The University of Texas at San Antonio's Ph.D. program in Ecological Anthropology offers a four-field approach to basic and applied research. Students will develop empirical understandings of how humans culturally construct and organize past and present environments; how power relations are embedded in these activities; and the impact socio-physical environments have upon human and non-human primates. Graduate course offerings view ecological anthropology through multiple lenses: political economy, environmental politics, indigenous epistemologies, landscape production, agrarian economy, social, behavioral and evolutionary ecology, medical anthropology, and primate conservation.
Faculty areal specializations include archaeology of the Maya lowlands and Andean South America; archaeology of Texas and the Greater Southwest; primate behavioral and conservation ecology in Southeast Asia and Africa; resource management practices and human-animal relations in island Pacific; indigenous and environmental politics in lowland and Andean South America; the cultural anthropology of Texas and the Plains; ethnography and applied anthropology of Mexico and the United States; and medical anthropology of the US-Mexico border region.
Many incoming students are offered some form of financial assistance. During the admission review process, all Ph.D. applicants are simultaneously considered for teaching assistantships and scholarship funding. Evaluation criteria include undergraduate and graduate GPAs, GRE scores, applicant statements, supporting letters, and writing samples. Other funding sources include research assistantships, departmental small grants, and teaching opportunities.
Application Procedures and Program Contacts
DEADLINE: Admission priority will be given to complete applications received by December 31. The final application deadline is February 1.
General Application Information
The UTSA application form and catalog may be accessed on-line at http://www.utsa.edu/graduate/Admission/index.html or requested from:
The Graduate School
The University of Texas at San Antonio
One UTSA Circle
San Antonio, TX, 78249-0603
Ph. 210-458-4335
To apply for admission to the Ph.D. program in Anthropology, you must complete The University of Texas at San Antonio Graduate Application for Admission. The application consists of an application form, summary sheet, an essay (statement of purpose), and three letters of recommendation (see below). Official academic transcripts and GRE scores must also be submitted to the Graduate School. Applications will not be reviewed until complete.
Applicants to the Ph.D. program must request degree-seeking status (see Admission Statuses, below). Non-degree seeking students should refer to the Admission Statuses section of Anthropology's M.A. program description.
Applicants for admission to the Ph.D. in Anthropology will be evaluated on the basis of prior academic performance, the application essay, letters of recommendation, and GRE test scores. See below, for a complete discussion of application materials.
If you have any questions or would like to talk further with Anthropology faculty about the Ph.D. program, please contact the Ph.D. Graduate Advisor of Record, Thad Bartlett, Ph.D. (210-458-5712, thad.bartlett@utsa.edu), or any of the Anthropology faculty in your particular area of interest.
Application Materials for the PhD in Anthropology
1) Summary Sheet
The Summary Sheet is a standardized form requesting summary information about applicants' academic and professional backgrounds.
2) Record of Academic Performance
Applicants must provide official transcripts documenting undergraduate and graduate coursework and degrees.
3) Essay
Include a statement describing your reasons for entering UTSA's Ph.D. program in Anthropology. This document should be 750-900 words in length (approximately three-to-five double-spaced pages) and should answer the following questions as completely as possible:
4) Three Letters of Recommendation
As part of your application, you will need three letters of recommendation. Recommendations should preferably be from Anthropology faculty with whom you have worked during your academic training. We realize that this is not always possible, especially if you were trained at a smaller institution or Anthropology was not your major. In such cases, recommendations from other social science faculty or faculty in related fields are appropriate. Recommending faculty should be given information about how to submit letters electronically.
5) GRE (Graduate Record of Examination) Scores
For information about the GRE, including test locations and dates, please see www.ets.org. At the University of Texas at San Antonio, GRE scores will be considered only as one element in the evaluation of applicants. Other elements include undergraduate and graduate academic performance, the application essay, and letters of recommendation.
Admissions Statuses
A degree-seeking applicant admitted to the Ph.D. program may receive unconditional, conditional, or probationary admission status. Please see UTSA's Graduate Catalog for clarification of these terms.
In any given application cycle, Ph.D. applicants will be evaluated on the strength of their application materials and also against other applicants in the same pool.
Applicants for the Ph.D. program may be denied admission but asked to reapply to the M.A. program. If admitted to the M.A. program, such students may reapply to the Ph.D. program upon successful completion of their M.A. degrees.
Facilities/Research
The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) conducts archaeological projects and field schools in which graduate students, faculty and staff participate. CAR, located at UTSA, has a full array of excavation, mapping, computer and testing equipment. The Institute of Texan Cultures in downtown San Antonio is an educational center for the interpretation of Texas history and folk culture.
Graduate students have opportunities to participate in field research projects in the Andean and Maya regions; in various U.S. localities, including Texas, the Southwest, and coastal regions; and in Mexico, Thailand, and Tanzania. For information on student activities, consult the Lambda Alpha Anthropology Honor Society Homepage.
UTSA is also home to the editorship of American Anthropologist (Journal of the American Anthropological Association) and Culture & Agriculture, a journal of the Culture and Agriculture Section of the American Anthropological Association.
Graduate Student Support
Each year a certain number of competitive fellowships will be awarded to entering doctoral students. Fellowships will be renewed for a second year pending annual review by the Graduate Studies Committee in Anthropology.
Graduate students also have the opportunity to work either as research assistants or reader/graders. Research assistants work with faculty members on their current research and/or teaching projects. Minimally, an assistantship will entail a quarter-time appointment (10 hours per week). Reader/graders assist faculty with their classroom responsibilities. Appointments vary, but typically reader-graders work between 5 and 10 hours a week. University and Departmental grants and scholarships are also available.
Graduate Student Health Insurance
For information on coverage, costs, and applications, contact Student Resources online at www.studentresources.com, or call 1-800-767-0700. Health insurance policies can be purchased by the semester or annually.
Degree Requirements
This degree requires a minimum of 78 semester credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree (exclusive of coursework or other study required to remove conditions of admission).
Program of Study for Students Admitted Without a Master's Degree
All students who are accepted into the Doctoral program without a Master's degree (or its coursework equivalent) must successfully complete the program of study, below. Students transferring to the Doctoral Program from accredited graduate programs but lacking a Master's degree may receive approval to transfer some coursework to UTSA, pending review by the Graduate Program Committee. Each student's transcript will be evaluated by the Graduate Program Committee, and credit will be determined on a course-by-course basis to satisfy the requirements of the degree. For credit to be accepted from an outside institution, a student must have earned course grades of “B” (“B-” is not acceptable) or better.
A. 6 semester credit hours of Doctoral Core Courses:
ANT 6603 Ecological Anthropology
ANT 6703 Human Population Ecology
B. 15 semester credit hours of Foundational Courses:
ANT 5023 History, Method, and Theory of Archaeology
ANT 5033 Paradigms of Americanist Anthropology
ANT 5073 Advanced Biological Anthropology
ANT 6303 Seminar in Research Design and Proposal Writing
ANT 6353 Field Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology
or ANT 6623 Seminar in Analytical Methods in Archaeology
or approved coursework in statistics
C. 21 semester credit hours of Designated Elective courses, distributed among three categories as follows:
1. 6 semester credit hours of Theory Electives selected from the following:
ANT 5283 Hunter and Gatherers
ANT 5483 Landscape and Settlement
ANT 6133 Seminar in Medical Anthropology
ANT 6203 Seminar in Recent Trends in Archaeological Method and Theory
ANT 6223 The Archaeology of Household and Residence
ANT 6613 Seminar in Economic Anthropology
ANT 6713 Seminar in Primate Behavioral Ecology
ANT 6913 Seminar in Evolution and Human Behavior
2. 9 semester credit hours of Applied Electives selected from the following:
ANT 5043 Seminar in Laboratory Methods in Anthropology
ANT 5556 Field Course in Archaeology
ANT 6503 Seminar in Cultural Resource Management
ANT 6633 Current Technological Applications in Archaeology
ANT 6803 Medical Ecology
ANT 6903 Anthropology of Gender
ANT 6923 Conservation of Primates and Other Threatened Species
ANT 6973 Special Problems
3. 3 semester credit hours of Area Electives selected from the following:
ANT 5413 Seminar in the Prehistory of Texas and Adjacent Areas
ANT 5453 Seminar in the Archaeology of the American Southwest and Adjacent Regions
ANT 6113 Seminar in the Anthropology of Mesoamerica
ANT 6213 Topics in the Anthropology of Native North America
D. 3 semester credit hours of coursework outside the student's major concentration
E. 9 semester credit hours of Free Elective courses chosen in consultation with the student's advisor
F. 3 semester credit hours of ANT 7003, Dissertation Proposal (after successful completion of 51 semester credit hours of coursework and qualifying examination)
G. Doctoral Research and Dissertation (minimum 24 semester credit hours):
ANT 7011-3 Directed Doctoral Research (12 hours minimum)
ANT 7021-3 Doctoral Dissertation (12 hours minimum)
Qualifying Examination. Students may take the qualifying examination upon successful completion of 30 hours of coursework; this coursework must include all required Doctoral Core and Foundation courses. At least two months prior to taking the qualifying examination, the student and the Supervising Professor will select a Dissertation Committee, which needs to be approved by the Dean of the College and the Dean of the Graduate School (see Chapter 6, Doctoral Degree Regulations, for further information on requirements of committee composition), and schedule dates for the qualifying examination. The examination consists of three written literature reviews in areas most relevant to the student's research and will cover issues of geographical/topical, methodological, and theoretical relevance. It is intended that the qualifying examination will help lay the groundwork for subsequent dissertation research.
Proficiency in Foreign Language, Statistics, or Computer Programming. Doctoral students are required to have proficiency in a foreign language, statistics, or computer programming as deemed necessary by the Graduate Program Committee. This requirement must be fulfilled prior to the oral defense of the dissertation proposal. Should coursework be necessary, students may apply their credit hours to the free electives requirement of the Doctoral degree.
Doctoral Dissertation Proposal. Following successful completion of required doctoral coursework and the qualifying exam (51 semester credit hours), students will produce a dissertation proposal that will be submitted to their Dissertation Committee for review. Students must orally defend the proposal in order to qualify for doctoral degree candidacy. Students will enroll in 3 credit hours of ANT 7003 (Dissertation Proposal), in order to conduct preliminary research and write a successful proposal.
Advancement to Candidacy. Doctoral students can apply for admission to candidacy once they have met all requirements for the Doctoral degree other than dissertation research and write-up. The requirements include successfully completing all coursework, forming a dissertation committee approved by the University, passing the qualifying examination, passing a foreign language examination or demonstrating statistical or computer competency, as applicable, and submitting and successfully defending the dissertation proposal.
Dissertation. Candidates must demonstrate their ability to conduct independent research by completing and defending an original dissertation that makes a significant contribution to the field. The student, in consultation with his or her Supervising Professor, determines the research topic. The student's Dissertation Committee will guide and critique the candidate's research. The Dissertation Committee must unanimously approve the completed dissertation. The dissertation shall then be defended publicly before the Dissertation Committee. Students should be continually registered in Directed Doctoral Research (ANT 7011-3) and Doctoral Dissertation (ANT 7021-3) each semester the dissertation is in progress.
Final Oral Examination. Students must orally defend their dissertation as the final degree requirement. The Supervising Professor must notify the Graduate School in writing at least two weeks prior to the final scheduled oral defense. Awarding of the degree is based on the approval of the Dissertation Committee and the acceptance of the Graduate School. The Dean of the Graduate School certifies the completion of all University-wide requirements (see Chapter 6, Doctoral Degree Regulations, for further information).
Program of Study for Students Admitted With a Master's Degree
Students who are accepted into the Doctoral Program with Master's degrees in anthropology from accredited institutions may receive approval to transfer up to 30 hours of their Master's-level coursework. Outside coursework will be reviewed by Anthropology's Graduate Program Committee. Each student's transcript will be evaluated by the Graduate Program Committee, and credit will be determined on a course-by-course basis to satisfy the requirements of the degree. The Committee has the option of requiring or recommending additional courses if it is deemed that the student has not obtained a background equivalent to training at UTSA. For credit to be accepted from an outside institution, a student must have earned course grades of “B” (“B-” is not acceptable) or better.
To complete their Ph.D. program of study, students entering the program with an acceptable Master's degree and 30 hours of transfer credit must complete the following requirements:
A. A minimum of 21 hours of coursework chosen in consultation with the Graduate Program Committee from the following domains:
1. Doctoral Core Courses :
ANT 6603 Ecological Anthropology
ANT 6703 Human Population Ecology
2. Foundational Courses:
ANT 5023 History, Method, and Theory of Archaeology
ANT 5033 Paradigms of Americanist Anthropology
ANT 5073 Advanced Biological Anthropology
ANT 6303 Seminar in Research Design and Proposal Writing
ANT 6353 Field Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology
or ANT 6623 Seminar in Analytical Methods in Archaeology
or approved coursework in statistics
3. Designated Elective courses, distributed among the following three categories:
Theory Electives
ANT 5283 Hunter and Gatherers
ANT 5483 Landscape and Settlement
ANT 6133 Seminar in Medical Anthropology
ANT 6203 Seminar in Recent Trends in Archaeological Method and Theory
ANT 6223 The Archaeology of Household and Residence
ANT 6613 Seminar in Economic Anthropology
ANT 6713 Seminar in Primate Behavioral Ecology
ANT 6913 Seminar in Evolution and Human Behavior
Applied Electives
ANT 5043 Seminar in Laboratory Methods in Anthropology
ANT 5556 Field Course in Archaeology
ANT 6503 Seminar in Cultural Resource Management
ANT 6633 Current Technological Applications in Archaeology
ANT 6803 Medical Ecology
ANT 6903 Anthropology of Gender
ANT 6923 Conservation of Primates and Other Threatened Species
ANT 6973 Special Problems
Area Electives
ANT 5413 Seminar in the Prehistory of Texas and Adjacent Areas
ANT 5453 Seminar in the Archaeology of the American Southwest and Adjacent Regions
ANT 6113 Seminar in the Anthropology of Mesoamerica
ANT 6213 Topics in the Anthropology of Native North America
B. 3 semester credit hours of ANT 7003, Dissertation Proposal (after successful completion of 51 semester credit hours of coursework and qualifying examination)
C. Doctoral Research and Dissertation (minimum 24 semester credit hours):
ANT 7011-3 Directed Doctoral Research (12 hours minimum)
ANT 7021-3 Doctoral Dissertation (12 hours minimum)
Qualifying Examination. Students may take the qualifying examination upon successful completion of 30 hours of coursework; this coursework must include all required Doctoral Core and Foundation courses. At least two months prior to taking the qualifying examination, the student and the Supervising Professor will select a Dissertation Committee, which needs to be approved by the Dean of the College and the Dean of the Graduate School (see Chapter 6, Doctoral Degree Regulations, for further information on requirements of committee composition), and schedule dates for the qualifying examination. The examination consists of three written literature reviews in areas most relevant to the student's research and will cover issues of geographical/topical, methodological, and theoretical relevance. It is intended that the qualifying examination will help lay the groundwork for subsequent dissertation research.
Proficiency in Foreign Language, Statistics, or Computer Programming. Doctoral students are required to have proficiency in a foreign language, statistics, or computer programming as deemed necessary by the Graduate Program Committee. This requirement must be fulfilled prior to the oral defense of the dissertation proposal. Should coursework be necessary, students may apply their credit hours to the free electives requirement of the Doctoral degree.
Doctoral Dissertation Proposal. Following successful completion of required doctoral coursework and the qualifying exam (51 semester credit hours), students will produce a dissertation proposal that will be submitted to their Dissertation Committee for review. Students must orally defend the proposal in order to qualify for doctoral degree candidacy. Students will enroll in 3 credit hours of ANT 7003 (Dissertation Proposal), in order to conduct preliminary research and write a successful proposal.
Advancement to Candidacy. Doctoral students can apply for admission to candidacy once they have met all requirements for the Doctoral degree other than dissertation research and write-up. The requirements include successfully completing all coursework, forming a dissertation committee approved by the University, passing the qualifying examination, passing a foreign language examination or demonstrating statistical or computer competency, as applicable, and submitting and successfully defending the dissertation proposal.
Dissertation. Candidates must demonstrate their ability to conduct independent research by completing and defending an original dissertation that makes a significant contribution to the field. The student, in consultation with his or her Supervising Professor, determines the research topic. The student's Dissertation Committee will guide and critique the candidate's research. The Dissertation Committee must unanimously approve the completed dissertation. The dissertation shall then be defended publicly before the Dissertation Committee. Students should be continually registered in Directed Doctoral Research (ANT 7011-3) and Doctoral Dissertation (ANT 7021-3) each semester the dissertation is in progress.
Final Oral Examination. Students must orally defend their dissertation as the final degree requirement. The Supervising Professor must notify the Graduate School in writing at least two weeks prior to the final scheduled oral defense. Awarding of the degree is based on the approval of the Dissertation Committee and the acceptance of the Graduate School. The Dean of the Graduate School certifies the completion of all University-wide requirements (see Chapter 6, Doctoral Degree Regulations, for further information).
This page was last updated on 12/08/06 and contains information from the 2007-2009 Graduate Catalog.