach will be thematic, organized around specific topics, including transpolitics, homonationalism, biopolitics, posthumanism, and multispecies approaches, among others.

Semester 1 | Fall

ANTH 6148 Approaches to Theory (3 units)

ANTH 6160 Activist Ethnography (3 units)

ANTH 6163 Alternative Economic Systems (3 units)

Semester 2 | Spring

ANTH 6109 Societies Against the State (3 units)

General Elective(s) (6 units)

Semester 3 | Fall

ANTH 6166 Other Ways of Being Human (3 units)

ANTH 6890 Social Research Methods (3 units)

General Elective(s) (3 units)

Semester 4 | Spring

ANTH 6172 Other Ways of Knowing (3 units)

ANTH 7890 Directed Seminar in Research (3 units)

*General Elective(s) (3 units)

ANTH 9600 Comprehensive Exam (first comp; 3 units)

ANTH 9601 Comprehensive Exam (second comp; 3 units)

Dissertation Proposal and Advancement to Candidacy

ANTH 9800 Dissertation Proposal Completion (four times maximum; 0.1 units)

ANTH 9900 Dissertation Completion (four years after advancing to candidacy maximum; 0.1 unit)

*Additional coursework may be required.

Entry Requirements

Entry into the anthropology Ph.D. program requires a master's degree. Students with a M.A. from another school or from another department at CIIS require up to one additional year of coursework as part of their Ph.D. program. Students with a master’s in Anthropology and Social Change from CIIS do not require additional coursework.

We are interested in creating a convivial community of scholars, not competitive academics. We believe that professors and students are co-learners, and that learning, and knowledge production, is a participatory, inclusive, and horizontal process. Our program is a unique and inspiring place for activist scholars who are passionate about co-creating knowledge that is useful, relevant, and integral.

Online Admissions Application: Begin the application process by submitting an online application and paying the non-refundable $65 application fee.

Degree Requirement: A master’s degree or the equivalent from a regionally accredited college or university.

Minimum GPA: A GPA of 3.0 or higher in previous coursework is required. However, a GPA below 3.0 does not automatically disqualify an applicant; CIIS will consider a prospective student whose GPA is between 2.0 and 3.0. These individuals are required to submit a GPA Statement and are encouraged to contact the Admissions Team to discuss their options.

Transcripts: Official transcripts from all accredited academic institutions attended where 7 or more credits have been earned. If transcripts are being mailed to CIIS, they must arrive in their official, sealed envelopes. Transcripts from institutions outside the US or Canada require a foreign credit evaluation through World Education Services (WES) or CIIS will also accept foreign credential evaluations that are in a comprehensive course-by-course format from the current members of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) .

Autobiographical Statement: A four-to-six page (typed, double-spaced) essay that includes a personal history and introspective discussion addressing your values, emotional and spiritual insights, aspirations, and life experiences that have led you to apply to the program of choice at CIIS.

Goal Statement: A one-to-two page (typed, double-spaced) goal statement that includes a prospective area of emphasis and/or intended dissertation topic that is consistent with the program’s mission and expertise of the faculty. Talk about your personal, professional, and academic goals.

Academic Writing Sample: A writing sample of six-to-eight pages (typed, double-spaced) that demonstrates the applicant’s capacity to think critically and reflectively at the appropriate academic level. Applicants may submit academic papers, articles, or reports that reflect scholarly ability and include proper citations. Please include a cover and reference page.

Two Letters of Recommendation: We require two letters of recommendation, ¾-1 page in length. One from an academic advisor or someone familiar with the applicant's ability to do academic work, and one from a supervisor in a recent professional or volunteer setting. Recommenders should use standard business format and include full contact information-name, email, phone number, and mailing address.

Our Department in Action

Application Workshop — Graduate-Level Programs

An Online Workshop with Admissions Counselors designed to help you craft a compelling essay and submit an impressive application

Anthropology and Social Change: Online Info Session

A Free Online Info Session with Andrej Grubacic and Sean MacCracken

Take the Next Step

For over 50 years, CIIS has been at the forefront of education that integrates rigorous science, innovative scholarship, and social justice. You will learn from faculty at the forefront of their fields, local artists and activists, and a community of peers as passionate and dedicated as you. There’s never been a better time to be here – let’s build a healthier and more equitable world.

• All categories

Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology

Currently, the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (CADS) hosts almost 50 PhD candidates working on a wide variety of topics.

The PhD Regulations (‘promotiereglement’) of Leiden University   apply to all PhD candidates registered at the Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences. All PhD  candidates should be registered at the Graduate School by the beginning of their doctoral training.

The Netherlands School of Anthropology (NESA)

The Netherlands School of Anthropology (NESA) is a graduate programme for PhD candidates who work in the field of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology. This programme is a co-creation of the Anthropology faculties of 5 Dutch Faculties. NESA offers a one-year teaching and training programme especially for upcoming and all first year PhD candidates, consisting of 5 masterclasses on current and trending theoretical debates in our discipline, an extensive methodology training and occasionally a cohort meeting off campus.

PhD categories

The Institute of CADS distinguishes between two PhD categories:

• Regular –  A PhD candidate who is hired by CADS and thus a formal employee. These candidates are paid through ‘eerste geldstroom’ (including those funded by ‘profileringsgebieden’), ‘tweede geldstroom’ (NWO), or ‘derde geldstroom’ (EU).  
• Contract and External (‘beurspromovendi’ and ‘buitenpromovendi’) –  A PhD candidate with a scholarship (for e.g. DIKTI [Indonesia] and CONACYT [Chile]) or self-funded.  

Applying for a PhD

PhD scholarships are not offered outside of faculty research projects. If you intend to pursue a doctorate at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, you can:

• Reply to an advertised  PhD  vacancy in a staff project  
• Apply with funding from a self-obtained  research grant

This latter category of application is only permitted under certain conditions and subject to case-by-case evaluation by the Institute’s Research Committee. The decision is based, among other criteria, on the feasibility of the funding, quality of the proposed study, qualifications of the applicant, availability of adequate supervision, and relation of the proposed study to the Institute’s expertise.

If you have questions, please send an e-mail to Annemarie Samuels .

Important information

CADS offers regular and bench fee-paying PhD candidates a PhD track. The PhD track includes:   

• Registration at the FSW Graduate School;
• FSW (e-mail)account;
• A workspace at CADS;
• A LU-Card (for the Library, photocopying and printing);
• Access to library (also online);
• Regular (monthly/bimonthly) meetings with (co)supervisor(s);
• ‘6 months’-meetings with the Director of Graduate Studies;
• Annual review (Resultaat & Ontwikkelingsgesprek);
• research seminars;
•  staff lunches, institute meetings and annual outing;
• courses (relevant MA or BA courses);
• annual/bi-annual PhD seminar organized at CA-DS
• Administrative support and advice regarding project finances.

The bench fee for PhD candidates amounts to €8,500 a year for a maximum period of four years. Note that the bench fee pays for the PhD track, and therefore cannot be used to pay for research/travel/visa/conference/training costs for the PhD candidate.

The bench fee should be paid every year (for a maximum of four years). The first payment should be made before the start of the PhD programme. A refund of the bench fee—for example in the case of (early) termination of the PhD—is not possible. 

For research/travel/visa/conference/training costs candidates should allocate at least €2500 per year in order to guarantee successful execution of the project.

The Leiden Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences' PhD regulations, an overview of the formal procedure from start to defence, and the relevant forms and templates are available on the Graduate School website .

• Employment status: Employee
• PhD Track: Yes
• Writing of an 8-month-paper, summarizing their results so far. Fieldwork may only start after this paper is approved. 
• Bench fee: No
• Teaching: the PhD candidate can spend a maximum of 10% of their 3-5 year appointment on teaching or committee work (e.g. as a member of the ‘Instituutsraad’ or ‘onderzoekscommissie’).  Teaching time will be officially considered teacher training. Additionally, the candidate may participate in a maximum of two ICLON teacher-training/ University Teaching Qualification (BKO) courses (paid for by the Institute). While teaching experience and training courses may contribute to a BKO portfolio, they will probably be insufficient for qualification.

Candidates following a PhD track

• Employment status: Guest employee
• Legal status: depends on the contract
• Bench Fee: Yes Note that some contract PhDs (e.g. DIKTI) have already set bench fees based on previously determined contract/agreements with the fund provider and Leiden University. In these cases, the bench fee/tuition fee that has been agreed upon will be binding
• Teaching: by mutual agreement the candidate may  give one or more guest lectures in a BSc or MSc course or a research seminar, but cannot receive any compensation for this. For non-EU PhD candidates, restrictions in permits may apply. Participating in the course University Teaching Qualification (BKO) is an option, but will have to be paid for by the candidate or the fund provider.

Candidates not following a PhD track

• Legal status: depends on individual arrangement, usually none
• PhD Track: No
• Bench Fee: No
• Teaching: No

Note that the supervision for a PhD candidate who does not follow a PhD track will be significantly less intensive.

Supervision and social safety of PhDs at our Institute

Revised: December 2022

(complementing the CADS PhD Training and Supervision Protocol of March 2020, the Leiden University PhD regulations of 2021 and the Golden Rules of PhD supervision )

This document was drafted together by the CADS Institute Board, its Institute Council and representatives of the CADS PhD community, in response to concerns that were first raised among the latter.  Concerned PhD students emphasized that our institute has a wide range of PhDs with different positions, in terms of funding and institutional position, but also based on their passports, the academic culture they have come to expect etc. An overall conclusion was that some of the existent measures work for some of these PhDs and not for others, and that we need a variety of measures to strengthen the position of PhDs in the Institute and increase mechanisms that ensure their social safety.

After an open and constructive conversation, regarding recurring problems experienced within the PhD trajectory, and suggestions for improvement we decided to collectively formulate the following guidelines, that again, complement the guidelines in the documents already mentioned above:

• Graduate Mentor
• Per September 2022 the Institute CADS has instated a Graduate Mentor (GM) who will pay special attention to the work life, progress and wellbeing of PhD students.
• The graduate mentor will regularly check in with them, at least once a year, with all PhD students who are in their contract period. The role of the Graduate Mentor applies specifically to contract PhDs (both those on NWO, ERC or other funded projects, or those here with a scholarship from abroad), but also external PhDs and PhDs whose contract ended) are welcome to approach the Graduate Mentor for a talk.
• The Director of Research (DirRes) keeps annually contact through email with PhD students who fall outside this regimen ( e.g., external PhD students or those beyond their contract years), asking them to provide an overview of where their project is standing but also about the challenges and hindrances they may be experiencing. This is necessary as especially the external PhD students may already be less ‘visible’ and ‘vocal’, so this contact, at least once a year, should help keep track of their safety and well-being
• The GM (not the Institute manager as in other cases) is present at the Performance and Development Interview of the PhD, including the startup meeting. As soon as PhD students get an invitation for a P&D interview, they contact GM to see if she can be present during and beforehand discuss that Interview. This, to ensure that these are evaluative conversations about the past year and future plans, as well as the working relation between supervisor and supervisee, rather than another supervision meeting (see also below).
• The annual GM/PhD meeting and Performance and Development Interview should be sequenced after one another. In that way the GM can be fully updated and coach the PhD for the Performance and Development Interview. In the Performance and Development Interview GM will be a neutral witness. In case the situation is difficult, the GM can advise the PhD on strategy of next steps, and e.g. help with writing a letter to IC. The GM has no position to sanction anyone, not the PhD nor the supervisor. Any attempts to intervene in the supervision and PhD trajectory should come from the IB.
• the Graduate Mentor follows the PhDs, but does not monitor the PhDs (e.g. not: “your 8 th month paper is due next week”), PhDs and their supervisors are expected to take a lead here.
• All PhD students can approach the GM for advice regarding their trajectory. The Graduate Mentor does not have mandate; Graduate Mentor can talk with supervisors, but the mandate lies with the Institute Board .
• The graduate mentor can also advise supervisors, both during supervisor peer discussion sessions (intervisie) and on a more individual basis, to improve supervision and prevent frictions and misunderstandings of escalating into conflict or dysfunctional working relations. The (co)promotoren overleg is the best setting to put structural aspects of supervision on the agenda. For specific topics GM can chair the meeting.
• The graduate mentor has an exit meeting with supervisor and PhD student . In case the official employment of a PhD Student ends before the actual thesis is finished, expectations about the continuation of supervision will be discussed during this exit meeting. A perspective of closure is key to think long-term career strategies and to keep calm and confident. If the PhD contract is ended, laptop, mobile and office keys need to be returned as they are formally property from Leiden University, not CADS. Candidate can now apply for a guest / affiliated researcher account, still make use of office space and borrow one of the CADS laptops during office hours.
• Supervision team
• The CADS PhD training protocol includes a requirement for each PhD to have a second supervisor . This is formally the case, but it is important to ensure that that second supervisor is factually involved, and has complementary expertise to that of the PhD. Ideally, the supervision team consists of a senior and relatively junior member of staff.
• Where possible, the second supervisor is chosen in dialogue with the PhD candidate. The first month can be used to explore possibilities, before the Training and Supervision Plan (TSP or OBP in Dutch) is uploaded.
• Before the start of a research project or PhD trajectory, DirRes discusses the proposed supervisory arrangements with prospective supervisor, including the composition of the supervision team, to ensure that the requirements are met, and more generally, that they can expect to have favorable working conditions and will be sufficiently integrated into the institute.
• DirRes and Institute Manager (IM) help ensure comparable working conditions over the various projects, and that these conditions meet the parameters of employees in our Institute.
• Startup meeting
• Supervisors should ensure they are informed about the CADS and other relevant PhD training regulations (see at the top of this document). At the start of a PhD trajectory, they are expected to have a conversation with each PhD to discuss these regulations, as well as, more generally, the parameters of their working relation . This includes rights to holidays, health arrangements, agreements regarding budget and expenses, meeting in person/working remotely, working rhythms (including the prevention of systematic over-work), number of tasks and time pressure.
• These agreements are part of and set down in the TSP (see chapter 2 of the PhD Regulations ), and should be revisited on a yearly basis in the annual Performance & Development Interview.
• The TSP is not just a paper tiger, it is about expectation management, aims to protect the PhD students and provides a road map for supervisors to use when they are at the start of a collaboration with a PhD. Hence the TSP needs to be approved by the scientific director of the Institute.
• It would be good to develop a topic list or protocol that supervisors can use for this meeting. We can draw on the existing Golden Rules for PhD Supervision document. In the Bring your thesis seminar PhDs students will regularly (also for newcomers to the community) discuss this list, and add suggestions. These suggestions will then be sent to the Director of Research who will discuss it with the Supervisors and adjust a local CADS version of the Golden Rules accordingly.
• Yearly Performance & Development Interview (ROG)

The Performance & Development Interview (RO Gesprek, in Dutch, or ROG) should be a moment where PhD and supervisor can discuss both the student’s progress and work experiences, look forward to the coming year(s) and discuss their work relation. The latter is difficult in light of the hierarchical and dependency relation of that relation, which means this has to be explicitly facilitated.

In order to do so, we propose the following:

• Include explicit questions about the working relation between PhD and supervisor in the yearly overview form for PhDs (such as: what do you like about the relation, what can be improved? How often do you meet, and is this a good rhythm for you? Does the type and form of feedback you receive from your supervisors work well for you? If not, what could be improved etc.). The IC has meanwhile come up with a proposal for a new format in Fall 2022.
• Have the Graduate Mentor sit in on the P&D Interview , and invite PhDs to consult with them beforehand to prepare for their Performance & Development Interview. This consult is part of the annual P&D Interview.
• Contract PhD’s and buitenpromovendi don’t have a yearly P&D Interview. The Graduate Mentor will, however, have a yearly meeting with the contract PhD’s.  The Director of Research will similarly keep in touch with the buitenpromovendi on an yearly basis.
• Supervisory skills and roles
• Supervisors are required to take a course on PhD supervision; this includes courses for first-time co-promotors, and possibly refresher courses for more experienced ones.
• Supervisors are invited to the regular (co)promotoren overleg is (intervisie) organized by the Director of Research, where they exchange experiences and discuss conundrums that are part of PhD supervision. This can be among PI’s of larger projects, but also can encompass all PhD supervisors, depending on the topic at hand. The graduate mentor can provide input for and be an important interlocutor in these meetings.

Important discussion topics: balance between project requirements and space for PhD’s own choices, development and insights; how best to deal with budget in transparent manner within project teams; what can supervisors/PI’s do to ensure the successful integration of new PhDs in the Institute?

• Supervision should be an important aspect of the promotor’s ROG. The graduate mentor is asked for input in this regard.
• Bureaucratic processes and their consequences on the PhD trajectory (e.g. with regard to visa, housing) can be a challenge. Supervisors, however, do not have a responsibility in these matters which are more efficiently handled by other bodies such as the International Office.
• Oftentimes PhDs would like to integrate career discussions, incl. those that address careers outside of the institute, more into the supervisory process of the PhD trajectory.  Although some supervisors may give good advice and it does not do harm to ask, these are typical issues that are best discussed during the Bring Your Thesis seminar.

In case of problems in the supervisory relation that PhD students feel they cannot discuss with their supervisors, they can:

• Consult with the Graduate Mentor. The GM can provide advise on how to open up a conversation on this, or can play a mediating role with the supervisor in question.
• In more complex and fraught cases, the graduate mentor can confer with the SD and/or advise the student to write an email to the SD explaining the situation. Depending on the nature of the complaints, there will be follow up advice on next steps. The SD may discuss the problem with the various people involved, in an attempt to mediate and find a solution. The advice may also entail the recommendation to consult with the confidential counselor of the Faculty/Leiden University or a referral to the official complaint procedure of Leiden University.

Research clusters play an important role in providing a safe space for learning and intellectual exchange, and ensure that PhD students have connections and a space to share their work with junior and senior staff beyond their specific project and/or supervisor. In order to ensure this works well, we propose that:

• Every PhD becomes a member of a research cluster.
• Cluster coordination is done by a team of one permanent faculty members and a senior PhD student.
• The PhD who co-coordinates a research cluster should have the status of employee within the contract time. Other PhDs can take on a role as cluster co-coordinator too, if they want to, however the institute should not expect it from e.g., external PhDs or PhDs who are beyond their contract period.
• PhD supervisors should make sure they do not reproduce that supervisory relation in the research cluster. Cluster coordinators and the graduate mentor can help ensure this. 
• The coordinators also ensure that new members “land” well in the cluster.
• PhD community

There are several initiatives for collective and self-care within the PhD community which have already proven important with respect to social safety and PhD wellbeing, especially the first hour of the BYT seminar. The PhDs will take up the idea of PhD mentorship in which a more senior PhD mentors an incoming PhD. The PhDs are investigating the status of the ‘buddy system’ that we initiated. For starters, the PhD representative sent a message to all PhDs to send her an email if they want to be coupled to a PhD mentor. Support that would help this initiative further. When a PhD starts, it would be great if the supervisor or GM could connect the new PhD to the PhD representative who has an overview of the current PhD mentors.

This document is formal living document that twice a year will be evaluated, once at the first Bring Your Thesis seminar of the academic year, and another time in the 1 st regular (co)promotoren overleg of the academic year.

PhD in Anthropology

The anthropology department is a place of research, new ideas, innovative teaching, public engagement, and extensive hands-on learning. Students are encouraged to challenge conventional thinking, design their education, and use what they learn to offer new perspectives on how we can respond to our present challenges.

We advance innovative thinking that integrates knowledge from the different subfields of anthropology (archaeology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology). Nationally, we are especially known for research in the anthropology of Europe, indigenous and Afro-diasporic archaeology, community-based research methods, and for leading the way in developing a biocultural perspective on human adaptation and adaptability, enhanced by a strong foundation in political economy.

Application information & deadlines

December 20, 2023, anthropology.

Craft your own program of study in the subfields of biological, cultural, and linguistic anthropology and archeology and work with renowned faculty

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(M.A.) Major in Anthropology (Cultural Anthropology Concentration Thesis option)

Program overview.

The purpose of the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree with a major in Anthropology at Texas State is to

• give students the highest quality graduate-level education possible,
• provide students interested in continuing their graduate education in Anthropology at the Ph.D. level the appropriate basis to successfully compete for entrance into top-tier programs,
• provide students interested in non-academic careers that require, or are facilitated by, an advanced degree in Anthropology the education, tools and training necessary to secure employment, and
• produce professional, ethical, and productive graduates.

Application Requirements

The items listed below are required for admission consideration for applicable semesters of entry during the current academic year. Submission instructions, additional details, and changes to admission requirements for semesters other than the current academic year can be found on The Graduate College's website . International students should review the International Admission Documents page for additional requirements.

• completed online application
• $55 nonrefundable application fee

          or

• $90 nonrefundable application fee for applications with international credentials
• baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited university (Non-U.S. degrees must be equivalent to a four-year U.S. Bachelor’s degree. In most cases, three-year degrees are not considered. Visit our  International FAQs  for more information.)
• official transcripts from  each institution  where course credit was granted
• minimum 3.0  overall  GPA  or a 3.0 GPA  in the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work (plus any completed graduate courses)
• GRE not required
• statement of purpose detailing the student’s academic interests in one of the concentrations and identifying possible areas of anthropological research. If applicable, include any crossover areas of research from the other anthropological concentrations.
• three letters of recommendation

Approved English Proficiency Exam Scores

Applicants are required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score that meets the minimum program requirements below unless they have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a country on our  exempt countries list .

• official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 78 overall
• official PTE scores required with a 52 overall
• official IELTS (academic) scores required with a 6.5 overall and minimum individual module scores of 6.0
• official Duolingo scores required with a 110 overall
• official TOEFL Essentials scores required with an 8.5 overall

This program does  not  offer admission if the scores above are not met.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree with a major in Anthropology concentration in Cultural Anthropology requires 36 semester credit hours, including a thesis. To graduate, students are required to earn a 3.3 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) for all courses listed as Course Requirements.

Course Requirement

Comprehensive examination requirement.

An oral thesis defense is required. This oral defense will serve as the comprehensive examination requirement.  If the thesis committee is not satisfied with a graduate student’s oral defense, they specify all deficiencies the student must resolve. The thesis committee will not sign the Master’s Comprehensive Examination Report Form and the Thesis Submission Approval Form until all specified deficiencies have been resolved. Should the thesis committee decide to hold a second oral defense, the chair of the thesis committee shall not schedule the second defense until the student has resolved all specified deficiencies.  

Students who do not successfully complete the requirements for the degree within the timelines specified will be dismissed from the program.

If a student elects to follow the thesis option for the degree, a committee to direct the written thesis will be established. The thesis must demonstrate the student’s capability for research and independent thought. Preparation of the thesis must be in conformity with the  Graduate College Guide to Preparing and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation .

Thesis Proposal

The student must submit an official  Thesis Proposal Form  and proposal to his or her thesis committee. Thesis proposals vary by department and discipline. Please see your department for proposal guidelines and requirements. After signing the form and obtaining committee members’ signatures, the graduate advisor’s signature if required by the program and the department chair’s signature, the student must submit the Thesis Proposal Form with one copy of the proposal attached to the dean of The Graduate College for approval before proceeding with research on the thesis. If the thesis research involves human subjects, the student must obtain exemption or approval from the Texas State Institutional Review Board prior to submitting the proposal form to The Graduate College. The IRB approval letter should be included with the proposal form. If the thesis research involves vertebrate animals, the proposal form must include the Texas State IACUC approval code. It is recommended that the thesis proposal form be submitted to the dean of The Graduate College by the end of the student’s enrollment in 5399A. Failure to submit the thesis proposal in a timely fashion may result in delayed graduation.

Thesis Committee

The thesis committee must be composed of a minimum of three approved graduate faculty members.

Thesis Enrollment and Credit

The completion of a minimum of six hours of thesis enrollment is required. For a student's initial thesis course enrollment, the student will need to register for thesis course number 5399A.  After that, the student will enroll in thesis B courses, in each subsequent semester until the thesis is defended with the department and approved by The Graduate College. Preliminary discussions regarding the selection of a topic and assignment to a research supervisor will not require enrollment for the thesis course.

Students must be enrolled in thesis credits if they are receiving supervision and/or are using university resources related to their thesis work.  The number of thesis credit hours students enroll in must reflect the amount of work being done on the thesis that semester.  It is the responsibility of the committee chair to ensure that students are making adequate progress toward their degree throughout the thesis process.  Failure to register for the thesis course during a term in which supervision is received may result in postponement of graduation. After initial enrollment in 5399A, the student will continue to enroll in a thesis B course as long as it takes to complete the thesis. Thesis projects are by definition original and individualized projects.  As such, depending on the topic, methodology, and other factors, some projects may take longer than others to complete.  If the thesis requires work beyond the minimum number of thesis credits needed for the degree, the student may enroll in additional thesis credits at the committee chair's discretion. In the rare case when a student has not previously enrolled in thesis and plans to work on and complete the thesis in one term, the student will enroll in both 5399A and 5399B.

The only grades assigned for thesis courses are PR (progress), CR (credit), W (withdrew), and F (failing). If acceptable progress is not being made in a thesis course, the instructor may issue a grade of F. If the student is making acceptable progress, a grade of PR is assigned until the thesis is completed. The minimum number of hours of thesis credit (“CR”) will be awarded only after the thesis has been both approved by The Graduate College and released to Alkek Library.

A student who has selected the thesis option must be registered for the thesis course during the term or Summer I (during the summer, the thesis course runs ten weeks for both sessions) in which the degree will be conferred.

Thesis Deadlines and Approval Process

Thesis deadlines are posted on  The Graduate College  website under "Current Students." The completed thesis must be submitted to the chair of the thesis committee on or before the deadlines listed on The Graduate College website.

The following must be submitted to The Graduate College by the thesis deadline listed on The Graduate College website:

• The Thesis Submission Approval Form bearing original (wet) and/or electronic signatures of the student and all committee members.
• One (1) PDF of the thesis in final form, approved by all committee members, uploaded in the online Vireo submission system.  

After the dean of The Graduate College approves the thesis, Alkek Library will harvest the document from the Vireo submission system for publishing in the Digital Collections database (according to the student's embargo selection).  NOTE: MFA Creative Writing theses will have a permanent embargo and will never be published to Digital Collections.  

While original (wet) signatures are preferred, there may be situations as determined by the chair of the committee in which obtaining original signatures is inefficient or has the potential to delay the student's progress. In those situations, the following methods of signing are acceptable:

• signing and faxing the form
• signing, scanning, and emailing the form
• notifying the department in an email from their university's or institution's email account that the committee chair can sign the form on their behalf
• electronically signing the form using the university's licensed signature platform.

If this process results in more than one document with signatures, all documents need to be submitted to The Graduate College together.

No copies are required to be submitted to Alkek Library. However, the library will bind copies submitted that the student wants bound for personal use. Personal copies are not required to be printed on archival quality paper. The student will take the personal copies to Alkek Library and pay the binding fee for personal copies.

Master's level courses in Anthropology: ANTH

Courses Offered

Anthropology (anth).

ANTH 5199B. Thesis.

This course represents a student's continuing thesis enrollments. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding. Graded on a credit (CR), progress (PR), no credit (F) basis.

ANTH 5299B. Thesis.

ANTH 5301. Advanced Principles of Cultural Anthropology.

This course is an ethnographically-based analysis of major theoretical positions and debates in contemporary anthropology. (Stacked course with ANTH 3301 .).

ANTH 5302. Practicum in Teaching Anthropology.

An introduction to key concepts and practices in the teaching of college-level Anthropology. The course provides training in the practical aspects of classroom instruction. Required for first-year teaching and instructional assistants in the Anthropology Department. This course does not earn graduate degree credit.

ANTH 5303. Speech Analysis.

The focus of this course is the analysis of human speech sounds. It includes description of the acoustic properties of speech sounds, transcription of sounds using the International Phonetic Alphabet system, an understanding of the acoustic theories of speech, and practical experience in forensic speakers' identification.

ANTH 5304. Sociolinguistics.

The focus of this course is on the complex interrelationships between language and other aspects of culture. Methods of sociolinguistics, theories of sociolinguistics, and current issues regarding the nature of language variation and change will be emphasized. (MULT).

ANTH 5305. Anthropological Statistics.

In this course students will learn how to statistically analyze anthropological data. Students will gain a firm understanding of basic quantitative statistics, will be able to evaluate quantitative methods presented in anthropological research papers, and will be prepared for classes in more advanced statistical methods.

ANTH 5306. Anthropology and Art.

In this course students will investigate the function of art and symbolism in pre-literate archaeological cultures that existed at the tribal and chiefdom levels of political and social development. A multidisciplinary focus will use anthropology and art historical approaches as research tools.

ANTH 5307. History of Evolutionary Thought.

This course discusses the impact of evolutionary discourse within the context of its history. Students will develop a thorough understanding of evolution and its importance to anthropology, as well as to other scientific disciplines.

ANTH 5308. Cultural Resource Management and Archaeology.

In this course students will examine various topics relevant to cultural resource management including state and federal laws, survey, testing, mitigation, and developing final reports.

ANTH 5309. Culture, Medicine and the Body.

This course explores how the human body, functions of the body, and the practices of medicine and healing are situated and contextualized within cultural frameworks. Case studies cover body and health-related topics over the life course, from birth to death.

ANTH 5310. Theories and Issues in Anthropology.

This course explores major theoretical and historical developments in anthropology, highlighting the discipline’s unique four-field perspective that includes archaeology, biological and cultural anthropology, and anthropological linguistics. Topics stress the importance of anthropological thought in key scientific discoveries and cultural debates.

ANTH 5311. Seminar in Cultural Anthropology.

In this course, students will learn the historical foundations of cultural anthropology, its key theories and methods, and examples of its contemporary practice. Topics will include evolutionism, functionalism, structuralism, ethnoscience, neo-Marxism, postmodernism, and modernity.

ANTH 5312. Seminar in Biological Anthropology.

In this course, students will learn the historical foundations of biological anthropology, its key theories and methods, and examples of its contemporary practice in evolutionary theory, human variation, paleoanthropology, primatology, and skeletal biology.

ANTH 5313. Seminar in Archaeology.

In this course, students will learn the historical foundations of archaeology, its key theories and methods, and examples of its contemporary practice in New World and Old World archaeology.

ANTH 5314. Latin American Cultures.

Comprehensive study of cultures from Latin America. (Stacked course with ANTH 3314 .) (MULT).

ANTH 5315. Archaeological Artifact Identification and Analysis.

This course will provide students with the skills, knowledge and ability to describe, characterize, and analyze artifacts commonly recovered from archaeological sites. Current theories covering the production and analysis of chipped and ground stone tools, ceramics, bone and other materials will be presented, and scientific analytical methods discussed.

ANTH 5316. The Origin and Evolution of Human Behavior.

This course presents our current understanding of Old World Paleolithic Archaeology. The origin and evolution of hominid behavior, the initial colonization of the Old World, and the development of modern human behavior will be discussed for each continent. (Stacked course with ANTH 3316 ).

ANTH 5317. Rock Art Field Methods.

This course will train students in rock art field methods. They will gain first-hand experience recording rock art sites through photography, field sketches, mapping, and written inventories. Students will generate a visual and written description of the art, which they will use to infer and explain past human behavior. (Stacked course with ANTH 3317 ).

ANTH 5318. Texas Archaeology.

This course will present our current understanding of Texas archaeology. The environmental and social contexts of prehistoric, protohistoric, and historic records of Native American and Spanish occupations in Texas are discussed. (Stacked course with ANTH 3318 .) (MULT).

ANTH 5320. Rise of Civilization.

This course examines the components that led to the dynamic state societies in Egypt, Sumeria, the Indus Valley, and China in the Old World and that of the Olmecin Mexico and Chavin in Peru. (Stacked course with ANTH 4320 .).

ANTH 5322. Peoples and Cultures of Africa.

This course is a general introduction to the contemporary peoples and cultures of Africa. Students will examine the social structure, economy, political systems, and religions of African cultures in the context of the radical economic and social transformations affecting the area. (MULT).

ANTH 5324. Mexican American Culture.

This class is an exploration of Mexican American culture with an emphasis on the US-Mexico transborder region. The course integrates history, anthropology, and ethnic studies to capture the broad diversity of Mexican American experiences. Some of the topics covered include identity, social movements, Chicana feminism, transnational migration, spirituality, and cultural expressions such as visual art, film, music, and performance. (Stacked course with ANTH 3324 .) (MULT).

ANTH 5325. Medical Anthropology.

This course focuses on how illness identities are culturally constructed, how adaptations or maladaptations to local environments affect health, how political and economic forces influence health and health behaviors, and how the practice of medical anthropology can contribute to solving urgent health issues around the world.

ANTH 5326. Field Methods in Forensic Anthropology.

In this course students will learn how to locate, excavate and recover human remains, associated personal effects, and other materials in order to ensure legal credibility for all recoveries.

ANTH 5330. Curation of Archaeological Materials.

This course provides students with the skills to prepare archaeological materials for curation, which includes the processes and techniques used to stabilize and preserve organic and inorganic materials. This training can be used to gain certification in the field of archaeological curation.

ANTH 5332. Myths and Mound Builders.

This course presents an anthropological approach to the iconography of the Native Americans of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. (Stacked course with ANTH 3332 .) (MULT).

ANTH 5333. Research Design in Biological Anthropology.

This course provides students with an introduction to the principles and processes by which research projects in biological anthropology are devised and executed. It focuses on the issues of finding a topic to research, defining its scope and limitations, developing a research bibliography, and elaborating a research design.

ANTH 5335. The Anthropology of Native American Belief Systems.

In this course students use anthropological approaches to investigate past and present Native American belief systems in order to determine the temporal range and evolving complexity of Native American religious and ritual expression.

ANTH 5336. Community Research Project.

This course gives students the opportunity to conduct hands-on anthropological research on a variety of topics in local communities.

ANTH 5337. Theory in Linguistics Anthropology.

In this course students will be introduced to the major theories of linguistics through reading and discussing classic and contemporary literatures. Particular attention will be given to how the various theories have influenced linguistic anthropology.

ANTH 5338. Geoarchaeology.

This course will provide students with the knowledge and ability to interpret sediments and the nature of sediment accumulation at archaeological sites. The course will provide students with a foundation in sedimentology, natural depositional environments, weathering processes and soil development, stratigraphic analysis, archaeological site formation processes. (Stacked course with ANTH 3338 ).

ANTH 5339. Theoretical Concepts in Archaeology.

This course provides a broad survey of theory in archaeology as it is practiced throughout the world. It includes both historical perspectives and contemporary usage.

ANTH 5340. Paleoanthropology.

Critical review of the human fossil record from the appearance of the earliest hominins to the appearance of modern human forms. (Stacked course with ANTH 3340 .).

ANTH 5341. Gross Anatomy.

Students in this course examine the macroscopic structure of organs and soft and hard tissues in the human body. The course is divided into these units: back and thorax, neck and head, and upper and lower limb. Cadaver-based dissection labs accompany lecture topics.

ANTH 5342. Primate Behavior.

An organized course that examines current research in nonhuman primate studies from an anthropological perspective. (Stacked course with ANTH 3342 .).

ANTH 5343. Human Variation and Adaptation.

An organized course that examines human physical variation and adaptation from an evolutionary perspective.

ANTH 5345. Archaeology of Mesoamerica.

This course examines the development of early huntergatherers through the appearance of agriculture to the rise of civilization in Mesoamerica. (Stacked course with ANTH 3345 .) (MULT).

ANTH 5346. Bioarchaeology.

Bioarchaeology is the study of human skeletal remains in relation to the archaeological record. In this course students study theories and methods used in the analysis of archaeologically derived human skeletal remains to reconstruct patterns of subsistence, diet, disease, demography, biological relatedness, and the funerary activities of past populations. Prerequisite: ANTH 3381 with a grade of "C" or better or instructor approval.

ANTH 5347. Archaeology of North America.

This course examines human settlement of North America from the end of the Pleistocene to European discovery. (Stacked course with ANTH 3347 .).

ANTH 5349. The Incas.

The Incas were the largest Pre-Columbian empire in the Americas. This course will explore the origins of this civilization and how they conquered such a large area of South America. Using archaeological and historic information the class will examine various aspects of Inca society including religion, economics, and kingship. (Stacked course with ANTH 3349 ). (MULT).

ANTH 5350. Gender and Sexuality in Cross Cultural Perspective.

This course examines the relationships between women and men in societies around the world. (Stacked course with ANTH 3350 .) (MULT).

ANTH 5351. Anthropology of Peace and Violence.

This class explores anthropological perspectives on peace and violence. It focuses on understanding violent practices within both traditional and current day societies including everyday violence and warfare. It explores the contributions of social structure, gender, religion, race, and ethnicity to violence. It examines efforts to build peace and reconciliation.

ANTH 5353. Applied Cultural Anthropology.

This class focuses on how anthropology can solve practical problems in various disciplines, including behavioral health, education, human rights, community development, and business. Students will learn about client development, contract negotiations, project design, proposal writing, preparing deliverables, communicating results to a variety of stakeholders, teamwork, networking, and navigating ethical issues.

ANTH 5355. Seminar in Culture Theory.

An intensive examination of the principal theoretical positions in cultural anthropology, with an emphasis on the preparation of students with ethnographic analysis and fieldwork. (MULT).

ANTH 5356. Andean Civilizations.

This course is a survey of civilizations in the Andean region of South America. Using archaeological data the class will examine cultural developments in the region from the earliest hunters and gatherers to the Inca Empire, the largest state in the Americas at the time of European contact. (MULT).

ANTH 5357. Historical Archaeology.

This course is an advanced survey of historical archaeology methods and theories that will intensively examine current trends in historical archaeology. Students will also be exposed to the material culture from historic period archaeological sites in Texas and North America.

ANTH 5361. Qualitative Methods.

This course provides instruction on qualitative methods and analysis. Students will learn through a combination of lecture and hands-on activities how to design qualitative research projects; collect qualitative data through methods such as interviews, focus groups and observations; analyze this data; and present qualitative results.

ANTH 5363. The Art and Archaeology of the Olmec.

This course will present our current understanding of the art and archaeology of the Olmec culture, the earliest known civilization in North America. The Olmec culture is considered the influential foundation for later Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya and the Aztec. (Stacked course with ANTH 3363 .) (MULT).

ANTH 5373G. Research Design and Proposal Writing in Cultural Anthropology.

This course will familiarize students with the basic principles and practices of effective research design and proposal writing in cultural anthropology. Students will acquire a practical experience in formulating a feasible and creative research project, performing a rigorous literature review, planning to protect human research subjects, and giving/receiving constructive peer reviews.

ANTH 5373I. Anthropology in Practice.

This course introduces students to the application of anthropological ideas, methods, and skills in multiple employment sectors. Students will develop key job skills in communication, team work, networking, professional development, and project management.

ANTH 5373J. Dental Anthropology and Oral Biology.

The biological development of the cranio-facial structures will be presented with emphasis on hard tissue anatomy and diseases. Dental traits will be discussed in relation to human evolutionary concepts. Forensic methods that support identification of human remains are emphasized. This course is appropriate for anthropology students and pre-professional dentistry.

ANTH 5373K. Nonverbal Communication-Gestures.

Communication involves the use of ‘invisible’ words and gestures, or ‘visible actions.’ This course focuses on gestures, what they are, how they are used, what role they play in communication and in thinking, and their cultural underpinning. Students will learn the theoretical and methodological issues involved in studying different gestures across societies.

ANTH 5373L. Cultural Heritage Management.

This course introduces students to current problems and methods in the stewardship of cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, national and international. We will explore topics including ethics and law, development, tourism, public outreach and opinion, and ongoing threats to cultural heritage.

ANTH 5373M. Design + Anthropology.

This course will begin by exploring the anthropology of design, including the practices, implications, and expansion of design under contemporary capitalism. Students will then use this knowledge to examine the growing field of design anthropology and learn how anthropologists provide actionable insights and research for design work today.

ANTH 5373O. Seminar on Race in Biological Anthropology.

In this course students will learn where race concepts originated, examining the worldview and scientific mindsets that guided us into the 21st century. Students will explore how social race has become biological, drawing on literature from biological anthropology. Most importantly, students will explore pragmatic solutions in the context of anthropology research. Students will leave the course with an in-depth understanding of the role anthropology has played in current concepts of race and develop an informed scientific practice that they can apply.

ANTH 5374Y. Human Evolutionary Anatomy.

This course is designed to give students an anatomical background to the study of human evolution with a focus on the comparative anatomy of apes, living humans, and fossil hominins.

ANTH 5374Z. Curation of Archaeological Materials.

This course will examine the phenomenon or fundamentalism in a variety of religious traditions, both present and historical. Students will explore the political and social ramifications of fundamentalism in a world characterized by multiculturalism and globalization.

ANTH 5375. Advanced Methods in Skeletal Biology, Part I.

This course focuses on laboratory analytical techniques and data collection methods used to estimate the biological profile of modern, historic, or prehistoric human skeletal remains.

ANTH 5376. Advanced Methods in Skeletal Biology, Part II.

This course focuses on technical case report writing and evidentiary best practices in forensic anthropological analysis of human skeletal remains. In addition to biological profile estimation techniques, research methods and theoretical foundations used for trauma analysis and taphonomic interpretation will be reviewed. Prerequisite: ANTH 5375 with a grade of "C" or better.

ANTH 5381. Paleopathology.

Paleopathology is the study of ancient diseases and is an important tool for understanding of past populations. In this course we will survey the range of pathology on human skeletons such as trauma, infection, syphilis, tuberculosis, leprosy, anemia, metabolic disturbances, arthritis, and tumors.

ANTH 5382. Archaeology of the Earliest Americans.

This course focuses on the scientific story of the first Americans: where they came from, when they arrived, and how they met the challenges of moving across the vast, unknown landscapes of North America. Topics include exploring the hemisphere's oldest sites and how people coped with changing global climates.

ANTH 5385. Seminar in Anthropology.

This course introduces students to specialized areas of anthropological inquiry.

ANTH 5390. Directed Study.

Course of independent study open to individual students at the invitation of the faculty member with the approval of the department chair and the graduate advisor. Repeatable for credit.

ANTH 5395. Internship.

Under the direction of the thesis advisor and/or the internship coordinator, a student will conduct supervised work or research, related to a student’s professional development, at a public or private organization. This course may be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: Instructor approval.

ANTH 5399A. Thesis.

This course represents a student's initial thesis enrollment. No thesis credit is awarded until the student has completed their thesis proposal.

ANTH 5399B. Thesis.

This course represents a student's continuing thesis enrollments. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding.

ANTH 5599B. Thesis.

ANTH 5999B. Thesis.

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PhD Candidate Miranda Dotson recently published as sole author

Miranda Dotson , Sociology PhD Candidate, has published “ The raced and gendered persistence of human-exemptionalism ” in  Sociology Compass.

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Drew Zackary's Co-authored Paper Published in Sustainability Journal

Drew Zackary's (Cultural Anthropology, Phd Candidate) co-authored peer reviewed paper, "The Changing Ecology of a High Himalayan Valley: Challenges to the Sustainable Development of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, Eastern Nepal," published in Sustainability Journal.

The Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA) is a high mountain protected area (MPA) in eastern Nepal undergoing socioeconomic and environmental changes that are unprecedented in the region’s history. In the following paper, we discuss recent changes involving new road construction, climate change, adventure tourism, and the wildlife/forest cover/medicinal plant sectors. Our assessments are based on the collective results of past and recent field research, remote sensing analysis, oral histories, and literature reviews. While similar changes are occurring in MPAs throughout Nepal, it is suggested that the KCA differs from other regions in that it still retains the option of conducting detailed feasibility, environmental, and impact assessments prior to the implementation of major change-associated projects, particularly the construction of roads. In turn, the KCA might avoid many of the environmental, social, and economic problems experienced elsewhere in Nepal, while enhancing its status, income-generating capacities, and sustainability as a global destination for adventure, nature, and cultural tourism.

Read the paper in  Sustainability Journal

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Jhfc spotlight: jieun cho, culanth phd and apsi postdoctoral associate, may 9, 2024.

John Hope Franklin Center

In this interview, JHFC Spotlight sits down with Jieun Cho to explore what led her to continue at Duke University, delve into her current work, and discuss the joy she has found in the scenery around Durham. Tune in for an engaging discussion that offers a glimpse into her accomplishments. More here. 

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