About the Master's Program

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Anthropology focuses on delivering advanced training and research opportunities in applied, interdisciplinary, archaeological, biological, and sociocultural anthropology. The Department of Anthropology has a strong tradition of graduate training at the Master's level with diverse opportunities for graduate student involvement in research in and near Cincinnati and abroad.

In addition to our thesis-based M.A., we are excited to introduce new non-thesis options in our Anthropology M.A. program!

Beginning in Fall 2020, we will offer two non-thesis options for students:

-       An internship-based Applied M.A

-       An Interdisciplinary M.A. for students desiring to work or study at the interface between anthropology and practice or between anthropology and other disciplines.

Graduate Placement

Careers

Recent graduates have gone on to work in Cultural Resource Management, Historic Preservation, Occupational Health, Museum Curation, Design and other career fields.

Ph.D. Programs

In the last 20 years, UC M.A. graduates have been accepted at, and received fellowship packages from, top doctoral programs, such as Indiana University, Purdue University, Florida State University, the University of Florida, the University of Utah, Boston University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of California at Irvine.

Graduate Student Funding:

Funding packages are available to highly qualified students and include Graduate Assistantships (3), Taft Enhancement Awards, and the Court Archaeological Fellowship.

Students identifying as belonging to underrepresented groups may be nominated by the Department for the University’s Albert C. Yates Fellowship program (additional information) which provides tuition and cost of living support, as well as a mentoring program. Students interested in being considered for a Yates Fellowship should state this in their applications.

Research funding for graduate students is available internally through the Charles P. Taft Research Center, the Graduate Student Governance Association, and the University Research Council.

Anthropology M.A. Options

RESEARCH CONCENTRATION – Thesis-based

ARCHAEOLOGY students and faculty work in the Western Hemisphere (including North America and Mesoamerica) and Europe and use a suite of methods in palaeoethnobotany, landscape archaeology, archaeological geology, bioarchaeology, epigraphy and iconography. The department has several archaeology laboratories including the Ohio Valley Archaeology Laboratory, the Court Archaeological Research Facility, and the Mediterranean Ecosystem Dynamics and Archaeology (MEDArch) Laboratory.

BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY students and faculty investigate diverse aspects of evolution and adaptation in both laboratory and field settings. Current research examines: the genetics and genomics of skin, hair, and iris pigmentation, the behavioral ecology of adaptive strategies of subsistence in marginal environments; and the environmental and ecological consequences of human impacts and habitat transformation.

SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY students and faculty work on diverse problems and questions raised by rapid technological, environmental, and demographic changes in human societies utilizing a range of ethnographic methods to examine: the politics of representation, identity, and difference; political ecology and adaptation to climate change; and the construction of categories, labels and types.

Degree requirements for the Research Concentration are listed here.

APPLIED CONCENTRATION – Internship-based

APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY combines comprehensive anthropological training with an internship experience designed to allow students who are working or planning to work in other fields such as public health, design, environmental management, human rights, cultural resource management, etc. to define and develop participatory and collaborative projects that apply anthropology to diverse settings and situations. Students in the applied concentration take a required practicum course in their first year to prepare them for the internship experience. A proposal and an internship capstone project final report are required. *Link to degree requirements for the Applied Concentration coming soon!

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION – Certificate-based

INTERDISCIPLINARY CERTIFICATE students choose from among several post-baccalaureate certificate options offered by other UC departments and programs and complement comprehensive training in anthropology with 12-15 hours of coursework and training in such areas as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Film and Media Studies, Human Nutrition, Innovation, or International Business. As with the internship option, students must complete both a proposal and a final capstone report on their interdisciplinary projects. *Link to degree requirements for the Interdisciplinary Concentration coming soon!