Graduate study in anthropology is open to individuals with varied undergraduate majors and training backgrounds.
Graduate students normally are admitted under the assumption that they intend to pursue the PhD. The department also offers a terminal MA, with a focus on cultural resource management (CRM) in archaeology, which provides academic preparation for a professional career in that field.
PhD students who enter the program with a bachelor’s degree are typically awarded a master’s degree upon fulfilling program requirements at the end of their second year. The MA portion of the PhD program features coursework across all four subfields of anthropology. Students also are strongly encouraged to conduct independent summer research, which is often supported by departmental and other university-based funding sources.
Graduate students will gain an in-depth understanding of anthropology and the discipline’s contributions to our understanding of people and culture, in the past and present.
Skills for Independent Research
Graduate students will acquire professional and ethical research, reasoning, methodological, and management skills to identify important research problems. They also will learn how to design and execute a project, productively engage with feedback, and successfully report (via writing and presentations) the results of their independent research to diverse sets of audiences.
Teaching Contributions
Graduate students will learn how to communicate anthropological concepts and theories effectively and ethically to different audiences.
Disciplinary, Academic, and Community Contributions
Graduate students will develop service, mentoring, and leadership skills that enable them to advance and support professional, management, academic, and community needs.
The Master of Arts program in anthropology requires 30–36 s.h. of graduate credit, depending on a student's previous anthropological training. Students may count a maximum of 9 s.h. earned in courses outside anthropology toward the MA in anthropology. It is expected that a full-time student will complete all MA requirements by the end of the second year in the program. Students must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.00.
Master's degree students who choose to focus on cultural resource management—archaeology normally do not go on to earn a PhD in anthropology.
By the end of their first semester, each student must select an MA committee, consisting of an advisor and two additional professors. Each year, students compile, in consultation with their advisor, the three strongest papers written for anthropology courses, conferences, or journals; an annotated bibliography; their current curriculum vitae; and a three-page narrative to describe their intellectual trajectory in the MA program to date.
Master's degree students who intend to earn a doctorate should consider taking ANTH:5110 Anthropological Data Analysis or another statistics course during their MA study.
General Coursework
MA students not pursuing the cultural resource management—archaeology focus must complete core seminars in all four subfields (total of 12 s.h.).
In consultation with the advisor and committee members, a student selects a minimum of 18 s.h. of additional coursework to complete the remaining semester hours required for the MA. Elective work may include courses in other disciplines, directed study, and up to 6 s.h. of MA thesis credit for students who choose the thesis option.
Cultural Resource Management—Archaeology Focus
Most archaeological excavations and surveys are conducted as cultural resource management (CRM), so it is essential that all researchers who work with archaeological data and individuals committed to site preservation have a basic understanding of CRM. Students who select this focus area learn about the field and how to address related ethical issues as well as technical and theoretical challenges.
Students must complete the archaeological core graduate seminar. They also must complete a research paper, which is an archaeological study with a substantive data analysis directed toward an explicit archaeological research problem, suitable to meet the section three requirement for the Registry of Professional Archaeologists application form.
The cultural resource management—archaeology focus requires a total of 30 s.h., including 24 s.h. of coursework and 6 s.h. of independent research or thesis credit.
Applicants for admission to the graduate program in anthropology are considered regardless of their previous field of training. Students without previous training in anthropology are expected to perform additional work as necessary to achieve competence expected for their degree objective.
Students normally are admitted under the assumption that they intend to pursue the PhD. Students without an MA in anthropology devote the first two years to fulfilling the MA requirements. After those requirements are completed, the student's committee may award the MA with admittance to the PhD program.
Students with an MA in anthropology from another institution may proceed directly into a PhD program organized around their special research interests. If they lack any of the requirements of the graduate program at the University of Iowa, they are informed of those requirements when admitted. Acceptance of credit hours from other institutions will follow UI regulations.
Applicants for admission to the graduate program must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the Manual of Rules and Regulations on the Graduate College website.
Anthropology graduate program applicants are required to upload the following documentation to the University of Iowa Graduate Admissions online application:
official academic records/transcripts from previous institutions attended;
a brief statement of interest or intent regarding why graduate study in the Department of Anthropology is desired;
three letters of recommendation;
a writing sample (preferably a research paper); and
an application for graduate funding.
Applicants whose first language is not English must submit official test scores to verify English proficiency. Applicants can verify English proficiency by submitting official test scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or the Duolingo English Test (DET). Once recommended for admission, international students also must complete several additional requirements.
For more information concerning the required application elements, see Graduate Admissions Process on the Department of Anthropology website.
When completing the online Graduate College Application for Admission for Degree, applicants currently without an MA or MS in anthropology should enter "MA" regardless of whether they intend to continue on to the doctoral program. Students at the MA level do not write a thesis, so "MA (thesis)" is not an option. This designation refers to the initial program students enter upon admission and in no way limits prospects for continuing on to the PhD program. For questions about which degree option to choose, contact the Department of Anthropology.
Financial assistance, usually in the form of teaching and research assistantships, may be offered to doctoral and potential doctoral students in good standing for up to five years. Students making satisfactory and timely progress through the graduate program are in good standing. Eligibility for financial aid is reduced after two years in the MA program. The amount and types of aid depend on departmental needs.
Students are notified in writing of a provisional financial award before the semester or summer session for which the award has been granted. Although awards are made before the end of the previous semester, each award is contingent upon satisfactory completion of that semester's work by the awardee.
Graduates establish careers at universities, colleges, museums, healthcare institutions, and a diverse range of governmental and nongovernmental agencies. For more information, see Careers and Opportunities on the Department of Anthropology website.
Sample Plan of Study
Sample plans represent one way to complete a program of study. Actual course selection and sequence will vary and should be discussed with an academic advisor. For additional sample plans, see MyUI.
Anthropology, MA
Plan of Study Grid (Manual)
Academic Career
Any Semester
Hours
30 s.h. must be graduate level coursework; graduate transfer credits allowed upon approval. More information is included in the General Catalog and on department website.a, b, c, d
Students who are first-time teaching assistants must also complete ANTH:5001 Graduate Teaching Pro-Seminar.
Students normally are admitted (whether with a master's or a bachelor's degree) under the assumption that they intend to pursue the PhD degree. The department also offers a terminal MA degree, with a focus on cultural resource management-archaeology (CRM).
b
Some students may complete up to 36 s.h. of graduate coursework for the degree, depending on their previous anthropological training. Students should consult with their faculty advisor to determine if this is necessary and, if so, which coursework is appropriate.
c
A maximum of 9 s.h. of coursework outside anthropology may count towards the degree requirements.
d
Students must complete specific requirements in the University of Iowa Graduate College after program admission. Refer to the Graduate College website and the Manual of Rules and Regulations for more information.
e
Composed of three members of the anthropology graduate faculty, one of whom serves as the committee chair, and the student's faculty advisor.
f
Students who conduct research involving human subjects (e.g., ethnographic research in the summer months) are required to submit a detailed application about the scope of their study and data collection methods through the HawkIRB system for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.
g
In consultation with faculty advisor and committee members, students select a minimum of 18 s.h. of additional coursework to complete the remaining semester hours required for the MA; may include courses in other disciplines and up to 9 s.h. of directed study. Students who intend to earn a doctorate should consider taking ANTH:5110 or another statistics course.
h
Compile, in consultation with faculty advisor, the three strongest papers written for anthropology courses, conferences, or journals; an annotated bibliography of 3 topical areas with 5 key annotated references in each; current curriculum vitae; and a three-page narrative to describe intellectual trajectory in the MA program to date.
i
Compile, in consultation with faculty advisor, the three strongest papers written for anthropology courses, conferences, or journals; an annotated bibliography of 3-4 topical areas with 6-10 key references in each; current curriculum vitae; and a three-page narrative to describe intellectual trajectory in the MA program to date.
