PhD in Anthropology in Charlotte United States | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The department provides graduate programs culminating in Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Admission to the graduate program is specifically for the Ph.D., though students may earn a master's degree as part of their doctoral journey, which isn't mandatory for Ph.D. completion.

Academic focus areas are structured through Programs and Concentrations. Programs cover Archaeology, Human Biology, Ecology, Evolution, and Sociocultural Anthropology with Ethnography. Concentrations feature Health, Medicine, and Humanity; Global Engagement; Race, Difference, and Power; Heritage and Unwritten Histories; and Social Formations and Processes. Students must complete at least three courses within their selected concentration or from program-approved options.

Programs differ from Concentrations through their formal connections with other university departments and more defined course prerequisites. Prospective students should indicate their Program preference upon admission, while Concentration selection can occur after starting graduate studies. Both choices must be finalized by the third semester. Regardless of path, students receive comprehensive anthropological training, potentially including cross-disciplinary courses from institutions like Duke University, to enhance their specialization.

First-year graduate students must finish their concentration's core sequence: either Sociocultural Theory and Ethnography (ANTH 701, 702) or Evolution and Ecology (ANTH 703, 704). They then complete either the alternate sequence or take one course from it plus Archaeological Theory (ANTH 705). Additional coursework comes from concentration-specific offerings, field research, and professional development classes.

By their second year, students must develop an independent research project under faculty guidance, presenting it to the department at the fourth semester's conclusion. Ph.D. qualifying exams should ideally be completed by the sixth semester.

The Ph.D. demands expertise in a chosen field and an approved dissertation addressing a relevant research question. The program allows considerable flexibility in topic selection, subject to advisor, committee, and faculty approval. Professional training includes at least one year of fieldwork for sociocultural anthropology or human ecology students, while archaeology and biological anthropology students can utilize the Research Labs in Archaeology for original investigations or analyzing existing collections.