Department of Anthropology
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Further Courses
Following the completion of the core courses or during the semester in which the last of the core courses are being completed, the student must enroll in two methodology courses. This sequence will include Anthropology 606, The Conduct of Anthropological Inquiry, a general introduction to problems in research design, data collection, and hypothesis testing as they are encountered in all subfields of anthropology. Normally, Anthropology 606 will be followed by Anthropology 605, Seminar in Ethnographic Analysis. With the consent of his/her committee, a student whose specializations do not require Anthropology 605 may substitute a methods-oriented course (examples would include Anthropology 615, Visual Anthropology; Anthropology 526, Archaeological Methods; Sociology 588, Urban and Demographic Research Methods, or a relevant course taught outside the department). The eight courses specifically required total 24 semester hours. A student who has already met some of these requirements while an undergraduate will be able to add a corresponding number of elective courses to his/her Plan of Study in order to meet the overall requirement for the MS degree of 36 hours of graduate-level courses beyond the Bachelor's degree. A student who has already met some of these requirements as a graduate student in some other graduate program does not necessarily need to add a corresponding number of elective courses to his/her Plan of Study. In any case, the first year of coursework in the MS program will be more prescribed than in the remaining semesters once the diagnostic examination has been completed. The remaining 12 hours of the Master's program can be devoted to electives or to thesis research in each semester in which the research in conducted. A thesis proposal should be submitted as soon as possible after the diagnostic examination is taken. All requirements for the MS degree, including the MS thesis, are normally completed in 4 semesters.