Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Ph.D. Degree in Anthropology

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Send inquiries about the Ph.D. program to Graduate Secretary , Anthropology Dept., 3525 Faner Hall, SIU, Carbondale IL 62901
Phone: 618-453-5037

Admission to the Program

Applicants to the Ph.D. degree program must complete the equivalent of the master's degree and apply directly to the Department for admission as a doctoral student. Three letters in support of the application must be forwarded to the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Anthropology. Students must also supply a statement of goals for their programs and subsequent professional careers. The department will offer an accelerated entry option to students who have been admitted at the M.A. level and who are judged by the faculty of the Department to be prepared to begin research at the doctoral level. Such students must complete at least one term in the M.A. degree program before being admitted at Ph. D. level, and must then meet all retention and exit requirements for the regular doctoral option. The students need not submit the application materials required of regular applicants to the Ph.D. degree program as outlined above.

Each student entering the doctoral program from a Master's program other than the M.A. program at SIUC's Department of Anthropology will be scheduled for a meeting with the Graduate Studies Committee and the preliminary Chair of the doctoral dissertation committee during the week before Fall semester classes begin.

The purpose of this meeting is to allow the Graduate Studies Committee, the preliminary dissertation Chair, and the entering student to discuss areas of study at the Master's level that satisfy the SIUC Department of Anthropology's requirement that all graduate students demonstrate competence in the four sub-disciplines. Entering students are encouraged to submit master's level course syllabi and samples of graded papers or exams to the Graduate Studies Committee and preliminary dissertation Chair in evaluating the student's breadth of competence prior to the meeting.

If the student's record at the Master's level is considered to demonstrate omissions or weaknesses in any of the sub-disciplines, the Graduate Studies Committee and preliminary Chair will agree upon an appropriate list of Core Courses and/or other courses that the student must complete during the first two years of doctoral studies. The distribution requirements for the M.A. at SIUC will serve as the general guideline for determining these required courses.

Requirements for the Ph.D.

All Ph.D. students will form a faculty committee in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. The committee must include at least 5 members of the graduate faculty, at least 3 of whom (including the chair) must be from within the Department, and at least 1 from outside; the typical case will be 4 from within and 1 additional.

The requirements for the Ph.D. degree include the following.

1. Additional course work in anthropology and other fields within the student's interests. Of the 24 hours of credit required by the graduate school to establish residency, 9 must be in 500-level anthropology courses other than 500A-E, 501, 585, and 597. The Ph.D. committee is expected to help formulate a study program that will usually involve at least one-two additional academic years of full-time course work beyond the M.A. degree.

2. Research tool requirements. These vary and will be determined between the student and the committee, subject to approval of the chair of the department. In all cases, a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language will be demonstrated and at least one other tool. Other possible tools could include, for example, computer science, statistics, a second foreign language, or a combination of these or others.

3. Administration by the committee of a special examination (containing written and oral portions) covering topical and geographical temporal specialties (the preliminary or candidacy exam). The student may not take the examination until 2 years of full-time graduate work have been completed, except by authorization from the Dean of the Graduate School. The student is encouraged to take this examination by the end of three years of full-time Ph.D. level work. In evaluating the examination, the committee may pass the student, fail the student but allow retaking of the examination at a later time, or fail the student and recommend dismissal from the program. If a student fails the examination and the committee allows reexamination, it must occur within one year of the first examination and only one retake is allowed.

4. Formal experience in teaching .

5. Completed and defended dissertation.

Ph.D. Candidacy

After completion of requirements 1-3 above, the student will design dissertation research in consultation with the committee. The student will undertake the research necessary to acquire the materials for the dissertation. The Department will then recommend a student to the Graduate School for candidacy. Candidates must register for 24 hours of credit under ANTH 600. When a final draft of the dissertation has been accepted by the Ph.D. committee, an oral defense of the dissertation and all supporting work will be held in accordance with Graduate School requirements. After a successful dissertation defense and completion of final revisions of the text, the student must submit two copies of the dissertation to the Graduate School in accordance with its guidelines, and a properly bound copy to the Department of Anthropology.