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ANTHR-MA - Anthropology (MA)

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AnthropologyAnthropologyMA - Master of Arts

Program Overview

The MA Degree Program in Anthropology is designed to provide (1) Advanced knowledge of the field of contemporary anthropology (2) Training for independent postgraduate research. The program is organized to facilitate the training of students from different intellectual backgrounds.

Anthropology is devoted to the study of human beings and human societies as they exist across time and space. It is distinct from other social sciences in that it gives central attention to the full time span of human history, and to the full range of human societies and cultures, including those located in historically marginalized parts of the world. It is therefore especially attuned to questions of social, cultural, and biological diversity, to issues of power, identity, and inequality, and to the understanding of dynamic processes of social, historical, ecological, and biological change over time. Education in anthropology provides excellent preparation for living in a multicultural and globally-interconnected world, and helps to equip students for careers in fields including law, medicine, business, public service, research, and ecological sustainability and resource management.

The Department of Anthropology offers a wide range of approaches to the various topics and area studies within anthropology including: archaeology, ecology, environmental anthropology, evolution, linguistics, medical anthropology, political economy, science and technology studies, and sociocultural anthropology. Methodologies for the study of micro- and macro-social processes are taught through the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The department provides students with excellent training in theory and methods to enable them to pursue graduate study in any of the above mentioned subfields of anthropology.

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 not declarable in Axess and will not appear on the transcript.

Minimum Units in the Program

45

Minimum University Units

45
Completion requirement
Fulfill ALL of the following requirements:

Enroll in Anthro 310G for Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters.

Enroll in Anthro 441 Master’s Project in the final quarter of the MA degree program and earn a grade of B or better.

Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 2092601
  • 2117301
AND
Fulfill ANY of the following requirements:
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 1101791
  • 2242911
  • 2054791
OR
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 1101621
  • 1101631

A minimum grade of 'B+' in one graduate-level ANTHRO Theory course from the chosen track is required.

Fulfill ANY of the following requirements:
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 1101791
  • 2242911
OR
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 1101611
  • 1101621
  • 2137951

A minimum grade of 'B+' in one graduate-level ANTHRO Methods course from the chosen track.

Fulfill ANY of the following requirements:
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 2054791
OR
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 1101631

Take at least 4 ANTHRO grad elective courses from the chosen track, listed at the 200-level or higher, taught by Anthropology faculty, and taken as a 5-unit course.

Completion requirement

Submit an approved laboratory research or library-based paper proposal by the last day of instruction in the first quarter of the master's degree program.

Both tracks are required to enroll in course Master’s Project in the final quarter of the MA degree program and earn a grade of B or better.

By Week 6 of Graduating Quarter, submit the Master's paper reviewed by two faculty members (advisor and reader).

  • For the Culture and Society track, the paper can be a field research or library-based research paper.

  • For the Archaeology track, the paper can also be a laboratory research paper.

Optional: Presentation of the master’s research project at the department’s Master’s (Honors) paper presentation event in spring quarter

Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 2117301

Students are encouraged to enroll in ANTHRO 299 for Winter and Spring quarters.

Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 1101292