Anthropology (MA)

32 Anthro Masters

Admission Requirements

Applicants must complete/submit:

  • Online graduate application for admission.
  • A statement of interests covering relevant experience and aspirations. This letter is absolutely critical to your successful application, as it helps us assess where you might find common interests among Department faculty.
  • Official transcripts, as stipulated by the Graduate School.  The minimum GPA for acceptance into the program is 3.0.
  • Three letters of recommendation addressing the candidate's readiness for graduate studies, academic abilities, and potential for success.  One letter may be from an employer.
  • Applicants may choose to submit a writing sample.

The Graduate Committee uses a holistic approach when evaluating graduate applications.

Program Requirements

The Master of Arts (MA) in Anthropology requires 30 credit hours at the graduate level. It comprises 24 credit hours of course work, plus six (6) credit hours of thesis or internship. All students enrolled in the MA program are required to complete one of the following options:

In addition to the nine (9) credit hours of the 600-level core seminars, students take another 15 credit hours of course work (electives) at the 500 or 600 level, and six (6) credit hours of thesis or internship/practicum hours. 

Students may enroll in up to nine (9) credit hours in another department. Students may enroll in 500-level graduate courses in another department with the permission of the Anthropology Director of Graduate Studies.

Students who are in the accelerated BA/MA program may apply up to nine (9) credit hours taken at the 500- or 600-level as an undergraduate toward the MA in Anthropology, on the condition that the student earned a grade of B (not B-minus) or higher in the course and the course was taught at the graduate level. Approval from the Director of Graduate Studies is required. Master's-degree students outside of the accelerated master's-degree program may not use coursework earned as undergraduate and used to meet the requirements for the undergraduate degree for graduate credit.

Thesis Option

Core Seminars9
Electives15
Thesis6
Minimum Total Hours30

Thesis Option Coursework

Core Seminars6
Social and Cultural Theory
Seminar: Contemporary Issues in Anthropology
Students must select one of the following courses:3
Research Design: Archaeology
Research Design: Biological Anthropology
Research Design: Socio-Cultural Anthropology
Electives15
Space, Place and Culture
Anthropology of China
Ecology, Politics and Culture
Archaeology as Practice
Animals and Humans
Zooarchaeology
Human Impacts on Past Environments
Anthropology of Water
Food and Farm Movements in the Americas
Nutritional Anthropology
Health and Civilization
Modes of Consiousness
Black Death: The Pandemic that Changed Human History
Special Topics in Cultural Anthropology
Special Topics in Biological Anthropology
Special Topics in Archaeology
Quantitative Analysis in Anthropology
Lithic Technology
Ceramic Analysis
Geoarchaeology
Emergence of Human Culture
Anthropology of Violence
Black Cultural Traditions
Globalization, Transnationalism, and Anthropology
Food Justice
Political Economy and Culture
Linguistic Anthropology
Health and Disease: A Bio-Cultural Approach
Seminar in Biological Anthropology
Human Molecular Evolutionary Genetics
Special Topics in Anthropology
Special Topics in Cultural Anthropology
Special Topics in Biological Anthropology
Independent Study (Reading)
Special Topics in Archaeology
Independent Study (Research)
Or approved 500- and 600-level elective in another social science discipline
ANTH 672Thesis6
Minimum Total Hours30

Experiential Option

Core Seminars9
Electives15
Internship6
Minimum Total Hours30

Experiential Option Coursework

Core Seminars
Social and Cultural Theory
Seminar: Contemporary Issues in Anthropology
Students must select one of the following courses:3
Research Design: Archaeology
Research Design: Biological Anthropology
Research Design: Socio-Cultural Anthropology
Electives15
Space, Place and Culture
Anthropology of China
Ecology, Politics and Culture
Archaeology as Practice
Animals and Humans
Zooarchaeology
Human Impacts on Past Environments
Anthropology of Water
Food and Farm Movements in the Americas
Nutritional Anthropology
Health and Civilization
Modes of Consiousness
Special Topics in Cultural Anthropology
Special Topics in Biological Anthropology
Special Topics in Archaeology
Lithic Technology
Ceramic Analysis
Emergence of Human Culture
Anthropology of Violence
Black Cultural Traditions
Globalization, Transnationalism, and Anthropology
Food Justice
Political Economy and Culture
Linguistic Anthropology
Health and Disease: A Bio-Cultural Approach
Seminar in Biological Anthropology
Human Molecular Evolutionary Genetics
Special Topics in Anthropology
Special Topics in Cultural Anthropology
Special Topics in Biological Anthropology
Special Topics in Archaeology
Independent Study (Reading)
Independent Study (Research)
Internship
Or approved 500- and 600-level elective in another social science discipline
Minimum Total Hours30