Graduate programs
The Department of Anthropology offers the degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Science. The program is designed to give the student a graduate level of competence in general anthropology, including the major subfields of biological anthropology, archaeology, and social-cultural anthropology. At the same time, the program permits the student to pursue a special interest in one of the subfields. Students have the option of choosing from three tracks: a thesis track, an internship track, or a skills track. The thesis track candidate is required to do research in an area of special interest and prepare a thesis based upon it. The internship and skills tracks are designed to prepare students for professional employment related to applied anthropology. Students in the internship track will complete an internship and a thesis that combines an internship deliverable and a final internship paper. Students in the skills track will take 7 additional hours of coursework, complete comprehensive exams, and submit a portfolio that documents the skills they obtained during the program. For more information, interested students are urged to go to the Department’s Web site: www.pdx.edu/anthropology.
The master’s program has been planned for students who hold an undergraduate degree in general anthropology or its equivalent in course coverage. For students with this preparation, the master’s degree, including research and thesis, may be completed in two to three years. Graduate applicants who lack an undergraduate major in Anthropology may be admitted to the program, but completion of the degree may require a more extended period of study. Students without an adequate background in anthropology will be required to take selected undergraduate courses to remove deficiencies. These courses normally do not offer graduate credit.
Admission requirements
For admission to graduate study, the student must have a minimum of a 3.25 grade point average in anthropology courses and an overall GPA of 3.00. In addition, the applicant must submit a 500-word statement indicating why he or she is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in anthropology, and a sample of written work (e.g., a term paper). All applicants must also arrange to have three letters of recommendation indicating professional promise addressed to the Department’s Graduate Admission Committee. To facilitate scheduling of graduate courses, students ordinarily are admitted for fall term only, other than PSU undergraduate students admitted to the B+M program.