Anthropology Major, MA

Concentrations (Required) and Options Available

• Archaeology (Thesis)
• Biological Anthropology (Thesis)
• Cultural Anthropology (Thesis)
• Mediterranean Archaeology (Thesis)

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Admissions Standards/Procedures

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university with a major in anthropology or related field. Applicants with a major in a related field will be considered, preferably with an accompanying formal minor in anthropology or its equivalent.
• Have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.50 in the major, and a minimum GPA of 3.30 overall.

Procedures

• Applicants will only be admitted to the MA degree program if appropriate faculty members are available to chair and serve on their committee. Prior to submitting the application, and as early as possible before the deadline, MA program applicants should communicate directly with a potential chairperson in the Anthropology or Classics (in the case of the Mediterranean Archaeology concentration) faculty who will be asked to chair or serve on the MA committee.
• Submit a formal online application to the MA program in Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Office of Graduate Admissions, by December 1^st for consideration for admission in the Fall of the following academic year (no Spring admissions). Transcripts should be sent directly to Graduate Admissions. The online application will provide instructions for specifying a concentration and for submitting three required letters of recommendation.
• The Department of Anthropology additionally requires the following as part of the application: 

o    A Letter of Intent, indicating career goals and reasons for selecting the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the preferred major professor (advisor) from among the department’s tenure-line faculty. 
o    A sample of original written work, such as a class paper, research report, or publication.

Credit Hours Required

Minimum of 30 graduate credit hours.

Required Courses

• Note: Because of the structure of first-year studies, MA students must plan to begin their studies in the Fall semester.

  The minimum of 30 graduate credit hours must include:

• ANTH 500 - Thesis (minimum 6 credit hours) Note: 3 credit hours of ANTH 500 must be taken in the semester in which the thesis is accepted by the Graduate School (i.e., the final semester).
• At least 20 graduate credit hours at the course 500-level or above.
• 24 graduate credit hours in coursework graded A-F, in which a minimum of 12 graduate credit hours must be in the major subject (Anthropology).

•  

  Coursework must include three Anthropology Core classes taken, ideally in the first year:

• ANTH 510 - Method and Theory in Cultural Anthropology (3 credit hours)
• ANTH 560 - Theory in Archaeology (3 credit hours)
• ANTH 590 - Theory in Biological Anthropology (3 credit hours)

•  

  In consultation with the major professor and/or guidance committee, an additional course from an anthropology concentration besides the student’s primary concentration, or from outside the department. Students in the Mediterranean Archaeology concentration may select courses offered in Anthropology (ANTH), Classics (CLAS), or History (HIST).

•  

  All MA students must attend the graduate section of the Visiting Lecturer Series:

• ANTH 550 - Contemporary Issues in Anthropology

•  

  Students must demonstrate competence in anthropologically-relevant methods appropriate to their concentration by completing any one of the following:

• ANTH 531 - Ethnographic Research Methods
• ANTH 504 - Quantitative Methods for Anthropology
• ANTH 604 - Bayesian Data Analysis for Natural and Social Sciences
• STAT 537 - Statistics for Research I
• STAT 538 - Statistics for Research II, Regression Modeling
• EEB 560 - Biometry

• Note: Graduate courses in other qualitative or quantitative research methods, such as in mixed methods, information technology, or GIS may be substituted for these requirements, as approved by the student’s major professor and/or guidance committee.

Non-Course Requirements

• A formal performance review of each MA student’s progress will take place each year.
• Successful completion of the thesis proposal in an oral presentation.
• Successful completion of the written thesis in an final oral presentation and examination.