Masters Program

The master's degree is the first stage in the development of a professional career in anthropology. The MA degree may lead to admission to a Ph.D. program, to a teaching career at the secondary or junior college level, or to other specialized employment, such as cultural resource management in archaeology or applied work in cultural anthropology in the public interest. Most students should complete the MA program within two years of full-time study.

The goal of the MA program is to enable the student to acquire the intellectual foundation and the skills to pursue a career as a professional anthropologist. To do that the student needs to demonstrate the capabilities to complete an MA thesis. This includes the ability to formulate anthropologically interesting problems, the critical ability to apply an appropriate methodology in linking empirical observations with a theoretically informed generalization, a working familiarity with a body of data (e.g. population, cultural area or period), and the ability to demonstrate these competencies in writing.