The Graduate Anthropology Program

The UCSB Department of Anthropology offers courses of study leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. There are three specializations in the MA and Ph.D. programs: archaeology, sociocultural, and biosocial anthropology. Additional specializations are possible within each of these fields. There is an optional Ph.D. Emphasis in Women's Studies, a new Ph.D. emphasis: Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences (QMSS), and beginning in the 2003/04 academic year, it will be possible for graduate students in Anthropology to receive credit for an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Emphasis in Global Studies when they earn their doctorate.

Students entering the program without an MA in anthropology must first satisfactorily complete all the requirements for the MA degree in the department's doctoral program and then may be invited to work toward the Ph.D. degree. Students with an MA degree from another institution normally must take the required coursework, form a contract, pass the comprehensive exams, and prepare a research paper before beginning work on a dissertation, but these requirements may be waived depending on the research background of the student.

Upon admission to the Ph.D. program, the student forms a Ph.D. committee. Students select their dissertation topics in consultation with their Ph.D. committees and submit research proposals by the end of the third year of study. Students entering with an MA degree from another institution normally prepare a research proposal during their second year at UCSB. Acceptance of the dissertation proposal and satisfactory completion of an oral examination permits the student to advance to candidacy. The research proposal can also form the basis for applications for research funding.

Ph.D. students in both archaeology and sociocultural anthropology must spend at least 3 quarters doing fieldwork. The field research normally forms the basis for the dissertation in both programs. Submission and approval of the dissertation qualifies the student for the Ph.D. degree. The University sets a time limit of 4 years for the master's and 7 years for the doctorate. The faculty in Anthropology expect the master's to be completed in 2 years and expect the Ph.D. to be completed in 7 years, which is also the normative time for the Ph.D.

Further information on the Graduate Program can be obtained through our handy online application guide. The deadline for Applications to the graduate program is 1 December for the following Fall Quarter. Information on funding for graduate studies can be found through UCSB's The $ource. Additional information is available at the Graduate Division.

You may also contact the Anthropology Graduate Program Assistant, via phone at (805) 893-2516 or by email.

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Last updated: Oct. 24, 2005 by DL