College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental Contact: holmesjb@iu.edu; (812) 855-1041

Departmental URL: https://anthropology.indiana.edu/index.html 

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff uses those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Admission Requirements

1. Bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution and evi­dence of academic potential to complete an advanced degree;
2. appropriate level of achievement on the Graduate Record Examination General Test (does not apply to international stu­dents);
3. three letters of recommendation;
4. a personal statement of goals in the field of anthropology;
5. a writing sample (10,000 words or less);
6. a curriculum vitae; and
7. a completed applica­tion form.

Recommended undergraduate training in anthropol­ogy and related fields:

• for students interested primarily in the field of bioanthropology, courses in chemistry and the biologi­cal sciences;
• for students specializing in the field of archaeol­ogy, courses in history,  earth sciences, and the humanities;
• for students specializing in the field of social/cultural an­thropology, courses in the social sciences and the humanities;
• for students specializing in the field of linguistic anthropology, courses in general linguistics and psycholinguistics.

Master of Arts Degree

Requirements

1. A minimum of 30 credit hours, with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and no more than 6 credit hours of thesis credit. At least 20 credit hours must be in anthropology, including three courses (excluding thesis) that are numbered 500 or above;
2. at least one course that carries graduate credit in three of the four fields listed above;
3. at least one semester or two summer sessions of full-time study while in residence on the Bloomington campus; and either
4. a thesis or
5. a four-hour written examination.

Examination grading will be (a) pass with distinction, (b) pass (both of these include the award of the M.A. degree), or (c) failure. The examination may be taken twice, but two failures will result in automatic dismissal of the student.

Option (4) or (5) must be selected; no change will be allowed once the selection is made. No oral ex­amination or defense of the thesis is required. The thesis must be read and approved by all members of the student's com­mittee. A master's thesis may be based on library, laboratory, or field research. The department does not require, but does recommend, the completion of one foreign language, particu­larly if the student contemplates continuing for the Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The Department of Anthropology offers all four anthropological subfields: Archaeology, Bioanthropology, Linguistic Anthropol­ogy, and Social/Cultural Anthropology. Students elect one of these fields as their major field, and they also must take courses in the other fields as specified in the major field requirements. Students may also select one of four concentrations, Archaeology and Social Context, Food Studies, Medical Anthropology, and Paleoanthropology. Each of these concentrations is supple­mental to the field. Each field involves its own breadth requirements within the Department of Anthropology and others that may require further class work. All four fields have the following requirements in common.

Foreign Language/Research Skills

One of three is required: (1) reading proficiency in two lan­guages, one normally selected from French, German, Russian, Spanish, or Portuguese (consult advisor for additional languag­es); (2) proficiency in depth in one language, normally selected from French, German, Russian, Spanish, or Portuguese (a language with a significant anthropological literature); or (3) reading proficiency in one of the languages cited in (1) plus proficiency in data management and analysis software or statistics.

Qualifying Examination

In order to be recommended to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree in anthropology, the student must pass a qualifying examina­tion. This candidacy cannot be granted until the foreign language or research skills and other requirements have been fulfilled and until at least 60 credit hours have been earned. Students are strongly encouraged to complete course work and take the qualifying examination in three years.

The format of the exam shall be decided by the advisory committee in consul­tation with the student from among the following options:

1. a take-home exam, or
2. a proctored in-camera exam, or
3. an exam combining elements of (1) and (2).

Preparation, adminis­tration, and grading of the examination are the responsibility of the advisory committee, but other members of the department are free to participate without voting. A passing grade requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the anthropologists on the examining committee. Grading is as follows: (a) pass with distinction; (b) pass [both (a) and (b) include certification to doctoral candidacy and the M.A. degree if desired and not already awarded]; (c) low pass with terminal M.A. degree; (d) failure. The qualifying examination may be retaken once.

Research Proposal

Most faculty advisers prefer that student circulate a research proposal to the Advisory Committee at least two weeks before the qualifying examination (Option A). The Research Proposal must include a statement of the research problem, a literature review related to that prob­lem, the methodology to be employed, a tentative timetable of data collection and analysis, and (if a grant application has been or will be submitted) a discussion of funding prospects and the budget. Students are normally examined on aspects of their research proposal during their qualifying examination, both the written and oral portions. Normally, nomination to candidacy and appointment of the Research Committee cannot take place until the Research Proposal has been accepted by the Advisory Committee. All proposals that include the use of living human subjects must receive advance clearance by the IUB Institutional Review Board (Human Subjects) regardless of whether external funding is sought. This clearance is required for use of informants, participant observation, interviews, and questionnaires, as well as more invasive research such as mea­surement and testing.  Some faculty advisers may recommend that a student choose Option B, in which the research proposal is presented after the written and oral qualifying exams.  This might occur when a student’s research interests have changed and/or committee members will likely change following the exam, or for other less common reasons.  In these cases, students have up to six months to name their new faculty adviser and an additional six months to have their research proposal approved by their new committee.

Dissertation

Each candidate must prepare a doctoral dissertation as part of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree. This dissertation may be the result of fieldwork or laboratory or library research. The department expects field research as part of the student's doctoral training in anthropology, but the dissertation may be based upon field data, laboratory data, museum collections, archives, or other documentary sources. The topic and general outline of the proposed dissertation must be approved by the candidate's research committee.

Final Defense

An oral examination of the dissertation—which cannot be waived—will be scheduled and administered by the candidate's research committee.

Teaching

The department considers teaching experience to be a critical part of graduate training. Therefore, every effort will be made to provide teaching opportunities for each graduate student.

Subfield Requirements

1. Archaeology
The following courses are required and must be completed with a grade of B or better: Pro-seminar in Archaeology (P500), a course in research design (usually P502), a course in ethics (usually P509), a course in the history of Anthropology (usually H500), and an archaeological methods course. In addition, student must complete three graduate courses in at least two other subfields of Anthropology (Bioanthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, or Social/Cultural Anthropology). In the qualifying exam, each student must demonstrate mastery of Archaeology, one chosen area of specialization, and one ethnographic area. Course substitutions and waivers will be allowed with permission from the Advisor and Graduate Affairs Committee.
  
2. Bioanthropology
The following courses are required, and must be completed with a grade of B or better: B500, B525, a course in human evolutionary history, and a course in human biology. In addition, students must complete three courses in at least two of the other subfields of Anthropology (Archaeology, Social/Cultural Anthropology, and Linguistic Anthropology). Expertise will be evaluated as part of the qualifying exam. Option 3 must be chosen for the Foreign Language and Research Skills requirement, with students gaining reading proficiency in at least one scholarly language, as well as in statistics and/or other data management and analysis software. Course substitutions and waivers will be allowed with permission from the Advisor and Graduate Affairs Committee.

3. Linguistic Anthropology
The following courses are required, and must be completed with a grade of B or better: L500, H500, a course in linguistic field methods, and one graduate course in two of the other fields of Anthropology (Archaeology, Bioanthropology, or Social/Cultural Anthropology). Students must also demonstrate competence in at least four of the five basic areas of linguistics (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and historical-comparative linguistics) plus knowledge of the structure of a particular language. They usually meet this requirement by completing an outside minor in Linguistics. In the qualifying exam, each student must demonstrate mastery of Linguistic Anthropology, one chosen area of specialization, and one ethnographic area. Course substitutions and waivers will be allowed with permission from the Advisor and Graduate Affairs Committee.
  
4. Social/Cultural Anthropology
The following courses are required, and must be completed with a grade of B or better: H500, E500, E606, one graduate course in two of the other fields of Anthropology (Archaeology, Bioanthropology, or Linguistic Anthropology). In the qualifying exam, each student must demonstrate mastery of Social/Cultural Anthropology, two chosen areas of specialization, and one ethnographic area. Course substitutions and waivers will be allowed with permission from the Advisor and Graduate Affairs Committee.

Ph.D. Minor in Anthropology

Students in other departments may minor in anthropology by completing at least 12 credit hours of coursework in anthropology with a grade of B or better. No more than 6 credit hours will be accepted by transfer of graduate credit from another university. Each minor student chooses a faculty advisor to help in the selection of a set of courses that best contributes to the research goals of the student.

Ph.D. Minor in Anthropology of Food

Students must take four courses (3 credits each) one of which must be the core course, E621 Food and Culture. The additional graduate courses in anthropology must be chosen from at least two different fields of the discipline (Archaeology, Social/Cultural Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, or Linguistic Anthropology).