Anthropology (MA)
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 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 Soaring Scholar program may apply up to nine (9) credit hours taken at the graduate 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
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Seminars | 9 | |
| Electives | 15 | |
| Thesis | 6 | |
| Minimum Total Hours | 30 | |
Thesis Option Coursework
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Seminars | 6 | |
| 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 | ||
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Electives | 15 | |
| 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 | ||
| The American South: History, Culture, Political Economy | ||
| 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 | ||
| Thesis | ||
| Kentucky Archaeology | ||
| Who Owns the Past? | ||
| Minimum Total Hours | 30 | |
Experiential Option
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Seminars | 9 | |
| Electives | 15 | |
| Internship | 6 | |
| Minimum Total Hours | 30 | |
Experiential Option Coursework
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Electives | 15 | |
| 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 | ||
| The American South: History, Culture, Political Economy | ||
| 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 | ||
| Lithic Technology | ||
| Ceramic Analysis | ||
| Geoarchaeology | ||
| Anthropology of Death | ||
| 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 | ||
| Kentucky Archaeology | ||
| Who Owns the Past? | ||
Or approved 500- and 600-level elective in another social science discipline | ||
| Minimum Total Hours | 30 | |
