Graduate Program |
  
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Goals
Anthropology explores contemporary and historical connections between
cultural and biological phenomena. The department believes that graduate
students should acquire a general knowledge of the theory and methods
of the four traditional sub-disciplines. Students work with their major
advisor and advisory committee to determine the best way to acquire this
holistic perspective of the field. In addition, the Anthropology Department
offers graduate work in six broad areas of concentration.
Our area strengths include Africa, the Caribbean, Latin American, Native
North America, and North American minority populations; our faculty has
also worked in the Middle East, Europe, South and Southeast Asia, and
Oceania. We also offer extensive expertise in many research methods in
ethnology and archaeology.
FOCI OF GRADUATE STUDY
Evolution, Cognition & Culture
Old World Archaeology
Cultural & Historical Anthropology
Applied Medical Anthropology
Indigenous Studies & Historical Archaeology
Graduate Courses
Anth 5301 Proseminar
Anth 5105 Special Topics in Anthropology
Anth 5632 Human Behavioral Ecology
Anth 5308 Human Evolutionary Theory
Anth 5309 Violence, Stress, and Social Support
Anth 5311 Seminar: Contemporary Theory in Social and Cultural Anthropology
Anth 5312 Seminar: Contemporary Theory in Social and Cultural Anthropology
Anth 5315 Gender and Culture
Anth 5321 Ethnographic Research Methods I
Anth 5322 Ethnographic Research Methods II
Anth 5332 Cognitive Anthropology
Anth 5334 Culture and Religion
Anth 5335 Psychological Anthropology
Anth 5336 Cultural Ecology
Anth 5337 Economic Anthropology
Anth 5339 Cultural Dynamics
Anth 5341 Analysis of Rituals
Anth 5343 Anthropological Linguistics
Anth 5350 Physical Anthropology
Anth 5352 Medical Anthropology
Anth 5353 Applied Anthropology
Anth 5354 Contemporary Issues in Archaeology
Anth 5356 History of Archaeological Theory
Anth 5357 Settlement Systems
Anth 5358 Analytical Methods in Archaeology
Anth 5359 Advanced Analysis in Archaeology
Anth 5361 Ecology of Human Evolution
Anth 5363 Archaeological Site Formation
Anth 5364 New England Prehistory
Anth 5365 Northeast North American Ethnohistory
Anth 5369 Culture and Reproduction
Anth 5374 Culture, Power, and Social Relations
Anth 5375 Ethnographic Methods Laboratory
Anth 5376 Ethnomedicine
Anth 5377 International Health
Anth 5381 Sex and Gender
Anth 5382 Universals in Human Behavior
Anth 5383 Parent-Child Relations in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Anth 5389 Population Ecology
Anth 5390 Cultural Rights
GRAD 5395 Master's Thesis Research 1-9 credits
GRAD 5895 Full-Time Master’s Research 3 credits
GRAD 5397 Full-Time Directed Studies (Master’s Level) 3 credits
GRAD 5998 Special Readings (Master’s Level) Non-credit
GRAD 5999 Thesis Preparation Non-credit
GRAD 6950 Doctoral Dissertation Research 1-9 credits
GRAD 6960 Full-Time Doctoral Research 3 credits
GRAD 6497 Full-Time Directed Studies (Doctoral Level) 3 credits
GRAD 6695 Special Readings (Doctoral Level) Non-credit
GRAD 6999 Dissertation Preparation Non-credit
Graduate Admissions
Applicants for admission to our graduate program submit their materials
for review January 15th and are admitted to the graduate program beginning
the following Fall semester. Students who miss the deadline for admissions may enroll in
graduate courses through the School of Continuing Education with permission of instructor, and may apply
up to 6 units of courses taken prior to formal admittance to their graduate
degree programs. Admission to the M.A. or PhD program is not limited to
undergraduate majors in anthropology. Students who hold the B.A., B.S.,
or M.A. degree in other fields will be considered as long as they meet the
requirements of the Graduate School and the Department. Recommendations
for admission are based on the student's academic record, letters of recommendation,
the student's interests as expressed in a personal essay, scholarly writing,
and, where possible, a personal interview, and the results of the Graduate
Record Examination. All of our doctoral students, except those who already
have a Master's in Anthropology, are expected to demonstrate their promise
for doctoral study as they complete the requirements for a Master's degree.
M.A. students who wish to continue their studies for a Ph.D. must apply
to the Department for admission. Minimum requirements will normally include
(1) a grade point average of at least 3.5 in all graduate anthropology courses
and at least 3.2 in other courses, and (2) either (i) a grade of pass on
a comprehensive M.A. examination or (ii) a thesis, report, or paper judged
to be of excellent quality by the student's supervisory committee. Entering
students who already have earned a master's degree may apply for direct
admission to the doctoral program. We perform a service function for the
State of Connecticut by providing graduate education to people who are otherwise
employed full-time. Although most of our graduate students take a full load
of courses each semester, a small number of students move through our program
slowly. Since 1995, 30% of our new graduate students have come from historically
underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. Students from the Middle East, East
Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, add further to the diversity
of our graduate program.
Graduate Student Mentorship & Support
The advisory system provides guidance to each entering student. Students are assigned to a major advisor within the Department, and work out a first-semester plan of study with her or him. After the first semester, students are expected to select a Major Advisor and at least two Associate Advisors. The Major Advisor and at least one Associate Advisor must be a member of the Department. The advisory committee determines specific degree requirements, supervises examinations, and eventually approves the dissertation. M.A. degree requirements may be met either by 15 credits of course work plus an acceptable thesis, or 24 credits of course work plus an exam. PhD degree requirements normally entail another 20 or more credits of course work, an appropriate language other than English, a General Examination approved by the student's advisory committee and two outside readers, a dissertation based on field research, and an oral defense of the dissertation before an audience that includes at least five PhDs.
Financial Support of Graduate Study. We encourage students to move through their graduate program quickly. We aim to support all graduate students through Graduate Assistantships (GAs), fellowships, or both. Support typically takes the form of the Graduate Assistantship, which may be full or partial. Such assistantships involve assignment to duties within the department, usually instructional, but sometimes associated with senior faculty research projects. Duties so assigned are limited to 20 hours per week for a full assistantship, proportionately fewer hours for a partial. Award of such assistantships must be recommended by the graduate committee and approved by the department head.
Award of such assistantships and determination of related duties will reflect both the department's needs and resources and the recipient's continuing academic merit and progress toward the degree. Every effort is made to match assignments to the student's level of experience and professional interests.
Ordinarily, we provide GAs in the form of Teaching Assistantships for the first three years of a student's program. We anticipate that a student will undertake field research during the fourth year. And we aim to provide a 4th year of funding to help the student complete the dissertation upon return.
Over the course of the PhD program of study, such awards are reviewed annually, and it is normally expected that no student will hold a Graduate Assistantship, regardless of its fund source, for more than ten aggregated semesters (no more than four semesters during the period of MA study). Exceptions to these limits must be recommended by the graduate committee, and approved by the head. .) Students who have exceeded financial support limits may still be considered for paid teaching assignments, but at a different rate of compensation.
These limits are not intended to restrict additional awards or employment of the sort occasionally available in the department over the normal course of a student's program (e.g. summer or intersession duties, field work support, other types of grant or fellowship, etc.)
Other Forms of Support. Fellowships come from the Graduate School (Minority Fellowships), the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Outstanding Scholar), and internally in the form of the Burroughs fellowship, established by the family of an anthropology alumnus... With funding from the UConn Graduate School, we also offer on a competitive basis summer research grants of up to $1,500 that allow students to explore possibilities for dissertation research, or develop the necessary language or methods skills. Occasionally, we can offer on a competitive basis additional fellowship funds. Doctoral graduate students are eligible for travel funds of up to $1000 from the Office of the VPRGE when they have successfully completed their general examination. Details can be found at http://www.grad.uconn.edu/doctravel.html.
Other Requirements
University requirements exist in addition to departmental ones. Students
are advised that they must meet all University requirements for advanced
degree students, as outlined in the Graduate Catalog. Please refer to the
latest Catalog for this information and a listing of graduate courses here.
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