The master’s program in Anthropology offers the following options for students who seek a Master of Arts (MA) degree:

Degree Options

Students may pursue one of two possible department tracks in the Anthropology MA degree program. The tracks are:

• Archaeology

• Culture and Society

The tracks are not declarable in Axess and will not appear on the transcript.

Admission to the Coterminal Master’s Degree Program

The graduate application deadline for the coterminal MA degree program in Anthropology is December 5, 2023. Stanford University undergraduate majors are eligible to apply for the coterminal MA degree program if:

1. They have a 3.4 GPA in their department major

2. A 3.0 GPA in overall coursework

3. Have no more than one incomplete listed on the transcript at the time of application.

Successful applicants to the MA program may enter only in the following autumn quarter. However, the department may consider a request for early deferral of admission in the spring quarter by petition. Coterminal MA degree applicants are not required to submit their Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores.

Applicants must submit the following:

1. Online Application for Admission to Coterminal Master’s Program

2. Preliminary Program Proposal, Coterminal Degree Program

3. Coterminal Course Approval form

4. Three Letters of Recommendation: Two letters should come from  Anthropology faculty members. The third letter can come from an academic advisor and may be from outside Anthropology. 

5. All relevant transcripts

6. A two to three page, Statement of Purpose (single-spaced)

7. Writing Sample in English: A 10-12 page paper giving evidence of writing ability and the capacity for research, analysis, and original thought at the graduate level and demonstrating the ability to use theory in relation to evidence. If your writing sample is longer than 10-12 pages, please indicate which 10-12 pages should be reviewed by the admissions committee.

See the department’s website for additional information.

For tips on writing Statement of Purpose and Personal Statement Essays, see available resources at the Hume Center for Writing and Speaking. For further information on how to write a personal statement, contact your faculty recommenders. You may also contact current graduate students in Anthropology.

University Coterminal Requirements

Coterminal master’s degree candidates are expected to complete all master’s degree requirements as described in this Bulletin. Coterminal Master’s Program describes university requirements for the coterminal master’s degree. Graduate Degrees describes university requirements for the master’s degree.

The university requires that the graduate advisor be assigned in the student’s first graduate quarter even though the undergraduate career may still be open.

The university also requires that the Master’s Degree Program Proposal be completed by the student and approved by the department by the end of the student’s first graduate quarter.

Course Transfer Undergrad to Graduate

After accepting admission to this coterminal master’s degree program, students may request a transfer of courses from the undergraduate to the graduate career to satisfy the requirements for the master’s degree. Transferring courses to the graduate career requires review and approval of both the undergraduate and graduate programs on a case-by-case basis.

In this master’s program, courses taken two quarters before the first graduate quarter or later are eligible for consideration for transfer to the graduate career. No courses taken before the first quarter of the sophomore year may be used to meet master’s degree requirements.

Course transfers are not possible after the bachelor’s degree has been conferred.

Admission to the Master of Arts in Anthropology

Graduate Degrees describes university requirements for the terminal MA.

The Department of Anthropology offers the terminal MA degree to the following:

1. Stanford graduate students, taking advanced degrees in other departments or schools at Stanford, who are admitted to the terminal MA program in Anthropology.

2. Anthropology PhD students at Stanford University who fulfill the MA degree requirements on the way to the PhD degree.

Current graduate applicants who are taking an advanced degree in other departments or schools at Stanford apply for admission to the MA in Anthropology (on the way to another graduate degree program) by submitting the Intention to Apply - Anthropology MA (for current Stanford Graduate Students) form and the submission of the University Registrar’s Graduate Authorization Petition (submitted via Axess e-forms) by December 5, 2023. If approved, an admitted MA applicant usually matriculates in the MA beginning in the following spring quarter or the following autumn quarter (next academic year).

Anthropology PhD students choosing to take the MA in Anthropology on the way to the PhD are governed by separate requirements described in the Anthropology Ph.D. Guide.

Graduate enrollment at Stanford University for three consecutive quarters of full tuition for at least 45 units is required of all candidates for the terminal master’s degree. MA students in Anthropology must take a minimum of 45 units of coursework with an overall minimum grade point average of 3.0. For the master’s degree, all courses must be at or above the 100 level, and at least 23 of the required 45 units must be taken at either the ANTHRO 200 or 300 level.

The MA program may require more than one year of study. However, full-time students entering the program with appropriate backgrounds should complete the MA degree program within three consecutive calendar quarters after the student’s first quarter of master’s-level enrollment. The university allows no transfer units into the master’s program. To provide a meaningful master’s program within one year, advance planning of coursework with a faculty advisor is required. Requirements for the terminal master’s program must be completed within three years.

Consult the department webpages for further information about the department’s MA degree program requirements.

The deadline for graduate application (via AXESS Graduate Authorization Petition only) to the MA degree program in Anthropology is December 5, 2023. Successful current Stanford student applicants to the MA program may enter in the following spring quarter or in the following autumn quarter (next academic year). The department requires additional terminal M.A. degree program application procedures. The department does not require the GRE test scores for admission to the MA degree program in Anthropology.

Consult the Department webpages.

No financial support is available to students enrolled for the MA degree.