Applying

The Department welcomes applications from students with bachelor’s degrees in any field. However, we recommend that applicants have taken at least the introductory undergraduate classes in the four subfields of anthropology. Students with a master’s degree in anthropology may apply directly to the Ph.D. program and transfer up to 30 credit hours. Students are encouraged to use the Office of the Bursar tuition and fee estimator for cost information.

The Graduate College sets a minimum GPA of 3.0 for applicants. Although we require the GRE for application, we set no minimum score for consideration. Most important in the decisions for admission are the undergraduate transcript, statement of purpose, and letters of recommendation. Faculty look for an appropriate fit between the applicants’ intellectual interests and the research strengths of the department. To that end, we strongly suggest that applicants contact the graduate liaison, Dr. Paul Spicer , or potential faculty advisors before submitting their completed applications. Also, if you are a McNair scholar, please let us know promptly.

Applicants must submit information to both the Graduate College and the Department.

Please send to the Graduate College:
1. Completed Graduate College Application
2. Official transcripts

Please send to the Department of Anthropology by April 1
(January 31 to be considered for financial support):

1. Statement of Purpose
In no more than two pages, state the research questions that motivate your interest in graduate study. Please list specific faculty you believe would be able to help you achieve your intellectual goals.
2. GRE Scores
Please have the Educational Testing Service forward your scores to the Department. There is no subject test for anthropology.
3. Two Letters of Recommendation
Ask two professors who know your work to attest to your preparation for graduate level study.
4. Graduate Assistantship/Tuition Waiver Application
If you apply before January 31, you will be considered for a graduate assistantship. Fill out the application form and attach a current CV.
5. Copy of Graduate College Application
6. Copies of transcripts
May be unofficial transcripts or photocopies of those sent to the Graduate College

You and your recommenders may e-mail your application materials to Dr. Spicer .

Send hard copies to:
Graduate Liaison
Department of Anthropology
455 West Lindsey Street, Room 521
Norman, OK 73019

 

 

 

Overview
Anthropology has been taught at the University of Oklahoma since 1905 and became its own department in 1927. Celebrated faculty like Morris Opler and Robert Bell established the Department as a leader in the scholarly study of Native North America. In addition to conducting research in the southwest, southeast, and plains of North America, we have maintained a secondary emphasis on contemporary Latin America.

We offer an M.A. in anthropology, an M.A. in applied linguistic anthropology, and the only Ph.D. in anthropology in the state. Students receive rigorous training in the four subdisciplines of anthropology: sociocultural, archaeological, biological, and linguistic.
With over twenty full-time professors and about seventy graduate students, degree candidates receive personalized attention from faculty mentors.

As part of a medium-sized department, our students benefit from the resources of a large research university while enjoying a nurturing intellectual environment. Our graduates have been successful in securing tenure-track academic jobs as well as positions in cultural resource management, museums, and government archaeology. For more information or to set up a meeting with faculty, contact the Graduate Liaison, Dr. Paul Spicer.

Resources
The Department of Anthropology maintains close connections with several academic units across campus. The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, the Oklahoma Archeological Survey, and the Center for Applied Social Research provide research and training opportunities for our students. Also, students can establish linguistic and ethnographic projects with the more than 35 Native American tribal entities across the state. The Department offers laboratory facilities for research in genetic and physical anthropology and archaeology as well as summer field schools in archaeology.

Financial support usually consists of a half-time graduate assistantship, usually as a grader for an undergraduate class or research assistant for a faculty member. Ph.D. students may teach their own classes. We fund master’s students for two years and doctoral students for a maximum of four years beyond the Master’s degree. In recent years, nearly all students who applied for funding received support from the Department. Our students have also been successful in obtaining extramural funding.

Requirements
All M.A. and Ph.D. students will take a core course in each of the four subfields of anthropology. The M.A. requires 30 credit hours, including the four cores, elective seminars, and four hours of thesis research. The Ph.D. requires 90 credit hours, including 30 hours of dissertation research. Students in the M.A. in applied linguistic anthropology take 30 credit hours, substituting linguistic methods courses for the core classes in biological and archaeological theory.

In their first year of the program, doctoral students will work closely with their committees to complete the advisory conference report. That document will list any courses beyond the departmental requirements that the committee deems critical for well-rounded scholarship.  The faculty expects students at both the Ph.D. and M.A. levels to be familiar with the tools necessary for research, including foreign or Native American languages and statistics, and may require students to demonstrate proficiency.

The M.A. can be completed in two to three years following a timeline such as this suggestion:

Master of Arts
30 credit hours = 26 hours coursework + 4 thesis hours

Sociocultural and linguistic track
                                    Fall semester                                     Spring semester

Archaeological and biological track

The Ph.D. is designed to take between five and six years to complete, as shown in this hypothetical timeline:

Doctor of Philosophy
90 credit hours = 60 hours coursework + 30 dissertation hours (Up to 30 hours from M.A. coursework may be counted)

Sociocultural and linguistic track
                                    Fall semester                                     Spring semester

Archaeological and biological track
The archaeology faculty recommends that all Ph.D. students in archaeology take Public Archaeology, an appropriate regional archaeology course, at least one topics course, and at least one methods course. They also recommend that archaeology students take a sociocultural course beyond ANTH 5223

                                    Fall semester                                                                         Spring semester

Applying
The Department welcomes applications from students with bachelor’s degrees in any field. However, we recommend that applicants have taken at least the introductory undergraduate classes in the four subfields of anthropology. Students with a master’s degree in anthropology may apply directly to the Ph.D. program and transfer up to 30 credit hours.

The Graduate College sets a minimum GPA of 3.0 for applicants. Although we require the GRE for application, we set no minimum score for consideration. Most important in the decisions for admission are the undergraduate transcript, statement of purpose, and letters of recommendation. Faculty look for an appropriate fit between the applicants’ intellectual interests and the research strengths of the department. To that end, we strongly suggest that applicants contact the graduate liaison, Dr. Paul Spicer, or potential faculty advisers before submitting their completed applications.

Applicants must submit information to both the Graduate College and the Department.

Please send to the Graduate College:
1. Completed Graduate College Application
2. Official transcripts

Please send to the Department of Anthropology by April 1
(January 31 to be considered for financial support):

1. Statement of Purpose
In no more than two pages, state the research questions that motivate your interest in graduate study. Please list specific faculty you believe would be able to help you achieve your intellectual goals.
2. GRE Scores
Please have the Educational Testing Service forward your scores to the Department. There is no subject test for anthropology.
3. Two Letters of Recommendation
Ask two professors who know your work to attest to your preparation for graduate level study.
4. Graduate Assistantship/Tuition Waiver Application
If you apply before January 31, you will be considered for a graduate assistantship. Fill out the application form [link to it] and attach a current CV.
5. Copy of Graduate College Application
6. Copies of transcripts
May be unofficial transcripts or photocopies of those sent to the Graduate College

You and your recommenders may e-mail your application materials to Dr. Spicer .

Send hard copies to:
Graduate Liaison
Department of Anthropology
455 West Lindsey Street, Room 521
Norman, OK 73019