 Graduate Program
General Information
This page provides a general guide for students seeking the Master of Arts in Anthropology, including information about how to apply to the graduate program, seek advising, and begin work toward a graduate degree. The graduate curriculum is described and explanation of degree requirements are set forth. Students should read the Bulletin of the Graduate Division of the University published annually in May. The current Bulletin can also be accessed via the web at http://coursecat.sdsu.edu/bulletin/index.html. To order the Bulletin, write the Graduate Coordinator, Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-6040 or email the department office at anthro@mail.sdsu.edu.
Students are also advised to contact the Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Ramona Pérez (office: Arts and Letters, Room 377; phone: 619-594-1155). She is responsible for advising students, procedural matters, record maintenance, and she serves as a coordinator between students and the Graduate Division.
The Master of Arts degree has two main objectives:
1. to train students interested in a Master of Arts degree with a sufficiently broad base to qualify for Junior College or Community College teaching positions, work as a consultant or within an organization utilizing anthropological theories and methods, and to conduct independent research; and
2. to provide a thorough understanding and background in the theories and methods of anthropology, including field research, for preparation to enter a Ph.D. program.
Currently (2007) more than 45 graduate students are working towards the Master of Arts degree in the department.
Scholarships are available; applications for these must be obtained and submitted to the Scholarship Office, Student Services Building, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, phone: (619) 594-6180. Information regarding student financial assistance may be obtained from the Financial Aid Office, Student Services Building, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, phone: (619) 594-6323. The Department hires graduate students for a variety of Technical Assistant positions, Teaching Assistant positions, Readers, and one archaeological internship. Individual professors may hire graduate students to assist with research and teaching.
This page supplements information in the general and Anthropology section of the Bulletin of the Graduate Division. All students should be familiar with the rules and regulations discussed in the Bulletin. Read its relevant sections carefully before talking to the Graduate Coordinator.
 Admission of Graduate Students
General Admission Requirements:
All applicants for any type of postbaccalaureate study at San Diego State University must:
- Hold an acceptable baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution or equivalent as determined by the Graduate Division;
- Have attained at least a 3.0 GPA in all Undergraduate courses; and
- Have been in good standing in the last institution attended.
Department Requirements:
In addition, the student must meet certain departmental requirements:
- Have completed at least 15 upper division units including these Anthropology courses: 301-Principles of Physical Anthropology (with lab), 302-Principles of Archaeology, 303-History of Ethnological Theory, and 304-Principles of Anthropological Linguistics (with lab), or the equivalent of those required for an undergraduate major in Anthropology at SDSU. (It is important to discuss with the Graduate Coordinator those courses applicable in fulfilling these requirements.)
- Students receiving a bachelor's degree in anthropology from San Diego State University must have a least a B average (3.0 grade point average) in the four 300-level core courses (Anthropology 301, 302, 303 and 304). Applicants from other undergraduate programs must have a B average in the courses equivalent to Anthropology 301, 302, 303 and 304.
- Have an overall 3.0 (B) grade point average in all undergraduate courses or consent of department.
- Receive a GRE (Graduate Record Exam) score of at least 950 (V & Q) and a minimum of 4.0 on the analytic essay.
- Have at least three letters of recommendation sent from persons in a position to judge academic ability.*
- Submit at least one typewritten example of previous academic work (e.g., term paper or an original experiment).*
*Should be submitted by October 1 for admission for Spring semester and March 1 for Fall semester. These should be sent directly to the Graduate Coordinator, Department of Anthropology.
How to Apply for Graduate Admission:
1. Students applying for admission should submit the University Application available at http://www.csumentor.edu and application fee ($55) sent to:
Graduate Admissions
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-8225
2. The following materials should be submitted as a complete package, directly to the Anthropology Department:
- 2 official transcripts (in sealed envelopes) from all post high school institutions
- GRE scores (official notification)
- a statement of the applicant's geographic interests and professional goals (please use a separate sheet of paper for the statement of purpose)
- a copy of your university application
- three (3) letters of recommendation (in sealed, signed envelopes) from persons in a position to judge academic ability
- a sample of written work representative of your research and writing skills
Materials should be submitted by October 1 for admission for spring semester and March 1 for the fall semester. Please mail or deliver your complete admissions package to:
Department of Anthropology
(MA Graduate Coordinator)
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-6040
 Admission Categories:
Inquiries concerning admission to the University should be addressed to the Office of the Registrar. No student can be admitted to the Graduate Division until he/she has been admitted to the University in one of the following categories:
1. Postbaccalaureate (Unclassified) - are those seeking personal or growth objective but not necessarily an advanced degree or credential. This status does not constitute admittance into a master's degree program. Students admitted under this category are ineligible to enroll in 600-numbered courses except with permission of the Instructor, Department, and Dean of the Graduate Division.
2. Conditional Graduate Standing (Classified) - are those seeking an advanced degree and meeting the criteria specified under General Requirements but have deficiencies (e.g., lack of certain required courses, etc.) in the criteria for full classified standing which can be met in a limited amount of time. Students under this category are admitted for an advanced degree curriculum and may enroll in 600-numbered courses (except 60l-604) with permission of the Department Graduate Coordinator and Instructor.
Classified Graduate Standing - are those who meet the following criteria:
Hold an acceptable baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution or have completed equivalent academic preparations as determined by the Dean of the Graduate Division.
Have earned not less than a 3.0 grade point average in the last 60 semester units of undergraduate work taken for the baccalaureate degree.
Obtain a satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Score should be at least a 950 (Verbal and Quantitative) and a minimum of 4.0 on the analytic essay.
Have completed an undergraduate major appropriate to the field in which he/she desires to earn an advanced degree.
Satisfy the special departmental or school requirements as stated in Part Three of the Bulletin of the Graduate Division under "Courses and Curricula."
Meet the professional, personal, and scholastic standards for graduate study established by the Department and Graduate Council.
After receiving notification of classified graduate standing, meet with the Graduate Coordinator to plan an official program of study in accordance with the requirements listed in the current Bulletin of the Graduate Division.
 Master of Arts Degree in Anthropology
When the graduate student enrolls in the Department and achieves conditional or classified graduate standing, s/he is advised by the Graduate Coordinator to develop a program of study designed to provide the breadth, depth, and specialized training necessary for a professional career in Anthropology.
The Anthropology program of study involves the following:
1. Unit Requirements: Thirty Three (33) units of approved 500-, 600-, or 700-numbered courses earned in graduate standing. Twenty-one (21) of the 33 units must be 600- or 700-numbered courses in Anthropology, must be completed in residence, and may not include other SDSU or extension courses. Courses required to remove undergraduate deficiencies and those used to fulfill the language or statistics requirements are in addition to the minimum of 33 units required for the degree.
Courses numbered 600 and above are open only to students with classified graduate standing and a substantial foundation of basic courses in the discipline. In limited cases, an unclassified student may be permitted to enroll in a 600-numbered course (excluding 601-605) by permission of the instructor while concurrently making up deficiencies for classified standing. If a student's past work has not prepared him/her adequately for one or more of the graduate seminars, an instructor has the right to require the student to take remedial work before enrolling.
Only one 798 or one 795 course can count in the minimum 33 units required for the degree.
2. Graduate Core Curriculum: The advanced degree in Anthropology includes a series of 6, three-unit courses which all students must complete. Included in this series are the core seminars: Anthropology 601, Seminar in Physical Anthropology; Anthropology 602, Seminar in Archaeology; Anthropology 603, Seminar in Ethnology, Anthropology 604, Seminar in Linguistics; or Anthropology 605, Seminar in Applied Anthropology. One must have classified standing before enrolling in Anthropology 601, 602, 603, 604 and 605. In addition to the core seminars, all students must register for and complete ANTH 580 Anthropological Data Analysis, ANTH 797, Research and after being advanced to candidacy, ANTH 799, Thesis.
3. Cognate Work: The student is free to take work in other departments which may be applicable to his/her degree program upon consultation with the Graduate Coordinator. Courses outside the Department of Anthropology or courses outside the student's area of concentration may be required whenever they seem important to the student's program of study. No more than nine units outside the Department may be applied towards a student's program.
4. Area of Concentration: Each student is expected to complete the basic requirements as outlined above; any specialization which he/she wishes to follow should be discussed with faculty member(s) holding similar interests. In addition to appropriate graduate anthropology courses, the student is encouraged to follow his/her possible career specialization through courses 797, 798, and 799.
5. Foreign Language/Statistics Requirement: Each student must pass either an examination demonstrating a working knowledge of an appropriate foreign language or complete a sequence of at least one lower and one upper division course with a grade of 2.75 or better. Please note prerequisites for each course.
OR
 Instead of the foreign language examination or courses, the student has the option of completing a sequence of at least one lower division and one upper division course in statistics with a grade of 2.75 or better. It is suggested by the Department that the student consider the following sequences: Sociology 201 and 406 or 407; Biology 215 and 597A or 597B; Statistics 250 and 350A.
6. All students must take ANTH 580 Data Analysis and a methods course as part of their general coursework. This should be satisfied with the appropriate course relevant to the subdiscipline that is the focus of the thesis. These include: ANTH 500 Primate Social Behavior, ANTH 505 Human Osteology, ANTH 520 Ethnographic Field Methods, ANTH 531 Applied Anthropology Methods, ANTH 560 Advanced Archaeological Field Methods, or ANTH 561 Archaeological Lab Methods.
Applied Anthropology Specialization
Those students who choose the Applied Anthropology specialization must: (a) satisfactorily complete three of the four core seminars (601, 602, 603 or 604) selected with the approval of the graduate coordinator with no less than a B grade in each of the three core seminars; (b) satisfactorily complete Anthropology 605 (Applied Anthropology) with a B or higher; and complete an internship relevant to their thesis topic through ANTH 795 Internship.
Advancement to Candidacy
Any student in the advanced degree program in Anthropology must satisfy the following requirements to be advanced to candidacy:
Complete any deficiency course work listed on the official program prepared by the Graduate Coordinator and submitted to the Graduate Division. It is the student's responsibility to contact the Graduate Coordinator to discuss the official program.
The student must satisfactorily complete all four core seminars (601, 602, 603, and 604) with a minimum grade point average of 3.4 and no less than B grade in each of these four core seminars. If the student is seeking the Applied Anthropology specialization then the student must satisfactorily complete three of the four core seminars (601,602,603, or 604) with a minimum grade point average of 3.4 and no less than a B grade in each of the core seminars selected, AND complete ANTH 605 with a B or higher.
The student must have completed at least 12 units listed on his/her official program with a minimum grade point of 3.25 (B).
In addition, a GPA of at least 3.0 must be maintained in all courses, 300-level and above taken at SDSU concurrently with or subsequent to the earliest course listed on the official degree program, including courses accepted for transfer credit.
Students in both General Anthropology and the Applied Anthropology specialization must have an approved thesis proposal before being advanced to candidacy.
 Thesis proposal, thesis, and thesis defense
Prior to advancement to candidacy, the student should select a chair for the M.A. thesis committee. The chair and the student will select two additional members for the committee-one from Anthropology and one from a related department on campus. The student may register for Anthropology 798 (Special Study) to develop the thesis proposal.
The thesis proposal must be approved by the thesis committee and the committee's signatures obtained on the thesis proposal cover sheet.
The department expects the thesis proposal to contain a title and an introduction that has a literature review and a discussion of the significance of the research and hypothesis (if one is to be tested). In addition to the introduction, the proposal should include methods and techniques of data collection and analysis, expected conclusion and references cited. The Graduate Coordinator needs a brief statement as to the appropriateness of each member of the thesis committee.
If thesis research involves human or animal subjects, submit protocol to the Committee on Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) or Committee on Protection of Animal Subjects (CPAS) through the IRB for approval.
The completed thesis is submitted to the thesis committee for approval and signatures. A final oral examination and public defense on the thesis and general field of the thesis must be passed as a requirement of the degree.
Only Plan A, requiring the thesis, is permitted for the Master of Arts degree in Anthropology.
For detailed information on Developing a Thesis Proposal in Anthropology, please review the following guide. (Must have Abobe Reader to view the file)
Grading for Anthropology 797, 798, and 799A-799B
The symbol CR (Credit) is used to report satisfactory completion of Anthropology 797 (Research), 798 (Special Study), and 799A-799B (Thesis). Failure to complete a course satisfactorily will result in NC (No Credit) for that course. A student registered for Anthropology 799A who does not complete the thesis in the semester s/he is registered will receive an SP grade (Satisfactory Progress) if recommended by the thesis chair. This will remain on his/her record until the thesis is completed or up to two calendar years, whichever occurs first.
A student receiving an SP for Anthropology 799A will be required to register for Anthropology 799B (Thesis Extension, 0 units, CR/NC) the next time he/she registers in order to finish the thesis.
Download a student progress through graduate program flowchart here. (Must have Abobe Reader to view the file).
Courses Acceptable on Master's Degree Programs in Anthropology*:
Upper Division Courses
500. Primate Social Behavior (3)
501. Human Paleontology (3)
503. Human Variation (3)
505. Human Osteology (3)
506. Osteology and Paleopathology (3)
507. Forensic Anthropology (3)
508. Medical Anthropology (3)
509. Culture and Biological Aging (3)
520. Ethnographic Field Methods (3)
522. Economic Anthropology (3)
523. Anthropology of Politics and Power (3)
529. Urban Anthropology (3)
530. Applied Anthropology (3)
531. Methods in Applied Anthropology (3)
533. Race, Ethnicity and Identity (3)
535. Sex, Gender, Kinship, and Marriage (3)
536. Gender and Human Sexuality (3)
540. Contemporary Cultures of Mesoamerica (3)
560. Advanced Archaeological Field Methods (3)
561. Archaeological Laboratory Methods (3)
580. Anthropology Data Analysis (3)
582. Regional Anthropology (3)
583. Topical Anthropology (3)
596. Topics in Anthropology (3)
Graduate Courses
600. Seminar (3)
601. Seminar in Physical Anthro (3)
602. Seminar in Archaeology (3)
603. Seminar in Ethnology (3)
604. Seminar in Linguistics (3)
605. Seminar in Applied Anthro (3)
621. Seminar in Topical Anthro (3)
795. Internship in Anthro (3-9)
797. Research (3)
798. Special Study (1-3)
799A. Thesis (3)
799B. Thesis Extension (0)
*These courses may be a partial listing. See the Graduate Advisor for a current list of approved courses. See Bulletin of the Graduate Division for prerequisites and course descriptions.
|
