Anthropology Major, PhD

Concentrations (Required)

• Archaeology
• Biological Anthropology
• Cultural Anthropology

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Admissions Standards/Procedures

Eligibility

Applicants must have:

• a master’s degree in anthropology (MA or MS), or a minor in anthropology and a degree in a related field.

• a GPA above 3.30 overall in prior graduate work.

Procedures

• Applicants will only be admitted to the PhD 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, PhD program applicants should communicate directly with a potential chairperson in the Anthropology faculty who will be asked to chair or serve on the doctoral committee.

• Submit a formal online application to the PhD 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. Transcripts should be sent directly to Graduate Admissions. The online application will provide instructions for solicitation of 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.

Matriculation

Master’s Candidates in anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who apply and are conditionally accepted into the PhD program can enroll as doctoral students the semester following conferral of the MA.

All other students must apply by December 1^st for admission the following fall and, due to the requirements of the program, must begin their studies in the fall semester.

Credit Hours Required

• 48 graduate credit hours beyond the master’s degree: 24 credit hours coursework plus 24 credit hours of dissertation (ANTH 600).

Required Courses

• A minimum of 30 of the 48 graduate credit hours of coursework must be graded A-F.
• A minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.5 on graduate coursework taken at UT.

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  Coursework must include the three core classes, preferably taken 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)

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• All PhD students must attend the graduate section of the Visiting Lecturer Series (VLS) each year, until formally admitted to candidacy:  ANTH 550 - Contemporary Issues in Anthropology

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  PhD students must demonstrate competence in anthropologically-relevant technical research areas by completing two of the following:

• ANTH 531 - Ethnographic Research Methods

• Graduate level introductory statistics, fulfilled by:

• ANTH 504 - Quantitative Methods for Anthropology OR
• STAT 537 - Statistics for Research I OR
• EEB 560 - Biometry

• Graduate level advanced statistics, fulfilled by:

• ANTH 604 - Bayesian Data Analysis for Natural and Social Sciences OR
• STAT 538 - Statistics for Research II, Regression Modeling

• Note: 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 Doctoral Committee.

   

• ANTH 600 - Doctoral Research and Dissertation (24 credit hours)

Non-Course Requirements

• A formal performance review of each doctoral student’s progress will take place each year.
• Comprehensive Examination, comprising written essay exams followed by an oral defense.
• A formal dissertation proposal must be orally defended.
• The successful completion and final oral presentation and defense of a dissertation.