Earn your MA in anthropology
Our two-year MA in anthropology is aimed at providing students with advanced training in archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, or anthropological linguistics with a goal of preparing them for additional graduate study or professional work in anthropology and related fields. Students are required to do original field, archival, or laboratory research. The department also offers an independent MA with a focus in Cultural Resource Management- Archaeology (CRM), which provides academic preparation for a professional career in CRM-Archaeology.
The Master of Arts program in anthropology requires between 30-36 semester hours of graduate credit, depending on a student's previous anthropological training. Students must maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.00 in all courses. Students may count a maximum of 9 semester hours earned in courses outside anthropology toward the Master's degree. It is expected that a full-time student will complete all MA requirements by the end of the second year in the program.
Master's degree students who choose to follow the Cultural Resource Management - Archaeology focus normally do not go on to earn a PhD in anthropology.
By the end of their first semester, each student must select an MA committee, consisting of an advisor and two additional professors. Each year, students compile, in consultation with their advisor, the three strongest papers written for anthropology courses, conferences, or journals; an annotated bibliography; their current curriculum vitae; and a three-page narrative to describe their intellectual trajectory in the MA program to date.
Learning outcomes
- Disciplinary expertise. Graduate students should develop an in-depth understanding of the differences and similarities of people across place and time based on anthropological evidence and theory;
- Skills for independent research. Graduate students will acquire professional and ethical research, reasoning, and methodological skills to identify important research problems and to subsequently design, execute, productively engage with feedback, and report (via writing and presentations) results of independent research programs to a diverse audience;
- Teaching contributions. Graduate students will effectively and ethically communicate anthropological concepts and theories to a broad audience; and
- Disciplinary, academic, and community contributions. Graduate students will develop service, mentoring, and leadership skills that advance and support professional.
Requirements
Degree requirements
| Title | Hours |
|---|---|
| Core Seminars | 12 |
| Additional Upper-Level Electives (see below) | 18 |
| Master's Portfolio (see below) | - |
| Total Hours | 30-36 |
Electives
In consultation with the advisor and committee members, students select a minimum of 18 semester hours of additional graduate-level course work to complete the remaining semester hours required for the MA Elective hours may include courses in Anthropology, in other relevant disciplines, and up to 9 semester hours of independent study credit.
Master's portfolio
Each year in the program, a Master’s student must submit four items:
- Three (3) research papers: The papers can be written for anthropology courses, conferences, or journals and should represent their strongest work from that year.
- An annotated bibliography: The bibliography should highlight key works/references within areas of focus that help to define the student’s research interests. In Year 1, the bibliography should include 3 topical areas with 5 key annotated references in each. In year 2, the bibliography should include 3-4 topical areas with 6-10 key references in each.
- Their current CV.
- Narrative Essay: This essay presents the student’s intellectual trajectory in the MA program and should address what the student (1) has accomplished, (2) is doing currently and plans for the near future, and (3) will have left to do in future semesters (3 pages in length).
The Master’s Portfolio will be assembled under the guidance of the MA candidate’s advisor and committee, and should be submitted in the Spring semester. The students and committees will meet during Finals Week to discuss portfolio content and progress in the program. At the end of the Spring semester MA students will receive an annual progress review letter which incorporates information from both the portfolio meeting and the annual departmental review of graduate students. Based on the result of these annuals review, MA candidates will be informed whether they can continue in the program, advance into the PhD program, or will be awarded a terminal MA.
Cultural resource management - archaeology focus
Most archaeological excavations and surveys are conducted as cultural resource management (CRM), so it is essential that all researchers who work with archaeological data and individuals committed to site preservation have a basic understanding of CRM. Students who select this focus area learn about the field and how to address related ethical issues as well as technical and theoretical challenges.
Students must complete the archaeological core graduate seminar. They also must complete a research paper, which is an archaeological study with a substantive data analysis directed toward an explicit archaeological research problem, suitable to meet the section three requirement for the Registry of Professional Archaeologist application form.
The cultural resource management—archaeology focus requires a total of 30 semester hours, including 24 semester hours of coursework and 6 semester hours of independent research or thesis credit.
Admission
Applicants for admission to the graduate program in anthropology are considered regardless of their previous field of training. Students without previous training in anthropology are expected to perform additional work as necessary to achieve competence expected for their degree objective.
Students normally are admitted under the assumption that they intend to pursue the PhD degree. Students without an MA in anthropology devote the first two years fulfilling the MA requirements. After those requirements are completed, the student's committee may award the MA with admittance to the PhD program.
Students with an MA in anthropology from another institution may proceed directly into a PhD program organized around their special research interests. If they lack any of the requirements of the graduate program at the University of Iowa, they are informed of those requirements when admitted. Acceptance of credit hours from other institutions will follow UI regulations.
Applicants whose first language is not English must submit official test scores to verify English proficiency. Applicants can verify English proficiency by submitting official test scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Once recommended for admission, international students also must complete several additional requirements.
For additional information, visit the Graduate Admissions Process page.
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