Anthropology

The general objective of this graduate program is the preparation of students who are able to work as proficient, well-rounded professionals upon award of their degrees. Thus, graduate students in Anthropology are required to master specific subject matter in the discipline and to demonstrate originality and independent creativity in appropriate areas of research. Anthropology graduate students are encouraged to develop breadth, as well as specialized depth, in the field. They are also expected to gain experience in teaching and in other professional activities, including presenting and publishing their research.

Students beginning graduate work in anthropology are expected to be conversant with the field as evidenced by successful completion of introductory course work in at least three of the four subfields of anthropology, plus at least two advanced undergraduate courses in different subfields. Students admitted without this minimum of preparation will be expected to remove any deficiencies before being granted full graduate standing.

Students working toward the Master of Arts degree in anthropology, in addition to fulfilling the general requirements of the Graduate School for the degree, must complete, and be evaluated on, a core program, normally comprising four to six specified courses, that has been developed in consultation with the student's advisor and the department's Graduate Studies Committee . The core program is normally completed in the first two to three semesters of graduate work. Students complete the M.A. degree requirements through additional coursework or with an M.A. thesis.

Courses

• 515 Primate Anatomy
• 520, 521 Economic Anthropology I, II
• 527 Repatriation and Issues of Cultural Property
• 529 Archaeology of Northeastern North America
• 577 Summer Field School in Archaeology
• 578 Theory and Method in Archaeology
• 588 Field and Lab Methods in Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology
• 621 Prehistoric Cultural Ecology
• 622 Historical Archaeology
• 627 Archaeology of Food
• 641, 642 Theory and Method in Social Anthropology I, II
• 649 European Prehistory
• 652 Indigenous Archaeologies
• 660 Seminar in European Anthropology
• 664 Problems in Anthropology
• 670 Contemporary Issues of Native American Indians: Northeast
• 680 Field Course in European Anthropology
• 681 Quantitative Methods in Anthropology
• 683 Contemporary Anthropological Theory
• 685 Seminar in European Anthropology II
• 699 Master’s Thesis
• 745 Revolution and Social Change
• 748 Language and Culture
• 775 Methods in Anthropological Research
• 784 Human Adaptability

• A completed Application Form.
• A $75 application fee. This fee cannot be waived or deferred.
• International Student Sponsor Statement is required of all international students.
• One official transcript from all colleges/universities attended, undergraduate and graduate, where (nine) 9 or more credits were taken are required. If they are not mailed directly from the college/university, they should be enclosed in sealed envelopes signed by the college/university.  If the official transcripts and/or degree certificate(s) are not in English, notarized English language translations in duplicate must accompany them. Do not list colleges/universities where (eight) 8 or fewer credits were taken.
• Letters of recommendation (academic references) from two (2) professors or instructors who have taught you in courses in the field you are applying to here. After submission of the electronic application, we will send an email to each referee giving them instructions on how to electronically deliver the recommendation to the Graduate School. All recommendations will be considered confidential unless the applicant doesn't waive his/her right of access.
• Scores from the following standard examinations:
  • GRE (Graduate Record Examination)-General Test required by nearly all graduate programs - (refer to Degrees and Programs Offered)
  • GRE SUBJECT TEST (not a universal requirement-refer to the Programspage for those programs requiring a Subject Test)
  • GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test)-for graduate applicants to Management, Hospitality & Tourism Management, and Sport Management


  • English Language Test: Either TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), or IELTS (International English Language Testing System)-only the academic version of test is accepted, or PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English)

Scholarships

The University does not award student funding of any kind unless this is explicitly stated in writing by the graduate department to which the applicant has applied. Assistance in the form of a teaching or research assistantship is becoming increasingly limited. Tuition scholarships and fellowships are few and are not usually awarded during the first year of attendance, before the student has an academic performance record at the University itself. All applicants should plan on being self-financed, without recourse to part-time employment at the University, at least through the first academic year, unless they have specifically been offered some form of assistance by the department.

 Recommendations from the student's academic program play an important part in determining who will be awarded these waivers of tuition, and competition for the tuition scholarships is great. Those incoming graduate students who have not received any other type of financial assistance and who are interested in applying for a tuition waiver should contact their department directly. Applicants should be aware that the competition for new student tuition waivers is intense. Very few waivers are granted to new students and the few that are granted, are based only on departmental recommendations.

Graduate Assistantships


The University offers a number of teaching and research assistantships in the instructional and research programs of various departments. Stipends vary greatly from as little as $5,000 for a half assistantship to $16,000 for a full assistantship for the calendar year. International applicants who are awarded assistantships, and who have no supplemental means of support, must make sure that the assistantship is adequate to meet their minimum financial needs, refer to Estimate of Expenses. Graduate assistants are not required to pay tuition charges provided their stipend is $5,000 or higher ($ 2,500 is the minimum for a one semester waiver of tuition and most fees). Assistantships are awarded for a maximum of one academic year at a time. A graduate assistantship is not a scholarship, and a full assistantship requires a work contribution by the student averaging 20 hours per week, and Federal and State income taxes will be withheld from earnings.

Research Assistantships


A number of research assistantships, with no teaching duties, are available to qualified graduate students in various departments. Funds are provided by either private industry, the U.S. Government (especially in agriculture, engineering, and the sciences), or by the University itself.

Teaching Assistantships


Many departments offer teaching assistantships to qualified, enrolled graduate students. International applicants are eligible for these assistantships. Since teaching assistantships involve instruction, all incoming students who have been awarded a teaching assistantship and whose native language is not English must demonstrate oral English proficiency, either by passing the Test of Spoken English administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) before their arrival on campus at their own expense or by passing the SPEAK test upon arrival at no cost to the student. In order to pass the TSE or SPEAK test, students must score 50 or above.

University Fellowships


These Fellowships are awarded to graduate students on a very competitive basis and are intended to help superior students pursue graduate study without a work requirement and obtain a degree in the minimum possible time. They are normally awarded only after a graduate student has completed two semesters at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A University Fellowship is for only one year. A tuition waiver accompanies a University Fellowship, and no service is required.