Graduate Bulletin

Anthropology, Ph.D.

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Admission Requirements and Deadlines

Application Deadline:

Fall: January 15

Applications are evaluated in March for Fall entry.

APPLY ONLINE to this graduate program.

Letters of Reference:

Number Required: 3

From Whom: Letters of recommendation should be obtained from individuals in a position to evaluate the academic ability and accomplishments of the applicant.

Coursework Required for Admission Consideration:

No specific coursework is required.

Master's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline:

No.

Bachelor's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline:

A baccalaureate degree is required, although it need not be in Anthropology.

Statement of Goals:

The Statement of Goals should be approximately 500-1,000 words in length and should include the following elements: your specific interest in Temple's program and the faculty with whom you envision working closely; your research goals and how they fit with the interests and work of specific faculty members; your future career goals; and your academic and research achievements.

Standardized Test Scores:

The GRE is required. GRE scores are evaluated along with all other documentation required for admission.

Minimum TOEFL score needed to be accepted: 550 paper-based, 213 computer-based, or 79 internet-based.

Advanced Standing:

After completing the first academic year, students who hold a master's degree may petition the department's Graduate Committee for advanced standing. The maximum number of advanced standing credits awarded is 24.

Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:

Number of Didactic Credits Required Beyond the Master's: 24

Required Courses:

TBA

Internship: No internship is required, but internships in specific areas of specialization (e.g., archaeology) can be arranged.

Language Examination: A language examination is required.  The student must pass a written proficiency examination in at least one language and demonstrate technical skill in a second language.  The language exam must be passed and the technical skill must be demonstrated prior to sitting for the Ph.D. qualifying examination.

Culminating Events:

Preliminary Examination:
All doctoral programs require students to pass a major preliminary examination or set of examinations before being advanced to candidacy. These examinations are intended to test the student's knowledge of the field and, in the case of preliminary examinations, the student's ability to perform doctoral research and to write a doctoral dissertation. No student may take the doctoral preliminary examination more than twice. A student who fails a doctoral examination or part thereof twice is automatically dismissed from her/his graduate program.  The preliminary examination should be completed no more than one semester after the student completes the coursework component of the program.

The examination will be organized by the student's advisor and Preliminary Examination Committee. It will cover three topics/areas agreed on previously by the student and the committee members.  Prior to sitting for the exam, a student must have satisfied the language and technical skill requirements and prepared a proposal for a dissertation project approved by her/his committee.

The student and her/his committee will agree on a schedule and format for the written examination, such as three days in-house at 3-4 hours each day or a seven-day take-home exam. This will be followed two to four weeks later by an oral examination after the committee members have read the responses to the questions.

A minimum of three Temple graduate faculty members must approve the contents of the preliminary examination, with two committee members being drawn from the Anthropology Department. The other committee member may be Graduate Faculty from another Temple program or come from outside the University provided the department's Graduate Committee and the Graduate School of the University deem the person qualified. The composition of the Preliminary Examination Committee and the examination topics must be approved by the department's Graduate Committee prior to the examination. The grading of the examination must be such that no single faculty member makes the decision on whether the student passes or fails the examination. In the instance where a student fails one or more examination questions, a member of the Examination Committee must provide feedback to the student identifying areas of failure and make suggestions for remediation. A student who does not receive the doctoral degree within five years of passing the preliminary examination must retake and pass another preliminary exam.

Following the successful completion of the preliminary exam, a preliminary exam report is prepared and submitted to the Dean's Office in the College of Liberal Arts.  The approved dissertation proposal is also submitted for elevation to candidacy for the Ph.D.  For students working with human or animal subjects, IRB review and approval must be included with the proposal.  Upon elevation to candidacy for the Ph.D., students may apply, in conjunction with their departmental advisor, for a master's degree.

Dissertation Proposal:
A doctoral student is elevated to candidacy when s/he has completed all requirements for the doctoral degree, except the research for, writing of, and defense of the doctoral dissertation. This includes completing all required coursework, passing the preliminary examination, satisfying residency, and fulfilling any language or proficiency requirements. A student cannot be elevated to candidacy with an "I" or "NR" grade on her/his transcript. Students must have an approved research/dissertation topic before being elevated to candidacy.  A proposal for the research/dissertation topic must be approved by the student's committee prior to sitting for the preliminary examination for the Ph.D.  The approved dissertation proposal is submitted for elevation to candidacy for the Ph.D. following the successful completion of preliminary exams.  For students working with human or animal subjects, IRB review and approval must be included with the proposal.

Dissertation:

A dissertation is directed by a student's dissertation advisor and committees. Dissertation committees are formed by students upon completion of all preliminary and technical examinations, and are approved by the Graduate Committee upon petition.

The Doctoral Advisory Committee must include at least two Graduate Faculty members from the Anthropology Department, one of whom must be the Chair of the Committee. Membership on the Doctoral Advisory Committee may be the same as on the Preliminary Examination Committee. The Doctoral Advisory Committee may be expanded to include Graduate Faculty from other Temple programs as well as from other universities. Doctorally prepared experts may also be asked to serve on the Doctoral Advisory Committee.

The Dissertation Examining Committee consists of the members of the Doctoral Advisory Committee plus at least one additional Graduate Faculty member from Temple or another university, but not from the faculty of the student's program. A doctorally prepared expert who is not a member of the Graduate Faculty of Temple may serve as the additional committee member. The Chair of this Committee cannot be the same person as the Chair of the student's Doctoral Advisory Committee. Committees whose composition differs from the above must be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

Students wishing to change their advisor may petition the department's Graduate Committee to do so.

Doctoral students must complete a minimum of six credits of dissertation research after achieving candidacy and before graduation. Normally these will be in Dissertation Research 999. However, credits earned in courses with other numbers, provided they are clearly research or dissertation research credits, will also be counted.

The dissertation must conform to rules set out in the "Dissertation and Thesis Handbook" of the Graduate School.

Students who are preparing to defend their dissertation should confirm a time and date with their Doctoral Advisory Committee and register with the Graduate Secretary at least 15 days before the defense is to be scheduled. The Graduate Secretary will arrange the time, date, and room within two working days, and forward to the student the appropriate forms.

Every dissertation defense must be publicly announced in writing at least 10 working days in advance of the defense and must be open to the academic community. Minimally, copies of the announcement must be posted on all public bulletin boards in and around the department, as well as sent to all Graduate Faculty in the candidate's program and to the Graduate School. The Graduate School will not accept any dissertation for which a defense announcement was not received.

Contacts

Program Contact Information:

www.temple.edu/anthro/

Department Information:

Dept. of Anthropology

210 Gladfelter Hall

1115 W. Berks St.
Philadelphia, PA 19122
anthro@temple.edu
215-204-7577

Department Contacts:

Admissions:

Dr. Michael Stewart
michael.stewart@temple.edu
215-204-6188

Program Coordinator:

Graduate Chairperson:

Dr. Michael Stewart
michael.stewart@temple.edu
215-204-6188

Chairperson:

Dr. Charles Weitz

weitz@temple.edu
215-204-1424

About the Program

The graduate program in Anthropology represents a broad array of theoretical, geographical, and cultural interests of a faculty distributed over the four fields of Cultural Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, and Archaeology.  Special emphasis is on the anthropology of visual communication, archaeology, biological anthropology, gender, history of anthropology, political economy, sociolinguistics, medical anthropology, and urban anthropology. The Ph.D. program is concerned with how people participate in and adapt to processes of change and transformation, both historically and in the contemporary world. Since the faculty view Anthropology as a unified discipline rather than as an aggregate of specializations, the traditional subfields (archaeological, sociocultural, biological, linguistic) are crosscut by research foci (urban anthropology, visual anthropology, gender, medical anthropology, human biology, and the history of anthropology) that expand the scope of study.

Time Limit for Degree Completion: 7 years

Campus Location:

Main

Full-Time/Part-Time Status:

Students are required to complete the degree program through classes offered before and after 4:30 p.m. Students are able to complete the degree program on a part-time basis (8 credit hours or less per semester).

Department Information:

Dept. of Anthropology

210 Gladfelter Hall

1115 W. Berks St.

Philadelphia, PA 19122
anthro@temple.edu
215-204-7577

Interdisciplinary Study:

The specialization in Urban Anthropology encourages interdisciplinary coursework, research, and interactions among faculty and students in Urban Studies, GIS, Urban Education, and the other social sciences. The specialization in Human Biology may include coursework in Anatomy, Kinesiology, Epidemiology, and/or Molecular Biology.  Students emphasizing Archaeology are encouraged to take select courses in Geology, GIS, and History.

Affiliation(s):

Not applicable.

Study Abroad:

No.

Ranking:

Not applicable.

Accreditation:

Not applicable.

Areas of Specialization:

Faculty members specialize and offer substantial coursework in the following areas: urban anthropology, visual anthropology, anthropology of gender, archaeology of the eastern United States, archaeology of tropical America, historical archaeology, environmental archaeology, medical anthropology, and human biology.

Job Placement:

Of the 89 doctorates granted by the department since 1976, 39 (44%) hold full-time faculty positions, while another 17 (19%) hold full-time research positions in academic or non-academic settings. Another 18% hold degree-related policy and administrative positions, while 9% are engaged in other professional activities, such as law, which their anthropological training informs.

Licensure:

Not applicable.

Non-Degree Student Policy:

Non-matriculated students are generally restricted to the following courses: 403, 404, 405, and 406.   Requests to take other courses as a non-matriculated student will be considered.  If accepted to the program, up to 9 credits of non-matriculated coursework will be applied to the degree.

Financing Opportunities

The department usually reserves assistantships for second- and third-year students, except in exceptional circumstances. Outstanding students who apply to the program may be nominated for Presidential, University, and Future Faculty Fellowships, which provide four years of support. Departmental Teaching Assistants are first assigned to recitation sections, laboratory sections, and the visual lab. Experienced Teaching Assistants are offered their own section to teach.

Updated 4.11.07