M.A. in Anthropology
Program Requirements
General Requirements
Course Work: Each student must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of courses numbered 500 or above. Without special prior approval of the student's advisor, committee, and the director of graduate studies neither ANTH 691, 692, 693, or 694 (Special Problems Courses) nor ANTH 699 (Thesis Research) will count towards the minimum 30 hours. (Note that there are additional course requirements for two of the three options).
Core Curriculum: All students are required to complete satisfactorily a core curriculum composed of one graduate course in at least three of the four fields of anthropology. These three should be chosen from among: 1) linguistics - ANTH 608 (Advanced Linguistic Anthropology), 2) archeology - ANTH 609 (Advanced Archaeological Anthropology), 3) socio-cultural anthropology – either ANTH 607 (Social Structure) or ANTH 605 (Advanced Cultural Anthropology), and 4) physical anthropology - ANTH 610 (Advanced Physical Anthropology). Additionally, a seminar in Research Methodology (ANTH 510 at UA or ANTH 615 at UAB) is required.
Entering students must provide evidence of having passed introductory level courses in each of the four fields before taking the graduate courses. A student who has not had an introductory course may be required to take or audit the appropriate undergraduate course before enrolling in the graduate course. Credits earned from such preparatory course work may not be applied to the 30 credit hour requirement.
Language/Research Skill Competency: Each student is required to demonstrate competency in a foreign language or research skill. This requirement may be satisfied in several ways including:
Successful completion (meaning a grade of B or better) of at least the second course in a language course sequence such as FR 101/102, GN 101/102, or SPA 101/102.
Certification of competency by examination from the appropriate language department.
Successful completion of a graduate level statistics course such as Sociology 701 or another statistics course subject to the approval of the chair and the program director.
Students must get the approval of their advisor before undertaking any of these options. The student will be responsible for furnishing evidence of completion of this requirement to the director of graduate studies and the department chairman.
M.A. Committee: By the start of the second semester of academic work each graduate student will be required to have identified a faculty member willing to serve as permanent advisor and at least three additional faculty members to comprise an M.A. jury. This committee is subject to final approval by the chair and program director and functions as the principal advisory and research project approval board. The committee may include an external member of the Graduate Faculty.
Comprehensive Examinations: All students must take and pass comprehensive examinations on their knowledge of the field of anthropology. The student will take three-hour written exams in at least three of the four subdisciplines. The selection of the three areas will be made in collaboration with the faculty advisor. The entire anthropology faculty will participate in composing the exam questions and evaluating each student's responses.
The student must take the comprehensive exams before 20 credit hours of course work are completed. The faculty's evaluations will be communicated to the director of graduate studies and to the chairman of the department.
Interinstitutional Requirement
Students must take at least 6 hours of graduate credit at the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) as required by the Interinstitutional MA.
Three Plans of Study for the Master's Degree
In addition to choosing one of the two program options outlined above, the student must satisfy the requirements for one of the following three plans of study. Choice of the plan of study must be made by the student in consultation with the M.A. Committee and the faculty advisor.
Thesis Option: Thirty (30) hours of non-thesis course work, successful completion of the comprehensive examinations, plus a master's thesis. A student electing this plan of study will be required to conceive and execute a research project under the direction of his or her M.A. committee. A student should present a research project plan to the committee before twenty hours of course work have been completed. The student's advisor will convene the committee as necessary to discuss, refine, and approve this plan. After twney hours of course work are completed, the student may enroll in ANTH 699 (Thesis Research). The purpose of this coursework is to provide a structure for supervised contact hours with the student’s faculty advisor. Such coursework, including the decision as to the number of contact hours required, must be pre-arranged in consultation with the faculty advisor. Hours completed in ANTH 699 must be over and above the 30-hour minimum.
In preparing a thesis, the student should consult the booklet, A Manual for Students Preparing Theses and Dissertations available from the Graduate School.
Students who take the thesis option will present a departmental colloquium based on the results of their research in the final semester in residence. Students should consult their faculty advisor and the director of graduate studies in scheduling and posting advance notice of their colloquia.
Non-thesis Research Project Option: Thirty-six (36) hours of non-thesis course work plus successful completion of one of the following:
Presentation of a research paper at a national meeting which has been approved in advance by the student's M.A. Committee.
Acceptance for publication of a research paper submitted to a refereed journal which has been approved in advance by the student's M.A. Committee.
In either case, it will be the responsibility of the student's committee to approve a written draft of the research paper. Approval of the paper will be conveyed in writing to the director of graduate studies and to the department chairman by the student's advisor. Final approval of the research project requirement is at the discretion of the M.A. committee.
Students who elect the thesis option will be required to defend their thesis before a departmental committee in the final semester of residence.
Non-thesis Option by Examination: Thirty-six (36) hours of non-thesis course work and successful completion of written and oral examinations.
