Degrees & Programs Offered
Undergraduate Degree Programs
The UAF Anthropology Department is committed to scholarship and research in anthropology with a general geographic focus on the circumpolar regions of the north, as well as research and instruction covering a variety of other world areas and topical subjects. The undergraduate program aims to give students a solid introduction to the discipline, with the opportunity to concentrate study in one or more of the four sub-fields, and to gain research experience and training in the field and in the laboratory.
The teaching and research activities in the department cover the four sub-fields of the discipline:
ANTH F336 Ethnomycology (s)
3 Credits
Offered Spring
An integrated perspective of humanities and social sciences on human-fungi relationships, with concentration on the role of mushrooms in food, medicine, art, commerce, spirituality, and recreation in societies around the world, past and present. Mushroom harvesting in communities around Alaska is one of the extensively covered topics.
All students are required to take 200-level core courses in three out of the four sub-disciplines, as well as a 300-level course in the History of Anthropological theory. Overall synthesis for the program is accomplished in a 400-level senior seminar that brings the four sub-fields to bear on a particular research topic (migration, human environment relationships, etc.). Additional degree requirements vary relative to the program of study.
Beyond the 5 core courses, social/cultural concentrators must select 6 electives (4 at the 400-level) from an array of theory-and-method, ethnographic, and topical courses.
The theory-and-method courses offer training in sub-disciplinary specializations, such as economic or political anthropology, and provide both an extension of ideas learned earlier and analytical tools that can be used in topical and ethnographic courses. Ethnographic courses afford students the opportunity to come to know particular culture areas well. The Department of Anthropology also offers special Topic Courses, which allow the students to receive advanced training on current topics in which faculty members specialize.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Field schools are offered in the summer and provide an introduction to practical and important elements of archaeological fieldwork including excavation, cataloging, mapping and other field survey techniques. Basic laboratory techniques include identifying cultural remains, cataloging finds and basic artifact analyses. Field trips will visit additional cultural sites, and evening lectures will include regional prehistory, history, geomorphology and ecology.
The office of Undergraduate Research & Scholarly Activity (URSA) is UAF's resource
for the development and promotion of experiential learning activities that engage
undergraduate students to support UAF's goal to become a leading student-focused research
university. Undergraduate research and creative activity at UAF covers all disciplines,
from climate sciences to music, engineering, anthropology, life sciences, art and
theater.
Consider an honors degree
We highly encourage all anthropology majors to consider matriculating in the Honors College in order to complete an undergraduate Honors Capstone Project.
The Honors Capstone Project is meant to be the culmination of the Honors experience for each student in the Honors College. The Honors Capstone requirement is intended to provide the student with a scholarly endeavor incorporating the range of concepts and techniques learned during the undergraduate career, as well as the synthesis of knowledge gained during college. The goal is for the student to be exposed to a set of perspectives, and through critical thinking to develop a novel perspective. Students develop a project with a faculty adviser in an area of interest to the student.
Have you chosen your minor? The very interdisciplinary nature of the College of Liberal Arts means that you have so many options when it comes to tailoring your degree program so that it is just right for you. Here are some minors that students have paired with a B.A. in Anthropology:
Minor in Anthropology
Graduate Degree Programs
UAF's graduate program in Anthropology offers study in the four subfields of anthropology: social/cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. The UAF Department of Anthropology is committed to scholarship and research in anthropology with a general geographic focus on the circumpolar regions of the north as well as research and instruction covering a variety of world areas and topical subjects. The teaching and research activities in the department cover the four sub-fields of the discipline: archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic and social/cultural anthropology. The graduate program offers students the opportunity to concentrate study in one of the four sub-fields, to gain research experience and training in the field and in the laboratory, and emphasizes empirical and applied studies.
M.A. in Anthropology
The master's degree program prepares students to:
- pursue more advanced training leading to a PhD in anthropology,
- teach anthropology within secondary education and/or undergraduate levels of higher education, or
- pursue career positions in various levels of government and business in which anthropological training and/or expertise is beneficial.
M.A. students will acquire a comprehensive understanding of their subfield of concentration including its history, current theoretical perspectives, and research methodologies. They will furthermore be able to write fundable research proposals and produce professional reports and/or publishable papers and/or museum projects. Students will be able to independently design and conduct archival, laboratory and/or field research.
Current and prospective anthropology graduate students should also directly contact a member of the faculty that would potentially serve as a thesis advisor.
We recommend that prospective applicants review the graduate student manual to understand the structure and degree requirements of our MA program.
Having trouble viewing the PDF in Firefox?
The Firefox integrated PDF viewer can't handle all of the formats and features supported by the Adobe plugin (yet). To solve the problem: How to disable the built-in PDF viewer and use another viewer.
M.A. Degree Map
Admission Requirements
The department receives many applications for graduate studies and admits the most qualified students in the applicant pool. Due to an increasingly large number of applications, our faculty has developed the following priorities for accepting students into the graduate program:
Students with undergraduate degrees in fields other than anthropology should have some course-work in the discipline (15 or more credits), e.g. a minor. If this requirement is not met, this does not automatically preclude admission, but you should expect to take background courses in anthropology over and above the basic requirements of the graduate program. In addition to the course-work in anthropology, we also weigh courses taken in disciplines related to your anthropological interests (e.g. biology courses for a physical anthropology emphasis, social sciences courses for a cultural anthropology emphasis, linguistics for a language and culture emphasis, geology courses for an archaeology emphasis).
We no longer require GRE scores.
Your statement of goals is very important; it should not only explain your background preparation for graduate study, but also your ideas for research - you may not have a specific project developed at this point, but you should have some fairly specific ideas about the direction you want to go. The statement should also show a compatibility with the expertise of our faculty. The department, for example, has a strong focus on the peoples of the circumpolar north (language, culture, biology, prehistory and history).
Applications
After browsing the websites for the Anthropology Department and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, you should be in a position to make an informed decision on the appropriateness of our university and its programs relative to your own areas of interest. Contacting one or more Anthropology Department faculty members before submitting an application is strongly advised.
Applicants should apply to a graduate degree program at least six to nine months before the beginning of the semester in which they plan to enroll.
Graduate students are strongly encouraged to apply early. Applications received near the deadline will be processed as time permits or may be considered for the following semester.
Should you decide to apply for admission to our graduate program, please go to UAF Admissions to begin the application. Please submit all parts of your application to Graduate Admissions, this includes:
We no longer require GRE scores.
If you wish to be considered for departmental funding, please fill out the application and send it to the Graduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Sveta Yamin-Pasternak (syamin@alaska.edu).
Deadlines for application to the anthropology graduate program are:
- March 15: Fall admission with consideration for departmental funding
- October 15: Renewal of TAship for Spring term
- October 15: Spring admission (no departmental funding available for mid-year applicants).
NOTE: These departmental deadlines are different from those listed on other UAF web sites.
M.A. Committee
Primary Advisor (Committee Chair)
Students will be assigned an interim advisor with whom they will meet during the first semester. A permanent advisor should be chosen as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the second semester. This person will serve as the Chair of the Advisory Committee. While the Advisory Committee Chair will assist with identifying possible committee members, it is the student’s responsibility to meet with other faculty to discuss their potential service on the committee. When the committee is formed, the student and Advisory Committee Chair will file the Appointment of Advisory Committee form with the Graduate School.
Advisory Committee
Advisory Committees set requirements and guide students through their programs of study and research. Students are responsible for arranging meetings and consultations with their Advisory Chair and other committee members and for arranging periodic meetings of the Advisory Committee. The student should set a meeting with the committee by the end of the second semester at the latest. Students may wish to change their Advisory Committee Chair or a member of their committee during the course of their studies. To do so, a student must first notify their Chair and then file a new Appointment of Advisory Committee form, showing the change(s) with required signatures.
Course Requirements
Students must complete a minimum of 24 credits of coursework and 6 credits of non-thesis research/project or thesis.
On top of the 6 credit non-thesis research/project or theses, students must also complete ANTH F629 & ANTH F652, four semesters of a foreign language or proficiency in a research tool and 18 credits established by their advisory committee.
Comprehensive Exam
M.A. students typically complete the comprehensive exam during the third semester of fulltime graduate study. The topics of the exam will be decided by the Advisory Committee in consultation with the student and will be concentrated in the student's subfield(s). The aim of the exam is to test general competence in the broad subject areas of the student's training and is therefore not specifically tied to the student's research project.
A student is eligible to apply for advancement to candidacy after passing the comprehensive exam and obtaining approval of their thesis proposal from the Advisory Committee.
Thesis Proposal
Each student is expected to prepare a written research proposal in their subfield(s). The research proposal should be a clear statement of the research problem and its significance. The proposal should reflect a thorough literature review that addresses the general area of the research problem. The student should explain the methodology or research strategy that will be employed in researching the topic, and this should also be substantiated with references to relevant literature. The written proposal will be reviewed and approved by the student’s Advisory Committee. When the Advisory Committee approves the proposal, the student must submit the signed Proposal Approval form to the Graduate Studies Coordinator (syamin@alaska.edu) and the Department Administrative Assistant (uaf-anthropology@alaska.edu).
Thesis & Defense
It is expected that by the end of their first year in the program the student will have defined a thesis topic. The student will be guided in completion of the thesis by their Advisory Committee, with primary responsibility resting with the Advisory Committee Chair. The thesis must be at least 14,000 words in length and not more than 50,000 words (excluding bibliography, figures, tables and appendices). Upon approval of the written draft by the Advisory Committee, the student will present and defend their thesis in a session open to the public known as the defense.
The student must submit the Defense Approval Form to the Graduate Studies Coordinator (syamin@alaska.edu) and the department administrative assistant (uaf-anthropology@alaska.edu) at least 3 weeks in advance of the scheduled defense. The information will be shared with students, faculty and department webpage and social media managers for public advertising. This process ensures that all faculty and students are aware of the upcoming defense. Students must also create and post flyers to advertise the event (the departmental administrative assistant can provide students access to the photocopier). The flyer should include the presentation title, abstract, as well as the date, time, and location of the defense. If the defense will be held online in Zoom, the zoom link should not be advertised publicly (to avoid zoom-bombing), but rather members of the public should be advised regarding who to contact (name and email address) to obtain a Zoom join link and passcode. Students are encouraged to share a pdf file of their flyer with the Graduate Studies Coordinator and department administrative assistant at the same time as they submit the Defense Approval Form. Students are required to advertise a minimum of 2 weeks in advance of the defense. If the process is not followed, the student WILL NOT be allowed to defend and the defense will be postponed until the advertising requirement has been met.
Final Thesis
The thesis must be prepared in accordance with the Graduate School’s thesis requirements. Once the final draft has been approved in the proper format a pdf version must be submitted to the department office. Students attempting to graduate in the semester of the defense must plan in advance:
- Apply for graduation
- Allow appropriate time after the defense for revisions and final formatting
Defense date (with post-defense time for preparing the final document) should take into account the following deadlines (i.e., defenses typically take place in September/October for Fall and January/February for Spring graduations)
- Final thesis due to CLA mid-November or mid-March
- Final thesis due to Graduate School late November or early April
For more details the structure, contents and timeline of the thesis, please see the M.A. Student Handbook.
Browse previous anthropology graduate thesis work through ScholarWorks.
Funding
There are many opportunities for graduate students to apply for funding, from research grants to scholarships to TAships and more. Visit our Student Funding Opportunities page for suggestions on where to begin.
Ph.D. in Anthropology
UAF's Department of Anthropology offers study in the four subfields of anthropology: social/cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. The Departmental focus is the past and contemporary peoples of the circumpolar North, although faculty expertise extends to other geographic regions, including Latin America, Asia, Oceania and the continental US. The PhD program offers students the opportunity to concentrate study in one of the four sub-fields, to gain research experience and training in the field and in the laboratory, and emphasizes empirical and applied studies. The curriculum is flexible and students are not required to complete courses in all four subfields, rather they work closely with their advisory committee to develop a tailored program of study that includes the theoretical and methodological frameworks of their chosen subfield and the sociohistorical and geographic context of their field sites.
Ph.D. students will further develop and demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of their subfield of concentration including its history, current theoretical perspectives, and research methodologies, as well as an in-depth understanding of topics directly related to their planned research project. They will furthermore be able to write fundable research proposals and produce professional reports, publishable papers, and books. Students will be able to independently design and conduct archival, laboratory and/or field research.
We recommend that prospective applicants review the graduate student manual to understand the structure and degree requirements of our PhD program.
Having trouble viewing the PDF in Firefox?
The Firefox integrated PDF viewer can't handle all of the formats and features supported by the Adobe plugin (yet). To solve the problem: How to disable the built-in PDF viewer and use another viewer.
Ph.D. Degree Map
Admission Requirements
The department receives many applications for graduate studies and admits the most qualified students in the applicant pool. Due to an increasingly large number of applications, our faculty has developed the following priorities for accepting students into the graduate program:
Students with undergraduate degrees in fields other than anthropology should have some course-work in the discipline (15 or more credits), e.g. a minor. If this requirement is not met, this does not automatically preclude admission, but you should expect to take background courses in anthropology over and above the basic requirements of the graduate program. In addition to the course-work in anthropology, we also weigh courses taken in disciplines related to your anthropological interests (e.g. biology courses for a physical anthropology emphasis, social sciences courses for a cultural anthropology emphasis, linguistics for a language and culture emphasis, geology courses for an archaeology emphasis).
We no longer require GRE scores.
Your statement of goals is very important; it should not only explain your background preparation for graduate study, but also your ideas for research - you may not have a specific project developed at this point, but you should have some fairly specific ideas about the direction you want to go. The statement should also show a compatibility with the expertise of our faculty. The department, for example, has a strong focus on the peoples of the circumpolar north (language, culture, biology, prehistory and history).
Admission to the PhD program is more restrictive than admission to the MA program. PhD applicants are expected to fulfill all the criteria outlined above, plus have a Master's degree in anthropology, a well defined research problem, and evidence of ability to do independent theoretically informed research and writing. Individuals with undergraduate and graduate degrees in disciplines other than anthropology are not encouraged to apply to the PhD program.
Applications
After browsing the websites for the Anthropology Department and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, you should be in a position to make an informed decision on the appropriateness of our university and its programs relative to your own areas of interest. Contacting one or more Anthropology Department faculty members before submitting an application is strongly advised.
Should you decide to apply for admission to our graduate program, please go to UAF Admissions to begin the application. Please submit all parts of your application to Graduate Admissions. This includes:
We no longer require GRE scores.
If you wish to be considered for departmental funding, please fill out the application and send it to the Graduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Sveta Yamin-Pasternak (syamin@alaska.edu).
Deadlines for application to the anthropology graduate program are:
- March 15: Fall admission with consideration for departmental funding
- October 15: Renewal of TAship for Spring term
- October 15: Spring admission (no departmental funding available for mid-year applicants).
NOTE: These departmental deadlines are different from those listed on other UAF web sites.
Ph.D. Committee
Primary Advisor (Committee Chair)
Students will be assigned an interim advisor with whom they will meet during the first semester. A permanent advisor should be chosen as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the second semester. This person will serve as the Chair of the Advisory Committee. While the Advisory Committee Chair will assist with identifying possible committee members, it is the student’s responsibility to meet with other faculty to discuss their potential service on the committee. When the committee is formed, the student and Advisory Committee Chair will file the Appointment of Advisory Committee form with the Graduate School.
Advisory Committee
Advisory Committees set requirements and guide students through their programs of study and research. Students are responsible for arranging meetings and consultations with their Advisory Chair and other committee members and for arranging periodic meetings of the Advisory Committee. The student should set a meeting with the committee by the end of the second semester at the latest. Students may wish to change their Advisory Committee Chair or a member of their committee during the course of their studies. To do so, a student must first notify their Chair and then file a new Appointment of Advisory Committee form, showing the change(s) with required signatures.
Course Requirements
Students must complete a minimum of 18 thesis credits through coursework established by their advisory committee.
Students will complete coursework in anthropology and related fields as determined by their committee. They will also complete one foreign language and a research tool, or two foreign languages.
Comprehensive Exam
The Comprehensive Exam provides the student with an opportunity to demonstrate their
broad training in anthropology and a mastery of a) anthropological theory, b) research
methods, and c) cultural area/region. In completing the exam, the student will synthesize
their understanding of that scholarship in relation to their own dissertation research
as well as broader contributions to their subfield(s) of anthropology. Students are
expected to complete their Comprehensive Exam no later than the eighth semester of
graduate study. In consultation with their Advisory Committee, students must choose
one of the following exam formats: 1) three
timed essays, 2) three synthesizing papers, or 3) a combination of options 1 and 2.
Each student is expected to prepare a written research proposal. The written proposal will be reviewed and approved by the student’s Advisory Committee. When the Advisory Committee approves the proposal, the student must submit the signed Proposal Approval Form to the Graduate Studies Coordinator (syamin@alaska.edu) and the Department Administrative Assistant (uaf-anthropology@alaska.edu).
Ph.D. prospectuses are presented publicly.
The student must submit the Defense Approval Form by email to the Graduate Studies Coordinator (syamin@alaska.edu) and the department administrative assistant (uaf-anthropology@alaska.edu) at least 3 weeks in advance of the scheduled defense. The information will be shared with students, faculty and department webpage and social media managers for public advertising. This process ensures that all faculty and students are aware of the upcoming defense.
Students must also create and post flyers to advertise the event (the departmental administrative assistant can provide students access to the photocopier). The flyer should include the presentation title, abstract, as well as the date, time, and location of the defense. If the defense will be held online in Zoom, the zoom link should not be advertised publicly (to avoid zoom-bombing), but rather members of the public should be advised regarding who to contact (name and email address) to obtain a Zoom join link and passcode. Students are encouraged to share a pdf file of their flyer with the Graduate Studies Coordinator and department administrative assistant at the same time as they submit the Defense Approval Form. Students are required to advertise a minimum of 2 weeks in advance of the defense. If the process is not followed, the student WILL NOT be allowed to defend and the defense will be postponed until the advertising requirement has been met.
Browse previous anthropology graduate thesis work through ScholarWorks.
There are many opportunities for graduate students to apply for funding, from research grants to scholarships to TAships and more. Visit our Student Funding Opportunities page for suggestions on where to begin.