The Department of Anthropology offers graduate training in archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and sociocultural anthropology. Our faculty are deeply engaged in their fields and committed to equipping students with the training and skills needed to contribute original research.
Anthropology at Tulane has a long-standing reputation for excellence in the archaeology, cultural anthropology, and linguistics of Mesoamerica (the region from Central Mexico to El Salvador). Today our faculty’s research extends beyond Mesoamerica to include North America (particularly the southeastern United States and the Gulf South); South America (especially the Andes and the Amazon) and the Caribbean; West Africa; the South Asian subcontinent; Southeast Asia; and Europe.
Our graduate program offers students the flexibility to explore diverse regions and themes, preparing students to address multiple facets of the human experience through innovative research. Themes that bridge faculty research and teaching include:
Body, Health, and Medicine
Critical Perspectives on Race, Gender, and Sexuality
Ecology and Environment
Indigeneity, Colonialism, and Language
Religion, Urban Economy, and Politics of the State
The Ph.D. program at Tulane is competitive; all students admitted to the program receive a stipend and a tuition waiver for five years.
We strongly suggest that prospective students review the profiles of current faculty for areas of common interest, and email those faculty member(s) with whom you are interested in working.
Completion of a one-credit, team-taught introductory four-field course in anthropology (ANTH 6001 Introduction to Anthropology (1 c.h.)).
Language competence certification. This requirement may be fulfilled by one of the following:
Coursework. Two options are possible:
The student presents evidence of attaining an average of B or better grades in a one-year foreign language course taken at the junior or equivalent level (i.e., 5th and 6th undergraduate semesters) within three years of the date of first registration in the anthropology graduate program.
The student earns a B or better in a graduate summer language course sponsored by one of the corresponding units on campus (such as Center for Global Education, Stone Center for Latin American Studies, or Office of Study Abroad).
Examination. The anthropology department administers language examinations once each semester. The examination date will be announced via e-mail. Students wishing to be examined respond to the announcement by specifying their subdiscipline of study (anthropological archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, or sociocultural anthropology) and the language in which they wish to be examined. Only languages in which Tulane faculty have expertise may be certified through this process.
Native fluency. Native speakers of languages other than English may petition the Department of Anthropology to count either English or their native language as satisfying a foreign language requirement.
Petition. Those with accredited language study elsewhere may petition the department.
Completion of two of the following methods courses.
Preferred options by subdiscipline. Other courses may be acceptable if approved by the faculty.
Biological anthropology. One of these courses must be in statistics. Other courses and courses in other departments may be taken if approved by the student’s adviser.
Completion of training in grant, proposal or prospectus writing. This may be fulfilled by satisfactory completion of either:
ANTH 7230 Research Design and Grant Writing (3 c.h.)
Grant writing workshop or course taught elsewhere at Tulane University.
Completion of coursework. The department requires a minimum of 49 hours of coursework beyond the BA/BS degree, at least 15 hours of which must be taken at the 7000 level. The following coursework requirements pertain to biological anthropology:
Biological anthropology students specializing in skeletal biology or human paleontology must take a course in human gross anatomy.
Biological anthropology students specializing in primatology must take three courses in a related field outside of the anthropology department, as determined in consultation with their adviser.
Completion of academic service/professional training.
Students are expected to complete professional training via teaching assistantships (TA) and/or research assistantships (RA) for six of the ten semesters of stipend.
The first of these assistantships will normally occur in the spring semester of the program's first year.
During one of these six semesters, usually in the 4th or 5th year of their program, each student will serve as sole instructor of record (ITA) for a semester-long 3-credit class.
All TA/RA/ITA training will be assigned based on the availability of courses.
Passing comprehensive examinations. Bioanthropology, sociocultural anthropology and linguistics students will take an 8-hour written comprehensive examination administered over two consecutive days. Archaeology students will take a 9-hour examination over three consecutive days. These exams should be completed before the conclusion of the 6th semester of residency.
Oral examination. This ONLY applies to students in Archaeology, Linguistic Anthropology, and Sociocultural Anthropology.
Archaeology: the oral exam will cover regional topics, methodologies, and theories, and answers on written comprehensive exams.
Linguistic Anthropology: the oral exam will cover the student’s area of specialization.
Sociocultural Anthropology: the oral exam will cover the relevant ethnographic area(s), methodologies and theories.
Submission, defense and approval of a prospectus outlining the proposed dissertation. The student must petition the department chair for the formation of a dissertation prospectus committee. The student must distribute a copy of the prospectus to every faculty member of the department three business days before the defense date.
Completion of approximately one year of approved anthropological fieldwork.
Submission, defense and approval of a doctoral dissertation. Students who intend to defend a dissertation must inform the department chair, in writing, of that intention during the first two weeks of the semester in which they wish the defense to be scheduled. Students must have a complete copy of their dissertation in the hands of their committee members one month before the scheduled defense date.
Transfer Credit Approval
Students may request transfer credit for graduate coursework done at other institutions, as indicated in the School of Liberal Arts Graduate Programs Handbook.
