GEORGE R. MILNER, Head
Department of Anthropology
409 Carpenter Building
814-865-2509
814-863-1474 (fax)
anthropology@psu.edu
Ph.D., M.A.
The master's program is designed to train students in general anthropology. The doctoral program is structured to train students in the following areas of specialization: ethnology (with subspecialization in social anthropology, demographic anthropology, cultural evolution, and ecology); archaeology (with subspecialization in cultural ecology, analytical approaches, technological methods, and culture areas); biological anthropology (with subspecialization in human adaptability, genetics, biological demography, human evolution, and the behavioral biology of human and non-human primates).
Scores from the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), or from a comparable substitute examination accepted by a graduate program and authorized by the dean of the Graduate School, are required for admission. At the discretion of a graduate program, a student may be admitted provisionally for graduate study in a program without these scores. Requirements listed here are in addition to general Graduate School requirements stated in the GENERAL INFORMATION section of the Graduate Bulletin.
Undergraduate preparation must include 12 credits in anthropology and archaeology or their equivalent. A student with an excellent record but who does not meet these requirements may be admitted provided course deficiencies are made up without graduate credit. Students with a 3.00 or higher junior/senior average (on a 4.00 scale) and with appropriate course backgrounds who have research interests directly related to the special anthropological competencies within the department will be considered for admission. The best-qualified applicants will be accepted up to the number of spaces that are available for new students. Exceptions to the minimum 3.00 grade-point average may be made for students with special backgrounds, abilities, and interests.
M.A. candidates may submit either a thesis or a term paper. If the latter is chosen, 6 credits in 500-level courses in the major field must be scheduled in lieu of thesis credits. The M.A. degree may be bypassed by exceptional candidates for the Ph.D. degree.
The communication and foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. degree includes a reading knowledge of a foreign language plus an option from among additional foreign languages, field languages, linguistics, or statistics.
Degree Requirements
Anthropology Ph.D. students may pursue additional training in bioethics through the dual-title Ph.D. program in Bioethics. To qualify for the dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the Anthropology Ph.D. program. In addition, they must satisfy the requirements described below, as established by the Bioethics program committee. Within this framework, final course selection is determined by the student, their Anthropology advisor and their Bioethics program advisor.
Additional Course Work
The dual-title Ph.D. in Anthropology and Bioethics requires eighteen credits of course work, as follows:
Candidacy
In order to be admitted to doctoral candidacy in the dual-title degree program, students must meet the Ph.D. candidacy requirements specified by Anthropology. During the candidacy process, the student will also be assessed for candidacy to the Bioethics program, and at least one member of the candidacy committee must come from the Bioethics program.
Comprehensive Exam
At least one member of the doctoral committee will be a faculty member affiliated with the Bioethics Program. The faculty member (or members) affiliated with the Bioethics Program will be responsible for administering a portion of the comprehensive exam that will require the student to demonstrate an understanding of various theoretical and methodological approaches to bioethics, and an ability to apply them to issues and problems (including, where appropriate, practical problems) in their primary field.
Dissertation and dissertation defense
A dissertation on a bioethics-related topic or with a substantial bioethics component is required of students in the dual-title Ph.D. program. The bioethics-related topic of the dissertation or the bioethics component will be approved by the student's committee.
In addition to the fellowships, traineeships, graduate assistantships, and other forms of financial aid described in the STUDENT AID section of the Graduate Bulletin, the following award typically has been available to post-comprehensive graduate students in this program:
Details available from Professor Nina G. Jablonski, Department of Anthropology, 409 Carpenter Building, University Park campus.
Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.
ANTHROPOLOGY (ANTH) course list
Last Revised by the Department: Summer Session 2011
Blue Sheet Item #: 39-07-006
Review Date: 06/21/2011
Faculty updated: 4/2/12