Master's Program
The Master’s Program in anthropology at Kent State University was established in 1970 and is based on a holistic approach to anthropology. Students receive training in three fields of anthropology: cultural anthropology, archaeology, and biological anthropology.
Training in cultural anthropology emphasizes the study of culture, specifically kinship, religion, and symbolic meaning in a variety of ecological and economic settings. Students interested in archaeology receive training in both theory and field methods. The focus of archaeological research in the department traditionally has been on the Americas. Students in biological anthropology receive training in evolutionary theory, structural and functional primate anatomy, including human anatomy and primate behavior and ecology.
The M.A. program is strongly research-oriented and encourages students to develop their own projects or participate in existing projects by their second semester. The aim of the program is to provide students with the best possible training to either continue study in a Ph.D. program or obtain employment after completing the M.A. program. Over 80% of the graduates from our M.A. program either go on for the Ph.D. or find employment in an area directly related to their training.
Applications are due February 1 and are reviewed only once each academic year. A statement of goals, three letters of recommendation, official transcript, and GRE scores are required.
The Anthropology Graduate Student Handbook outlines the program requirements and more!
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
The minimum requirements for the M.A. are 30 hours of coursework and 6 hours of thesis. The core sequence of work includes courses in each of the three subdisciplines represented by the faculty in the department. Students also are encouraged to take one or two semesters of advanced quantitative methods. A variety of graduate seminars are offered regularly in the department and students are encouraged to take appropriate courses in related disciplines, e.g. biology, earth sciences, and geography. In most cases, students complete degree requirements by submitting original research work as a formal document, the Master’s thesis.
Students are encouraged to develop research questions that will serve as the basis for the Master’s thesis in their second semester. The department has an exceptional cast collection of fossil hominoids as well as casting, photography, X-ray, computer, anatomy, and archaeology labs and collections. A number of out-of-department options for research are also available to students including museum collections, faculty administered field sites in South America, Asia, and North America, and molecular biology labs.
Specific information on program requirements can be found in the Anthropology Graduate Student Handbook.
