Anthropology, M.A.
Admission
Applicants for the Master’s degree must have a baccalaureate degree from an approved college of university. Applicants must be recommended to the Graduate School for acceptance by the Department of Anthropology. Admission requirements include official transcripts from all previous colleges or universities (whether a degree was earned or not), a personal statement of the student’s interest and intent, a writing sample, and at least two letters of recommendation. Applicants to the Professional MA track in archaeology must demonstrate completion of a field school or commensurate supervised field experience. A strong applicant should have a 3.50 GPA. Practically speaking, an applicant intending to seek a MA should be supported by at least two faculty members willing to serve as mentors in order to be admitted into the program.
Degree Requirements (30-33 Hours)
For the Archaeology, Biological/Biocultural Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, and Linguistic Anthropology concentrations, students are required to complete a thesis pathway with the minimum of 27 hours of course work and a master’s thesis (6 hours) for a total of 33 hours along with participating in supervised fieldwork or students may pursue a non-thesis pathway in which they are required to complete 33 hours of coursework. Of the courses completed, at least 14 hours must be courses at the 700-level, excluding the thesis hours (ANTH 799). For the Professional Archaeology concentration, students are required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of course work and a master’s thesis or other final project (6 hours of ANTH 799) for a total of 30 hours. Of these, at least 12 hours must be courses at the 700 level, excluding ANTH 799. All students must successfully pass a comprehensive exam that includes an oral component in which students must demonstrate effective oral communication of their knowledge of anthropological theory, method, and debates based on a set of exam questions or a written work product from one of their specialization courses. Specific requirements for the program are listed below:
Required Courses (6-9 Hours)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 703 | Anthropological Inquiry | 3 |
| Master's Thesis or Methods/Lab Research Design Requirement 1 | 3-6 | |
| Thesis Preparation (6 hours) | ||
| The following courses may fulfill the methods course requirement (3-6 hours) | ||
| Visual Cultures | ||
| Archaeological Laboratory Methods | ||
| Medical Anthropology: Fieldwork | ||
| Human Osteology | ||
| Field Problems in Ethnology | ||
| Ethnography of Communication | ||
| Qualitative Inquiry | ||
| Qualitative Inquiry | ||
| Participatory Action Research | ||
| Documentary Filmmaking | ||
| Documentary Film | ||
| Quantitative Approaches to Linguistic Analysis | ||
| Research Methods in Linguistics | ||
| Basic Quantitative Methods in the Analysis of Behavioral Data I | ||
| Real World Research Experience | ||
| Survey of Research Methods | ||
| Statistical Analysis in Sociology | ||
| Statistical Methods I | ||
| Statistical Methods II | ||
| Advanced Statistical Models | ||
| Nonparametric Statistical Methods | ||
| Remote Sensing of the Environment | ||
| Spatial Programming | ||
| Satellite Mapping and the Global Positioning System | ||
| Advanced Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Spatial Programming | ||
| Seminar in Cartography | ||
| Remote Sensing Modeling and Analysis | ||
| Advanced Seminar in Cartography | ||
| Advanced Seminar in Remote Sensing | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 6-9 | |
- 1
Students who select the Professional Archaeology concentration must complete a thesis.
Concentrations (21-27 Hours)
Students must specialize in one of the following concentrations and complete one or more core courses in theory and methodology.
Archaeology
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration Core Courses | ||
| ANTH 720 | Development of Anthropological Archaeology | 3 |
| ANTH 745 | Seminar in Historical Archaeology | 3 |
| Anthropological Breadth - Select a course outside of the concentration from the following list: | 3 | |
| Cultural Theory through Ethnography | ||
| Biological Anthropology Principles and Theory | ||
| Language as Social Action | ||
| Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology | ||
| Select additional coursework from the following in consultation with your advisor: | 15-18 | |
| Prehistoric Archaeology of South America | ||
| North American Archaeology | ||
| Archaeological Laboratory Methods | ||
| Archaeological Laboratory Analysis | ||
| Field Problems in Archaeology | ||
| Bioarchaeology Principles | ||
| Conflict Archaeology | ||
| Public Archaeology | ||
| Forensic Archaeological Recovery (FAR) | ||
| Anthropological Approaches to Narrative and Performance | ||
| Archaeology of the African Diaspora | ||
| Seminar in North American Prehistory | ||
| Current Issues in Archaeology | ||
| Public Archaeology | ||
| Material Culture Studies | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 24-27 | |
Biological/Biocultural Anthropology
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 762 | Biological Anthropology Principles and Theory | 3 |
| Anthropological Breadth - Select a course outside of the concentration from the following list: | 3 | |
| Development of Anthropological Archaeology | ||
| Seminar in Historical Archaeology | ||
| Cultural Theory through Ethnography | ||
| Language as Social Action | ||
| Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology | ||
| Select additional coursework from the following in consultation with your advisor: | 18-21 | |
| Human Osteology | ||
| Health and Disease in the Past | ||
| Human Identification in Forensic Anthropology | ||
| Field Problems in Archaeology | ||
| Archaeological Laboratory Methods | ||
| Medical Anthropology | ||
| Anthropology of Migration: Displacement, Borders, and Health | ||
| Development of Anthropological Archaeology | ||
| Seminar in Historical Archaeology | ||
| Archaeological Laboratory Analysis | ||
| Archaeological Research Design and Analysis | ||
| Public Archaeology | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 24-27 | |
Cultural Anthropology
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 730 | Cultural Theory through Ethnography | 3 |
| Anthropological Breadth - Select a course outside of the concentration from the following list: | 3 | |
| Development of Anthropological Archaeology | ||
| Seminar in Historical Archaeology | ||
| Biological Anthropology Principles and Theory | ||
| Language as Social Action | ||
| Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology | ||
| Select additional coursework from the following in consultation with your advisor: | 18-21 | |
| Gender Issues in China | ||
| An Anthropological View of Blacks in Film | ||
| Visual Cultures | ||
| Medical Anthropology | ||
| International Development and the Environment | ||
| Ethnographic Film | ||
| Temporal Processes in Culture | ||
| Economic Anthropology | ||
| Culture and Identity in the African Diaspora | ||
| Globalization and Cultural Questions | ||
| Engendering Global Capitalism | ||
| Visual Anthropology Research | ||
| Cultural Theory through Ethnography | ||
| Migration and Culture | ||
| Gender and Culture | ||
| Seminar in Environmental Anthropology and Development | ||
| Anthropology of Art | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 24-27 | |
Linguistic Anthropology
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 747 | Language as Social Action | 3 |
| ANTH 748 | Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology | 3 |
| Anthropological Breadth - Select a course outside of the concentration from the following list: | 3 | |
| Development of Anthropological Archaeology | ||
| Seminar in Historical Archaeology | ||
| Biological Anthropology Principles and Theory | ||
| Cultural Theory through Ethnography | ||
| Select additional coursework from the following in consultation with your advisor: | 15-18 | |
| Anthropological Approaches to Narrative and Performance | ||
| Language and Gender | ||
| Language and Globalization | ||
| Discourse, Gender, and Politics of Emotion | ||
| Analysis of Conversation | ||
| Human Interaction | ||
| Language Ideology: The Political Economy of Language Beliefs and Practices | ||
| Language and Race | ||
| Discourse Analysis | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 24-27 | |
Professional Archaeology
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 720 | Development of Anthropological Archaeology | 3 |
| or ANTH 745 | Seminar in Historical Archaeology | |
| ANTH 550 | Archaeological Laboratory Methods | 3 |
| ANTH 536 | Public Archaeology | 3 |
| Students must choose a disciplinary pathway in a discipline or area of study that is outside of, or which overlaps archaeology, which may include, but is not limited to, geoarchaeology, geophysical prospecting, geographic information systems, historic preservation, museum studies, materials sciences, Native American Studies, and community-based or collaborative approaches. The courses that could fulfill this requirement may include, but are not limited to the following: | 9 | |
| Anthropological Approaches to Narrative and Performance | ||
| Prehistoric Archaeology of South America | ||
| Conflict Archaeology | ||
| Field Problems in Archaeology | ||
| Forensic Archaeological Recovery (FAR) | ||
| Archaeology of the African Diaspora | ||
| Seminar in European Archaeology | ||
| Summer Field School in Archaeology | ||
| Summer Field School in Ethnography | ||
| Seminar in North American Prehistory | ||
| Current Issues in Archaeology | ||
| Ethnology for Archaeologists | ||
| Archaeological Laboratory Analysis | ||
| Archaeological Research Design and Analysis | ||
| Bioarchaeology Principles | ||
| Cinema and Archaeology | ||
| Field Geology | ||
| Environmental Field Geology | ||
| Directed Individual Studies in Geology | ||
| Landscapes of South Carolina | ||
| Landscape Ecology | ||
| Remote Sensing of the Environment | ||
| LiDARgrammetric and Photogrammetric Digital Surface Mapping | ||
| Spatial Programming | ||
| WebGIS | ||
| Satellite Mapping and the Global Positioning System | ||
| Advanced Geographic Information Systems | ||
| GIS-Based Modeling | ||
| Geographic Information System (GIS) Databases and Their Use | ||
| Climatic Change and Variability | ||
| Globalization and Cultural Questions | ||
| Spatial Approaches to Historical Research | ||
| Topics in History | ||
| Historic Preservation Field Experience--Charleston, S.C. | ||
| Capital City Field School: Theory and Practice of Historic Preservation | ||
| Material Culture Studies | ||
| Memory, History, and Space | ||
| Historic Site Interpretation | ||
| Historic Preservation | ||
| Administration and Management of Museums | ||
| Collecting, Collections Management, and Curatorial Practice | ||
| Sustainability Management and Leadership Strategies | ||
| Conservation Biology | ||
| Other coursework from any ANTH 500 level course or above | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 21 | |
Supervised Fieldwork (Thesis Students Only)
Students are required to undertake supervised fieldwork, usually during the summer between their first and second year. This requirement can be met through an approved field school or other supervised fieldwork either as a research assistant on field projects or in the course of collecting their own data. Archaeology students with no previous experience are encouraged to take the field school offered by this program or, when the student’s interests warrant it, at another institution with the approval of the student’s advisor.
Comprehensive Examination
Students must take and pass a comprehensive examination administered by the department.