Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology - Archaeology of Complex Societies of the Americas

The Doctor of Philosophy program is characterized by two distinct foci: 1) The Archaeology of Complex Societies, pertaining to the emergence and spread of early civilizations in the Americas, and 2) Biocultural Medical Anthropology, the study of the influence of social relations and culture on psychological and biological dimensions of wellbeing. Our goal is to produce PhD graduates who will have acquired skills that will make them highly marketable for both academic and applied positions. Besides a cutting edge, in-depth knowledge of theory and literature in their specific subject area, students will acquire necessary skills such as teaching and grading experience, statistical competence, familiarity with numerous computer programs, grant writing ability, and foreign language reading facility. Students will have conducted firsthand research in their specific emphasis. For archaeologists this will require knowing excavation and mapping techniques, artifact analysis, GIS (geographic information systems) and other computer mapping capabilities, and familiarity with museum cataloging systems. For biocultural medical anthropology students, the skills learned for their research will include interviewing, participant observation, research design, physical and physiological measurement techniques, as well as SPSS, Anthropac, and programs for qualitative data analysis.
The archaeological component of the PhD program focuses on the emergence, spread, and organization of complex societies. From an archaeological perspective, complex societies are the consequence of the transformation from hunting and harvesting to food production, from an economy that moves people to food to one that moves food to people. The social, political, and economic effects of this transformation produced social orders classified by archaeologists as chiefdoms, kingdoms or early states. At the time of contact with Europeans, complex societies were found throughout the Americas. Our archaeology interests center on North America (primarily the Southeastern US), Mesoamerica, and Andean South America, three areas of the New World where ancient complex societies evolved.

Each international applicant must hold the equivalent of a U.S. four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited institution to be eligible for graduate admission. While individual departments may have more stringent requirements, bachelor degrees from Bologna Accord certified institutions are considered to meet this criterion. We do also consider Indian three-year degrees to be equivalent to a U.S. four-year degree.

TOEFL : The minimum score for admission to a degree program or for non-degree admission is 79 on the internet-based TOEFL (iBT).
International English Language Testing System (IELTS): The minimum score for admission to a degree program or for non-degree admission is 6.5.
TOEFL paper-based score of 550 and above