PhD in Anthropology Southern Methodist University - Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies

Admission Requirements - GRE Optional

• Bachelor’s in Anthropology OR 12+ hours of junior and senior level anthropology courses.
• 3.0+ GPA.
• Transcripts from all institutions attended (post-high school; unofficial documents can be uploaded to your application).
• 3 Letters of Recommendation.
• Résumé.
• Statement of Purpose outlining reasons for wanting to join our Anthropology Department.
• International applicants must provide English Language Proficiency scores if their degree does not meet our waiver requirements.

The Ph.D. program in anthropology offers graduate studies in archaeology and in cultural anthropology (with concentrations in medical anthropology or sociocultural anthropology).

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. degree in anthropology carries the following requirements:

1. Students must complete a minimum of 54 credit hours of approved graduate coursework at SMU, which may include credit hours of dissertation coursework. Up to 24 credit hours may be waived for advanced courses taken elsewhere. In addition, students may test out of advanced courses based on prior graduate-level experiences.
2. The M.A. degree en route to the Ph.D. will be awarded to students who are accepted into the graduate program and who receive a “low pass” or higher on the general M.A. examination in their subfield given at the end of two years’ coursework (36 credit hours). However, only students who achieve a “pass” or higher on this examination may advance into the Ph.D. program.
3. Students must satisfy all curricular requirements as specified by the department faculty. For additional details, students should see the department Redbook.
4. Students must demonstrate an ability to function proficiently in one or more languages selected from among the following: French, German, Russian, Spanish, or substitute languages approved by the department.
5. Students must demonstrate a satisfactory knowledge of analytical methods (quantitative or qualitative, as appropriate).
6. Students must pass a Ph.D. qualifying examination, including an oral defense of a dissertation proposal in their subfield.
7. Students must write and make a successful defense of a dissertation. Degree candidates may concentrate in any subfield except biological anthropology.

Cultural Anthropology (21 Credit Hours)

The following courses are required for students focusing on cultural anthropology:

• ANTH 6319 - Research Methods in Ethnology
• ANTH 6320 - Regional Ethnography
• ANTH 6321 - History of Anthropology, Part One
• ANTH 6322 - History of Anthropology, Part Two
• ANTH 7333 - Advanced Research Methods
• ANTH 7342 - Seminar in Social Organization
• ANTH 7351 - Research Strategies in Ethnology

Additional Requirements (33 Credit Hours)

Additional credit hours may pertain to concentrations in medical anthropology or sociocultural anthropology.

Archaeology (24 Credit Hours)

The following courses are required for students focusing on archaeology:

• ANTH 6300 - World Archaeology
• ANTH 6301 - Principles of Archaeology
• ANTH 6321 - History of Anthropology, Part One
• ANTH 6322 - History of Anthropology, Part Two
• ANTH 6342 - Archaeological Sciences
• ANTH 6387 - Advances in the Practice of Archaeology
• ANTH 7313 - Archaeological Theory
• ANTH 7317 - Archaeological Research Strategies

Additional Requirements (30 Credit Hours)

Students must take at least one course from each of the three groups listed below (Groups B, C, and D) and a second course from one of the first two groups (Group B or C), for a total of 12 credit hours. Students can select up to 18 credit hours of electives from the elective listing of archaeology courses, six credit hours of which can be field school.

Group B

Group B courses include:

• ANTH 6156 - Research in Anthropology
• ANTH 6256 - Research in Anthropology
• ANTH 6302 - Statistics in Anthropology
• ANTH 6324 - Hunter-Gatherers from Past and Present
• ANTH 6332 - Special Problems in Anthropology (archaeological topic)
• ANTH 6351 - Research in Anthropology
• ANTH 6352 - Research in Anthropology
• ANTH 6353 - Research in Anthropology
• ANTH 6354 - Research in Anthropology
• ANTH 6355 - Research in Anthropology
• ANTH 6383 - Geoarchaeology
• ANTH 6386 - The Archaeology of Gender and Sexuality

Group C

Group C courses include:

• ANTH 6325 - Introduction to Osteology I: Human-Animal Interactions
• ANTH 6333 - Laboratory Methods in Archaeology
• ANTH 6388 - Geospatial Archaeology
• ANTH 7321 - Ceramic Analysis for Archaeologists

Group D

Group D courses include:

• ANTH 6310 - The Prehistory of the American Southwest
• ANTH 6368 - North American Archaeology
• ANTH 6385 - Pacific Island Archaeology
• ANTH 7318 - Late Pleistocene Prehistory of North America

Total: 54 Credit Hours