Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Anthropology

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Anthropology offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Anthropology.

Admission

Program Name

Anthropology

Address

341 Haines Hall
375 Portola Plaza
Box 951553
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553 

Phone

(310) 825-2511 

Email

awalters@anthro.ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.A., Ph.D. 

Admission Limited to

Fall 

Deadline to apply

December 15th 

GRE (General and/or Subject)

GRE: General 

Letters of Recommendation 

3, preferably from anthropologists 

Other Requirements

In addition to the University's minimum requirements and those listed above, all applicants are required to submit a writing sample and a statement of purpose.

The department requires that two faculty members sponsor an applicant before admission is recommended. Prospective sponsors are canvassed by the Departmental Admissions Committee, but it is also appropriate for applicants to contact potential sponsors.

M.A.: A degree in anthropology is not required, but is highly desirable. If an applicant with a B.A. or M.A. from another field is admitted, a program of background studies in anthropology is formulated.

Ph.D.: Students who are entering the graduate program with an M.A. degree, whether or not in anthropology, are required to demonstrate basic knowledge of the discipline before being permitted to begin the requirements for the doctorate.

Graduate students who have been readmitted to the program are subject to any changes in departmental policy and regulations that have been instituted since the last time they were enrolled as an Anthropology major. 

Master's Degree

Advising

Academic advising for graduate students in the department is primarily conducted on an individual basis by a student's faculty adviser because, beyond basic requirements, each student's program of study is unique. The department's graduate adviser is primarily responsible for counseling students in regard to program requirements, policies, and University regulations.

Areas of Study

Archaeology; biological anthropology; linguistic anthropology; and sociocultural anthropology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The minimum course load is 12 units per quarter. However, this may be waived for good cause by petition, with the approval of the student's committee chair and the department chair. Students must be registered and enrolled at all times unless on an official leave of absence.

The M.A. degree requires 10 courses (40 units) taken for a letter grade, with a minimum 3.0 grade-point average. The 10 required courses are distributed as follows:

(1) One course must be the graduate proseminar, Anthropology 200.
(2) One course must be the graduate core seminar (200-series) in the student's field of specialization.
(3) Three courses must be graduate seminars (200-series).
(4) Four courses may be upper division (100-series) designated elective courses.
(5) Three courses may be outside the major with the approval of the three-member guidance committee.
(6) Two courses may be independent studies. Eight units of course 596 taken for a letter grade may be applied toward the total M.A. course requirement, but only four of these eight units are applicable to the minimum graduate-course requirement.

Courses taken on a S/U basis, Anthropology 598, and 300- and 400-series courses may not be applied toward the fulfillment of the M.A. unit requirements.

Core Course Requirements: The purpose of the core course requirements is to ensure that students are versed in the major fields in anthropology. Courses taken while in graduate status at UCLA may be applied toward the unit requirement of the M.A. degree. These fields and courses have been designed to meet the minimal needs of students specializing in other subfields of study:

(1) Archaeology: Anthropology 111, M201A
(2) Biological: Anthropology 222
(3) Linguistic: Anthropology M140, 204, M240, M242
(4) Sociocultural: Anthropology 130, 150, 203A, 203B, 203C

Students must demonstrate basic knowledge in all fields by exercising one or a combination of the following three options:

(1) Taking the core course with a passing grade of B or better.
(2) Petitioning that coursework completed elsewhere, or at UCLA as an undergraduate, constitutes the equivalent of such courses.
(3) Passing the subfield's core course examination given in the Spring Quarter.

A grade of B or better is required in any core course taken at UCLA. If students received a grade of B-, C+, or C, they may not repeat the core course, but must take the core course examination and pass or be subject to dismissal. If a grade of C- or below is received, students may repeat the course, but must receive a grade of B or better the second time the course is taken, or be subject to dismissal.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required but highly desirable.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

None.

Thesis Plan

Every master's degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research.

The purpose of the master's thesis is for a student to demonstrate the ability to generate and assemble a body of data, to analyze it, and to indicate its relevance to established anthropological thought as well as to write lucid prose. Students must submit an original paper based on field, laboratory, or library research to all three committee members by the end of the fifth quarter of residence. The thesis committee assists students in formulating the research paper, monitoring its progress, and evaluating the paper when submitted. It is essential that students maintain close contact with all three members while preparing the M.A. thesis. Students should consult the Graduate Division publication, Policies and Procedures for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation and Filing, for instructions on the preparation and submission of the thesis.

Time-to-degree

Normal progress toward the degree is as follows:

Core course requirements (if needed) - expected time of completion: end of third quarter.

M.A. thesis committee - expected time of nomination: beginning of fourth quarter.

M.A. thesis - expected time of completion: end of fifth quarter.

40 units of coursework - expected time of completion: end of sixth quarter.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

Academic advising for graduate students in the department is primarily conducted on an individual basis by a student's faculty adviser because, beyond basic requirements, each student's program of study is unique. The department's graduate adviser is primarily responsible for counseling students in regard to program requirements, policies, and University regulations.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Archaeology; biological anthropology; linguistic anthropology; and sociocultural anthropology.

Foreign Language Requirement

The department does not require foreign language proficiency for all students in the Ph.D. program in Anthropology. It is the responsibility of the student's three-member departmental doctoral committee to determine whether foreign language proficiency is required for their particular program of study.

If the foreign language proficiency is to be waived, students prepare a request for a Ph.D. language requirement waiver, which consists of a letter justifying the request, addressed to the committee and filed with the Graduate Adviser. If the student's committee agrees and waives the requirement, the committee then presents a discussion of their endorsement of the waiver request to the faculty, typically during student review. If alternate research skills that are deemed necessary for the program of study for the student's dissertation have been identified and satisfied, these are noted by the committee. However, no specific other courses or skills are obligatory.

If foreign language proficiency is required, proficiency will be determined by the three-member departmental doctoral committee and may include but is not limited to:

(1) Completion of an appropriate level of language instruction, or
(2) Demonstration of previously acquired language skills through documentation or an examination or
(3) Submission of an annotated bibliography, in English, of selected publications (in the selected language) that are related to the student's dissertation topic.

The bibliography may be supplemented by a related analytical examination question or further translation examination.

For students required to demonstrate foreign language proficiency, all monitoring of the requirement takes place within the department.

Course Requirements

The minimum course load is 12 units per quarter. However, this may be waived for good cause by petition with the approval of the student's committee chair and the department chair. Students must be registered and enrolled at all times unless on an official leave of absence.

Students who are entering the graduate program with an M.A. degree, whether or not in anthropology, are required to demonstrate basic knowledge of the discipline before being permitted to begin the requirements for the doctorate. It is expected that students accomplish this during the first year of academic residence through (in accordance with the procedures and regulations stated in the M.A. degree section) the following:

(1) Nominating a three-member departmental advisory committee.
(2) Completing the core course requirement.
(3) Taking the graduate core seminar only in the student's field of specialization. This is required of all students even though they may already have a master's degree in anthropology.
(4) Taking the graduate proseminar, Anthropology 200. This is required of all entering students.
(5) Submitting to the student's departmental advisory committee, for evaluation, a prior master's paper or a research paper that was written while in graduate status.

Only when these requisites have been met are students permitted to begin the requirements for the Ph.D. degree.

Students who received their M.A. degree from this department are expected to enroll in three seminars, each with a different faculty member, between receipt of the master's degree and taking the doctoral qualifying examinations. The department does not require any specific courses or number of courses for award of the Ph.D.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

The qualifying examinations for the Ph.D. degree consist of a written and an oral examination. The timing of these examinations is set in consultation with the members of the doctoral committee; they are to be taken within a 10-week period of time. Students must be registered and enrolled to take the qualifying examinations. The committee for each examination determines the conditions for reexamination should students not pass either portion of the qualifying examinations.

The three-member departmental doctoral committee administers the written portion of the qualifying examination. The fields and format of the examination are to be determined by the student's departmental doctoral committee. There must be a minimum of two weeks between completion of the written examination and the scheduled date for the oral portion of the qualifying examination.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination is the oral portion of the doctoral qualifying examinations and is primarily a defense of the dissertation proposal. This examination is administered by the four-member doctoral committee.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Full-time students admitted without deficiencies normally progress after receiving the M.A. degree as follows:

Selection of third member of departmental doctoral committee - expected time of completion: during second quarter.

Completion of departmentally-monitored foreign language requirement (unless exempted) - expected time of completion: end of third quarter.

Nomination of four-person doctoral committee - expected time of completion: end of third quarter.

Written and oral qualifying examinations (usually taken in same quarter) - expected time of completion: end of sixth quarter.

Advancement to candidacy - expected time of completion: end of sixth quarter.

Final oral examinations (dissertation defense) - expected time of completion: 18th quarter.

Pre-M.A. to Ph.D. degree - expected time of completion: 18th quarter.

Post-M.A. to Ph.D. degree - expected time of completion: a maximum of 15 quarters.

Normative time-to-degree: 18 quarters (six years)

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special departmental or program policy

A recommendation for termination is made by the chair of the department after a vote of the faculty at the student review each term. Before the recommendation is sent to the Graduate Division, a student is notified in writing and given two weeks to respond in writing to the chair. An appeal is reviewed by the department's Executive Committee which makes the final departmental recommendation to the Graduate Division.