Requirements
A minimum of 30 course credits in anthropology and a paper is required for the MA (master’s) degree. Of these, at least 21 credits must be in formal courses (as opposed to readings courses, independent study, or thesis credits). Full-time MA students must pass the core course in their declared subfield by the end of their second term in residence (or, for part-time students, before they have completed 18 credits), or petition for a specialized written examination (administered by their MA committee) in lieu of the core course. The MA committee consists of three graduate faculty members. Two must come from the department and include the student’s advisor. The third member can be either from the department or outside of the department. All committees are approved by the faculty of anthropology. The language requirement is the same as for the PhD program. Students must pass a designated “methods” course with a B or better.
For the MA paper, students plan an original research paper with their advisory committee. This committee will also evaluate the final paper. Note that the required paper is not necessarily a “thesis” as defined in Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences requirements (although a thesis, as formally defined, would also satisfy the MA paper requirement).
Note: Anthropology does not currently offer a terminal MA degree in anthropology other than in cases where a PhD student decides to leave the PhD program and wishes to write an MA thesis.
