PhD Minor

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.

To request the PhD minor in Anthropology:

1. Identify a PhD minor advisor from the Department of Anthropology tenure-line faculty opens in a new tab. 

   • The Department of Anthropology requires the PhD minor advisor to serve as a member on the student's dissertation reading committee and university oral examination committee.

2. Submit the following forms and paperwork to the department Student Services Manager opens in a new tab for review by the Department of Anthropology Director of Graduate Studies (DGS)

   • Signed Anthropology, PhD Minor Plan of Study Form opens in a new tab 

   • Approved pre-dissertation or dissertation proposal

3. Submit a university application for PhD minor, outlining a program of study approved by the major and minor departments, via Axess eForms (at the time of admission to candidacy) once the PhD minor is approved by the Anthropology DGS.