Ph.D. in Anthropology (Social Cultural and Archaeology)

The Curriculum

Step I
The student attends lectures and seminars and defines his or her topical and geographical specializations.

Social Cultural Anthropology
In the first year of the program students in social cultural anthropology are required to take a two-semester sequence on anthropological theory and ethnography, Anthropology 240 A and B, Fundamentals of Anthropological Theory. The goal of these courses is to cover classical and contemporary debates in the field and their genealogy in earlier philosophical anthropologies, in classic sociology and political economy, and in terms of intersecting frames of modernity, colonialism, nationalism, and biopolitics. Social cultural students are also required to enroll in Anthropology 290 (departmental lecture series) each semester they are registered before advancing to candidacy.

Archaeology

In the first two years of their program, archaeology students are required to take the two archaeology research methods and theory seminars, Anthropology 229 A and 229B, History and Theory of Archaeology and Archaeological Research Strategy. Both of these seminars are offered each academic year. In addition, they are required to take one laboratory methods course with archaeological materials, and at least one area seminar outside their own research area. All in-residence archaeology students are expected to register in Anthropology 290-2 to participate in the Archaeology Outreach Program, which includes school and community group talks and other activities. Archaeology students are also required to enroll in Anthropology 290 (departmental lecture series) each semester they are registered before advancing to candidacy.

First Year Examination
At the end of the first year each student is given an oral examination by a group of faculty members. Archaeology students first take a written examination that serves as the basis for the oral examination. This examination satisfies part of the requirements for the Master's degree. It also serves as an evaluation of a student's strengths, direction and potential weak areas needing further study before the student begins preparation for the Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination. The decision about continuation within the graduate program is made on the basis of performance during this examination and on the student's academic work throughout the first year. A student may be requested to leave the graduate program, even though the oral examination was judged passing, if the student's academic work was judged weak and the department's faculty is concerned that a student will not complete the program satisfactorily.

Students who already hold a M.A. in Anthropology or a closely related field cannot receive a second M.A. in Anthropology at Berkeley.

Departmental Review of Graduate Students
At the end of the each fall semester, an annual mid-year review of graduate student progress is conducted by the Head Graduate Advisor and the faculty of the department. This is generally a review of first-year students' progress but may include reviews of advanced students as well. Each student's progress is assessed and recommendations are made as appropriate.

At the end of spring semester a similar year-end review is conducted. This is a more general review of all graduate students in the department.

Field Statement Announcements (i.e., "the paperwork”)
Two forms are involved in the process of preparing the field statements. First the student files a Preliminary Announcement of Field Statements (a.k.a. “the green sheet”). On this form students outline the prospective field statements, faculty sponsors, how the language requirement will be met, and the projected composition of their Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination committee. This form should be filed as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the second year in the program.

The second form is the Final Announcement of Field Statements (a.k.a. “the yellow sheet”). The final announcement is submitted to the department for faculty approval only when students finish their third and last field statement. This sheet confirms how the language requirement was fulfilled or will be fulfilled, the date of the Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination, the final composition of the committee conducting the examination, and the composition of the dissertation committee. The final announcement is due by the end of the third year in the program and students must submit it 60 days before being admitted to the Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination.

The Language Requirement
Language requirements in the Department of Anthropology are based on the individual graduate student's needs and his or her fields of specialization. In addition to English, the Department requires at least one other language. This language may be a language of international scholarship, a literary language, or a field language. The student's advisor may require more than one language, and in all cases, the required languages must be directly relevant to the research.

Language requirements must be satisfied before a student is eligible to arrange the Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination, and can be satisfied by coursework, native language competence, or Departmental Examination. To fulfill the language requirement by coursework, the student must have completed five college quarters, or four college semesters of a required language with a minimum average grade of "B-." A student whose native language is other than English may offer that native language as his or her required language. The native language (in addition to English) may comprise the requirement only if the advisor and the Department determine that no other language is necessary for the dissertation project. The Department may require a student to demonstrate competence in the native language in a written or oral examination. A student may fulfill his or her language requirement by passing a Departmental Examination in the required language(s). The Anthropology Department offers examinations twice each year in French, German, and Spanish, and examinations in other languages may be arranged through the Graduate Advisor.

The language exam consists of 300-word passages to be translated within a 90-minute time period with the aid of a dictionary, but without a grammar or verb collection. Sample past exams may be examined in the office of the Graduate Student Affairs Officer.

Exam times are announced on the graduate listserv, anthrograd. The exams take place in 221 Kroeber and are graded by assigned faculty members.

The Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination
When all field statements are completed and the language requirement met, the student can take the Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination. Taken generally between the end of the second year and the end of the third year*; this examination is a three-hour oral examination engaging the three fields the student has chosen. The exam is conducted by four members of the faculty: the orals committee chair, two "inside members" and one "outside member." The committee chair and one inside member must be members of the Anthropology department. One inside member is normally the student's advisor. The second inside member can be a second Anthropology professor or someone from another department on campus. The outside member must be from a UCB department other than anthropology and must be a member of UCB's Academic Senate. The outside member is the Dean of Graduate Division's representative on the exam committee and is there to ensure that the exam is fairly run. The chair of the orals committee cannot serve as chair of the dissertation committee.

(*"Normative time to qualifying examination" for Anthropology is six terms. See discussion of Normative time under Graduate Division Rules.)

Step II is completed when the student has passed the Oral Qualifying Examination and is advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. by the Dean of the Graduate Division. Advancement to candidacy is done by petition to Graduate Division and forms are available from the Graduate Student Affairs Officer.

The Dissertation Prospectus
The dissertation prospectus is the intellectual justification and research plan for the dissertation. Social cultural students must get their prospectus signed by all three dissertation committee members and file it at the end of their third year, either before or after the Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination. There is no designated length for a social cultural dissertation prospectus. Archaeology students must submit their prospectus before the Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination and it should be no more than eight pages in length.

The Dissertation Committee
This committee typically consists of three professors: the student's advisor as the committee chair, an inside member from the Anthropology department and an outside member from another department at UCB.

The student may elect to include an additional member on his or her committee. If so, that member may be from a school other than UCB as long as the additional member's research is not already represented at UCB. This committee is proposed to the Dean of Graduate Division as part of advancement to candidacy.

This committee advises students on their research through the time when the dissertation is filed. The committee members read and sign the dissertation.

Teaching Experience
Graduate students are encouraged to serve at least two semesters as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) in the course of earning the Ph.D. The department believes it is training its students to be college and university professors with a high regard for excellence in teaching as well as research. GSI-ships in Anthropology are awarded to students at least once in their careers as graduate students and students are also encouraged to apply to other departments on campus.

Ph.D. in Anthropology
(Social Cultural / Archaeology)

Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology

Master of Arts in Folklore

Undergraduate Program

Faculty

Office Hours

Lecture Series
290 Lecture Series
MedAnthro Lecture Series
ARF Brown Bag Lecture Series
Emeritus Lecture Series

Student Organizations
K.A.S.
A.G.O.R.A.
Graduate Student Contacts