Guide to Graduate Studies Home Page

UNC’s Department of Anthropology is made up of three disciplinary subfields: Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, and Sociocultural Anthropology—each with their own intellectual histories, methods, epistemological orientations, and professional expectations. Our PhD program works to strike a balance in meeting the specific training needs of the subfields while retaining consistency across the program. We only offer a PhD program. Qualified students may earn an optional master’s degree en route to a PhD.

This guide describes the PhD graduate program of the Department of Anthropology. It charts the specific requirements of the graduate curriculum which went into effect in August of 2024. If any changes in departmental requirements or clarifications of departmental policies are made during the current academic year, they will be announced in departmental memoranda. Faculty members and graduate students are asked to read this document thoroughly, and to consult it as the official source of information when questions arise concerning departmental regulations and policies.

Narrative Overview

The PhD program offers advanced training in archaeology, biological, medical, and sociocultural anthropology. The topics and structures of graduate students’ dissertational research are flexible, provided they meet the formal approval of the student’s advisor, PhD committee, and the faculty. Recognizing the wide array of issues that anthropologists study today, the doctoral program aims to provide the specialization that doctoral students require for their PhD projects, while also facilitating generative exchange across the subfields of contemporary anthropology.

First Year Overview

During the fall of their first year in the program, students are required to take an integrated three-field ‘Core’ proseminar (ANTH 701). Students subsequently are required to take a specialized Core proseminar in their respective subfield (typically offered in the spring of Year 1 or 2).

Our doctoral program puts a premium on professionalization and career development. First-year students are required to enroll in our Monday afternoon seminar “The Practice of Anthropology”, which focuses on developing the skills and credentials necessary for a successful career in anthropology. Though required for first-year students, all doctoral students are encouraged to attend this fall-spring seminar—as it is a locus of our departmental culture. The program also relies on a portfolio model to organize student’s professional development. Assembled throughout one’s time in the program, these portfolios provide a repository of key credentials, achievements, and resources for advancement in academic and/or non-academic careers. The internal components of these portfolios will vary by subfield and student, and should be developed in regular consultation with the student’s advisor.

Second Year Overview

During the second year, graduate students are required to produce a substantial piece of independent research/writing, advised by a three-member faculty committee (also constituted during the second year). The nature of this requirement varies by subfield. At the end of Year 2, the committee will assess this work and make a recommendation whether the student is to move forward with preparing for their comprehensive exams in Year 3.

Third Year Overview

During the third year, students should be preparing for fieldwork, applying for funding, writing their dissertational proposal, and progressing toward their comprehensive exams. Prior to their exams, students are required to constitute their 5-person dissertation committee, with whom they will work closely for the duration of their time in the program. Ensuring competency in one’s field-language is an important facet of anthropological research. Students, in collaboration with their committee, will ensure these needs are met prior to their PhD exams. Graduate students are recommended to take their written and oral PhD exams by the end of Year 3. Upon successfully completing their exams, students advance to PhD candidacy (becoming ‘ABD’) and may formally begin their dissertational research. ABD students may register for dissertation hours (ANTH 994), while completing their thesis.

Dissertational Fieldwork

Dissertational fieldwork in anthropology varies by subfield. Sociocultural anthropologists typically conduct a minimum of one year’s field work, which provides the context for the dissertation data. Students of archaeology or biological anthropology may combine fieldwork with analysis of preexisting collections and data.

Following dissertational fieldwork, students typically take one to two years to write and defend their dissertation. The successful defense of one’s dissertation confers the PhD degree, thus completing the doctoral program.