Students who would like to earn a Ph.D. degree (at UM--Missoula or
from another University) in order to pursue a career as an university
professor, museum curator, or senior partner in a cultural resources
management company, and who have the ability and drive to accomplish
this, but who feel that they need a more solid grounding in general
Anthropology before actually tackling a Ph.D. program. Our General Option
is ideal for this purpose, as it allows students to build knowledge
and critical skills.
Admissions
Admission to the anthropology M.A. program is competitive and open to
students with a bachelors degree; a GPA of 3.0; GRE scores and/or TOEFL
scores; positive letters of recommendation; and a statement of purpose
that indicates professional goals. There is no minimum GRE score, and
GRE scores are only one measure used to assess an applicant's
suitability for the program. Provisional admission may be offered for
promising students who do not meet the GPA standards. If the student's
bachelors degree is not in Anthropology, the student will work with
their advisor to develop a course of instruction that includes
developing a background in the four fields of Anthropology.
Students in an B.A./B.S. program (at The University of Montana
or another institution) may apply for admission to the M.A. program up
to one year before completing their degree, but their admission to
the program will be provisional, contingent upon finishing their B.A./B.S. program.
Graduate student applicants may apply online at
http://www.umt.edu/grad/apply/default.htm
Degree Requirements
Successful completion of the M.A. degree in anthropology requires coursework,
successful completion of a comprehensive evaluation, and significant original scholarly work.
The anthropology faculty expects that students will complete the requirements for the M.A.
degree within two years.
Advisors. Upon admission to the program, the faculty will assign each M.A. student a first-year
advisor based on the student’s goals and interest, and on the workload of each faculty member.
The first-year advisor will guide the student in forming an education plan that includes
appropriate courses and research experiences to accomplish the student’s desired educational
outcomes. The first-year advisor will direct the student in formulating their M.A. project plan
(see “project plan” below), with assistance from other faculty if necessary. Once the project
plan is completed the student will seek to recruit an appropriate M.A. research committee to
oversee the project described in the project plan. The student must report their finalized
committee membership to the Department’s Administrative Assistant, who will convey it to the
Graduate School. The members of the MA research committee will review the student’s
progress to that point and the quality of the project plan. This review constitutes the first part of
the student’s comprehensive evaluation (see comprehensive evaluation below), and the
committee may recommend that the student continue working toward completion of the M.A.
project, or may recommend remedial action if indicated.
- Options There are four ways to complete
the requirements for the M.A.
degree in Anthropology: the general option, the cultural heritage option, the forensic
anthropology option, and the linguistic anthropology option. Each of these options offers
a different emphasis, which is reflected in the seminars, elective classes, and scholarly
work that is required. Students will graduate with the general option unless they
complete the specific requirements of one of the other options.
- Thesis/Professional Project and Non-Thesis Plans: All options may be completed by
either of two plans:
- The thesis/professional project plan, in which the student completes and defends
a thesis or professional project, which is archived by the library.
- The non-thesis plan in which the student completes additional coursework credits
and a significant original research work, or collection of works, that is not a thesis
or professional paper. Students who complete the degree under the non-thesis
plan will not normally be considered for admission to the Ph.D. program.
- Core curriculum required for all options: Students must complete the following core
requirements and the additional requirements of one of the options in order to earn the
Master of Arts degree in Anthropology.
- Anthropology 500.
- A total of 1 to 10 credits (6 credits recommended) in ANTH 593, 597 and/or 599,
consistent with Graduate School policy (sections C1.000). Students whose M.A.
project plan includes a thesis should take ANTH 599, students whose M.A.
project plan includes a professional paper should take ANTH 593, and students
choosing the non-thesis plan should take ANTH 597.
C.At least one methods class numbered 400 or higher.
- 4.Project plan. All students must complete a project plan for producing an original
scholarly work, such as a thesis, professional paper, exhibit, or portfolio containing an
assemblage of shorter works. This should be completed at least two weeks before the
Graduate School’s deadline for submitting Applications for Graduation the semester
before the student intends to complete their degree. The student’s first year advisor will
guide the student in completing their project plan. At a minimum, the project plan should
include:
- The goal of the scholarly work, such as the question(s) to be examined,
hypothesis to be tested, unifying theme for a portfolio, or exhibit to be created;
- The materials and methods to be used;
- A significant bibiographic effort directed toward the scholarly work;
- If the project will involve working with living human subjects, a completed, but not
submitted, University of Montana Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects
in Research checklist form;
- A completed, but not submitted, Graduate School Application for Graduation.
- A significant original scholarly work. The student will be guided in this pursuit by an
M.A. research committee consisting of three members. The advisor assigned to the
student upon admission to the program will normally be the chair of the student’s M.A.
research committee. The additional two members of the committee will be chosen by
the student in consultation with their advisor and must be consistent with Graduate
School policy (section C6.000), including one member who is a University of Montana --
Missoula faculty member from a department outside of Anthropology.
- Comprehensive evaluation. All students in the M.A. program must pass a
comprehensive evaluation over the field of anthropology (Graduate School policy section
C8.000) The comprehensive evaluation will be conducted by the student’s committee. If
a student’s evaluation does not meet expectations, the student’s committee may
prescribe remedial action.
- Thesis/Professional project plan. For students earning the M.A. degree by
completion of a thesis or professional project the comprehensive evaluation will
consist of two parts: (1) an evaluation of the student’s progress at the time they
submite their project plan, and (2) a defense of the thesis or professional project
consistent with Graduate School policy (section C7.000).
- Non-Thesis plan. For students earning the M.A. degree under the non-thesis
plan the comprehensive evaluation will consist of three parts: (1) an evaluation of
the student’s progress at the time they submit their project plan; (2) an
examination ( which may be oral, written, or take-home) over the subject matter
of the student’s field of interest; and (3) a final review and evaluation of the
student’s scholarly work. An oral defense of the student’s work, consistent with
Graduate School policy (section C7.000) may substitute for parts (2) and (3).
- Total credits commensurate with Graduate School policy (section C1.000).
- The thesis/professional project plan requires a total of 30 credits.
- The non-thesis plan requires 36 credits, including an additional 3 credits beyond
those required for any of the M.A. options of 500 or 600 level classes in any
discipline (excluding research, professional paper, or thesis credits).
- Only 6 credits in 300 level classes may be counted toward the total credits
needed to complete the degree.
- M.A. Degree Options
- General Option. Most students will earn the general option, especially those who
intend to continue their education toward the Ph.D. or who wish to demonstrate
research competence by completing a M.A. thesis. This is the most flexible
option and requires the following coursework in addition to the core curriculum:
- 9 additional credits in Anthropology seminars, or cooperative education
experience (internship). Anthropology seminars are Anthropology
courses numbered ANTH 500 through 589, 595, or 600 through 694.
Cooperative education experience is ANTH 598.
- Cultural Heritage Option. This option requires a defended thesis, professional
paper, or portfolio that is the outgrowth of a professional experience such as an
internship or an intensive field school. In addition to the core curriculum,
students must complete the following requirements:
- ANTH 601 and 602.
- A cooperative education (internship) experience or equivalent practical
experience such as an intensive field school, chosen in consultation with
their advisor.
- Forensic Anthropology Option. This option requires a thesis, a comprehensive
case report, or a substantial portfolio of case reports and related documents in
the concise style produced for law enforcement. In addition to the core
curriculum students must complete the following requirements:
- ANTH 512.
- One of the following seminars: ANTH 510, 511, or 513.
- One additional 3-credit Anthropology seminar or cooperative education
experience.
- One course in each of the following areas, or their equivalent from
another institution: human variation (ANTH 310, 417, 418, or 510),
forensic anthropology (ANTH 312), osteology (ANTH 412), archaeological
field experience (ANTH 413, 466, or an archaeologically oriented 487),
archaeology theory (ANTH 313, 450, 456, 513, 550, or 551), general
forensic science (ANTH 286 or 488), and statistics (ANTH 401 or 402).
Ideally, these courses will have been taken as an undergraduate, but if
not must be taken before an M.A. degree with this option is awarded.
- Linguistic Anthropology Option. This option normally requires a defended thesis.
In addition to the core curriculum students must complete the following
requirements:
- ANTH 570.
- Two additional 3-credit Anthropology seminars.
- ANTH 470, 473; LING 471, 472, 474, and 475, or their equivalents.