Anthropology (ANTH)

Anthropology (ANTH)

Program Home Page

Nina G. Jablonski, Head
Department of Anthropology
409 Carpenter Building
814-865-2509
814-863-1474 (fax)
mvs5@psu.edu

Degrees Conferred: Ph.D., M.A.

The Graduate Faculty

Stephen J. Beckerman, Ph.D. (New Mexico) Associate Professor of Anthropology
Anne Buchanan, Ph.D. (Texas) Research Associate for Biological Anthropology
E. Paul Durrenberger, Ph.D. (Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Professor of Anthropology
Ken Hirth, Ph.D. (Wisconsin—Milwaukee) Professor of Archaeological Anthropology
Patricia L. Johnson, Ph.D. (Michigan) Associate Professor of Anthropology, Demography, and Women’s Studies
Jeffrey A. Kurland, Ph.D. (Harvard) Associate Professor of Anthropology and Human Development
Stephen Matthews, Ph.D. (U Wales, College of Cardiff) Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology
George R. Milner, Ph.D. (Northwestern) Professor of Anthropology
Warren T. Morrill, Ph.D. (Chicago) Professor Emeritus of Anthropology
Lee A. Newsom, Ph.D. (Florida) Associate Professor of Anthropology
Joan Richtsmeier, Ph.D. (Northwestern) Professor of Biological Anthropology
William T. Sanders, Ph.D. (Harvard) Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Anthropology
Mark D. Shriver, Ph.D. (Texas) Associate Professor of Anthropology
Dean R. Snow, Ph.D. (Oregon) Professor of Anthropology
Alan Walker, Ph.D. (U London) Evan Pugh Professor of Anthropology and Biology
David L. Webster, Ph.D. (Minnesota) Professor of Anthropology
Kenneth M. Weiss, Ph.D. (Michigan) Evan Pugh Professor of Anthropology
James W. Wood, Ph.D. (Michigan) Professor of Anthropology and Demography

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).

Admission Requirements

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.

Master's Degree Requirements

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.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

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.

Student Aid

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:

HILL FELLOWSHIPS FOR STUDY IN ANTHROPOLOGY
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

The University reserves the right to change the requirements and regulations listed here and to determine whether a student has satisfactorily met its requirements for admission or graduation, and to reject any applicant for any reason the University determines to be material to the applicant's qualifications to pursue higher education. Nothing in this material should be considered a guarantee that completion of a program and graduation from the University will result in employment.

This electronic Graduate Bulletin is a version of the official bulletin of The Pennsylvania State University. It is suggested that users refer to this electronic bulletin when seeking the latest information about the University's academic programs and courses. Printed versions of the Bulletin are also official copies of the programs, courses, and policies in effect at the time of printing.

DATE LAST UPDATED BY PUBLICATIONS: 06/25/07