Degree Requirements - Master of Arts

Degree Programs - M.A. in Anthropology

Work leading to the degree of Master of Arts (M.A.) in Anthropology is designed to give prospective candidates a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of their professional field and training in their methods of research. In addition to the general anthropology M.A. degree, the department offers a nautical archaeology area of specialization through the Nautical Archaeology Program which involves specialized coursework in ship construction and recording, seafaring, and conservation methods.

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Admission Requirements for the M.A. Program

All students entering the M.A. program in Anthropology must satisfy three criteria. They must meet the minimum standards established by Graduate Studies. They must have completed a Bachelor’s degree. Finally, they must be approved by the Department. Acceptance by the department will be based on grade point average as an undergraduate, on GRE scores, and on the compatibility of the student’s proposed research with the expertise and interests of the department faculty. Students entering the M.A. program in recent years have an average grade point average during their last two undergraduate years of 3.4 and an average combined GRE score of 1150. Students who wish to pursue nautical archaeology as an area of specialization, should indicate their interest on their application.

Student's Advisory Committee

Upon admission to the M.A. program the student will be assigned a provisional adviser. The adviser will be a faculty member whose research is related to the topics of interest identified by the student in his or her application materials, but may or may not continue as Advisory Committee Chair. Incoming students should consult with their advisor before registering for classes regarding any background preparation they may need in preparation for the core courses. By the end of the first year, the student should select an Advisory Committee Chair and, in consultation with the chair, select the remainder of the Advisory Committee. The student's Advisory Committee will consist of not fewer than three members of the graduate faculty representative of the student's fields of study and research. Two of the members should be faculty in the department and one must be from outside the department. The duties of the committee include the responsibility for the proposed degree program, thesis research proposal, the thesis and its oral defense.

Degree Plan

A student must prepare a degree plan for approval by his or her Advisory Committee. The degree plan lists the courses that the student will take to satisfy the course requirements of the M.A. degree. This plan must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies before a student can register for the third semester. The degree plan may be modified later by the student with the approval of his or her Advisory Committee. These hours are in addition to the minimum requirements for the M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees and are not listed on the Degree Plan.

All degree plans must include the following:

Residence: An M.A. student must spend one semester in full-time residence beyond the baccalaureate degree.

Core Courses: Students entering the M.A. program are expected to take the following courses: Evolutionary Anthropology (ANTH601), Archaeological Methods and Theory (ANTH602) and Cultural Method and Theory (ANTH604). Students who have taken similar graduate level courses before entering A&M may petition to bypass these courses. Petitions to bypass a course must be made in writing and must include a copy of the syllabus of the equivalent course. Faculty who teach the core course will review the petition and vote to accept or reject it. Students enrolled in the Nautical Archaeology Program replace ANTH601 and ANTH604 with History of Shipbuilding Technology (ANTH615) and Research and Reconstruction of Ships (ANTH616).

Anthropology Courses: All students must take at least 9 credit hours within anthropology (not including ANTH601, ANTH602, or ANTH604 and not including ANTH691 hours).

Quantitative Methods: All students must take Statistics in Research (STAT651). Research Design in Anthropology (ANTH642) is strongly recommended and should be taken after STAT651. Students enrolled in the Nautical Archaeology Program take Conservation of Archaeological Resources I (ANTH605) instead of STAT651.

Outside Electives: All students must take at least 6 hours outside of the Department of Anthropology in subjects related to their research interests. These include such courses as history, geography, geology, ecology, second foreign languages, and other areas of technical or theoretical specialization approved by the student's Advisory Committee. Courses required to satisfy the minimum foreign language requirement and STAT651 cannot be used to meet this requirement. Students enrolled in the Nautical Archaeology Program meet this requirement with a variety of courses offered within the department.

Research Hours: No more than six hours of Research (ANTH691) may be counted toward the degree.

Total Hours:

The degree plan must include 30 credit hours. No more than 9 hours of advanced undergraduate courses (300- or 400-level) can be counted toward the degree.

Time Limit:

Students must complete all requirements within 7 years.

Thesis Proposal

The student must distribute a draft of his or her thesis proposal (in the format specified by the Graduate Studies office) to all committee members during the third semester.

Thesis Defense

The Graduate Studies office must be notified in writing two weeks before a thesis defense can be scheduled. All members of the student’s Advisory Committee must have a copy of the thesis before the defense can be scheduled. For students who qualify under the rules of the university, the oral thesis defense may be waived at the discretion of the committee. The format of the thesis must be acceptable to Graduate Studies. The thesis must be approved by all members of the student’s Advisory Committee and must represent the candidate's ability to conduct independent research and communicate the results of that research.

Foreign Language Requirement

M.A. students are expected to have competence in at least one foreign language. Normally that competence is obtained as an undergraduate student with four semesters of language study. Students entering the program without previous language training will normally be expected to obtain it during their graduate studies. The student’s Advisory Committee will determine the best way to meet these expectations.

Certificate in Historic Preservation

Graduate students in anthropology may be eligible to receive the Certificate in Historic Preservation from the College of Architecture if they meet the following requirements:

Declare their intent to seek the Certificate by filing an Application at the time they file a Degree Plan for their chosen degree.
Add ARCH 646 Theory and Practice of Preservation (3 hours), ANTH 645 Cultural Resources Management, and at least 9 additional hours of coursework with preservation content (including courses in anthropology, geography, and history).
At least three (3) hours must be outside the student's major department.
The degree program must include a thesis with a historic preservation focus.

Continuous Enrollment

Students who have completed the coursework on their degree plans (except for 691 hours) must be registered each fall and spring semester until they graduate. Students who fail to register for a semester will be blocked from registration until they have undergone a favorable recommendation from a departmental review committee, the endorsement of the department head, and the approval of the Office of Graduate Studies.

Award of M.A. Degree

Formal application for the degree must be filed in the Graduate Studies office no later than 90 days prior to the end of the semester. A student must be registered in residence in the University for the semester in which the degree is to be conferred. The style and format of the thesis must be approved by the library thesis clerk and the student must deposit three copies of the thesis in the library before the degree can be awarded. The final copies of the thesis must be deposited within one year of the thesis defense.

September 26, 2003