Requirements

Capstone Option (36 hours)

All students are required to take the Responsible Conduct of Research CITI test (available online at Citiprogram website), regardless of their subfield. Students must complete the test during their first semester of graduate coursework.

Upon completion, all non-course milestones must be reported to both the graduate director and the CAS Graduate Services Office using the forms here. 

1. ANTH 8040 Seminar in Anthropology (3) [required in 1^st or 2^nd semester]

2. One ANTH course at the 6000 or 8000 level in Biological Anthropology

3. One ANTH course at the 6000 or 8000 level in Archaeology

4. ANTH 8020 Professionalization Seminar (1) [concurrently with ANTH 8021]

5. ANTH 8021 Professionalization Seminar Lab (1) [concurrently with ANTH 8020]

6. Methods requirement (choose ONE relevant to student’s focus of study): [1^st or 2^nd semester]

ARCHAEOLOGY
ANTH 6590 Archaeological Methods (4)

BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 6360 Methods and Theories in Biological Anthropology (4)
ANTH 6370 Forensic Anthropology (3)

LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 8010 Qualitative Methods in Anthropology (3)
OR consult linguistic anthropology faculty

SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 8010 Qualitative Methods in Anthropology (3)

7. Theory requirement (choose ONE relevant to student’s focus of study):

ARCHAEOLOGY
ANTH 6600 Archaeological theory (4)

BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 6310 Human Biology (4)
ANTH 6300 Human Evolution (3)
ANTH 6630 Primate Behavioral Ecology (3)

LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 6114 Language and Social Justice (3)

SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 6020 Anthropological Theory
ANTH 6033 Anthropology of Violence (3)
ANTH 6040 Race, Class, and Gender in Global Perspective (3)
ANTH 6200 Urban Anthropology (3)
ANTH 6420 Gender and Power in Ethnographic Perspective (3)
ANTH 6460 Health and Culture
ANTH 6490 Anthropology of Globalization (4)
ANTH 6760 Tragedy and Comedy
ANTH 6780 Democracy, Secularism and Religion (3)
* Students may also enroll in the selected topics graduate course associated with “Sex, Culture, and Sexuality” and petition for this course to count as the theory requirement.

8. Research skills requirement

The research skills requirement may be fulfilled after a student has chosen a thesis/ capstone advisor. Each student must choose a research skills course in consultation with their advisor and the director of graduate studies, selecting a course that is relevant to their career goals. Normally, this course will be a non-ANTH course, though in some cases faculty may give approval for the research skills course to be a second ANTH methods course.

Note: This requirement may be waived for students who are fluent in a language other than English and for those who are able to pass a GSU-approved language proficiency exam. In the case of an approved waiver, students will substitute an additional ANTH specialization course for the research skills course.

9. Capstone paper

10. Public presentation of Capstone project

11. Additional 6000/ 8000 level anthropology courses to achieve a total of 36 credit hours. Up to six graduate-level credit hours may be taken of non-anth courses.

Students who are working towards an MA in Anthropology may also elect to complete a concentration in Museum Anthropology. This concentration provides students with experiences in analyzing the representation, exhibition and curation of material culture.  Museums are integral to establishing authority over knowledge with respect to what is displayed and how it is exhibited.  Cultural patrimony, nationalism, identity and cultural meaning are not only represented, but also created in the materials shown to the general public.  Therefore, museums are contested places where knowledge is available for consumption, where peoples and objects are viewed, and where ideas about the world are formulated.

In adopting an anthropological approach to museums, this concentration is distinct from generalized museum studies; museum anthropologists examine curation, exhibition, and museum practice from a comparative and global perspective that interrogates museums as dynamic institutions embedded in particular social and cultural contexts.  Emphasis is on both the role of museums in producing anthropological knowledge and the use of anthropological theory to contextualize and critique museum practices in diverse settings.

Options for the concentration are four-field and include independent fieldwork in osteology, archaeology or bioarchaeology using museum or laboratory collections, an internship at a museum, analyses of visual, aural, and/or material culture at a museum, cultural resource management, NAGPRA compliance, and studies of identity, cultural patrimony, nationalism, and the production of knowledge at one or more museums.

Students complete the concentration by undertaking a focused course of study within their overall MA program. Both thesis and Capstone students may elect the concentration. There is no special application process other than that for the MA program, but students should declare their intention to complete this program of study upon entry to the MA program.

In addition to completing the required courses listed above for the MA degree (36 credit hours), Museum Anthropology students must devote 18 of their total course credits to the concentration. Students who wish to apply courses other than those listed below toward their Museum Anthropology concentration should consult with the graduate director and course instructor.

* Museum anthropology students should keep the Museum Anthropology Course Completion Form handy and fill it out as you complete courses. In some cases, you may need to obtain a signature from the course instructor (see form).

All students are required to take the Responsible Conduct of Research CITI test (available online at Citiprogram website), regardless of their subfield. Students must complete the test during their first semester of graduate coursework.

Upon completion, all non-course milestones must be reported to the Graduate School using forms available here.

1. ANTH 8040 Seminar in Anthropology (3) [required in 1^st or 2^nd semester]

2. One ANTH course at the 6000 or 8000 level in Biological Anthropology: museum anthropology elective courses include ANTH 6300 Human Evolution, ANTH 6360 Methods and Theories in Biological Anthropology, or ANTH 6370 Forensic Anthropology

3. One ANTH course at the 6000 or 8000 level in Archaeology: museum anthropology elective courses include ANTH 6180 Archaeology of the Southeastern United States, ANTH 6190 Archaeological Practice and the Public, ANTH 6530 The Archaeology of Ancient Cities, or ANTH 6740 Cultures of Display: Archaeology, Museums and Nationalism

4. ANTH 8020 Professionalization Seminar (1) [concurrently with ANTH 8021]

5. ANTH 8021 Professionalization Seminar Lab (1) [concurrently with ANTH 8020]

6. Methods requirement (choose ONE relevant to student’s focus of study): [1^st or 2^nd semester]

ARCHAEOLOGY
ANTH 6590 Archaeological Methods (4)

BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 6360 Methods and Theories in Biological Anthropology (4)
ANTH 6370 Forensic Anthropology (3)

LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Speak with the graduate director about this course

SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Speak with the graduate director about this course

7. Theory requirement (choose ONE relevant to student’s focus of study):

ARCHAEOLOGY
Speak with the graduate director about this course

BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 6300 Human Evolution (3)
OR speak with the graduate director about this course

LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Speak with the graduate director about this course

SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Speak with the graduate director about this course

Suggested courses that might satisfy the theory requirement with a museum-focused course (consult with the instructor and the graduate director):

A course outside of the unit pertaining to the interests of the student (3)
ANTH 6080: Consumption and Material Culture (3)
ANTH 6112: Modernity and Identity (4)
ANTH 6400: Anthropology of Tourism (3)
ANTH 6520: Anthropology of Public Culture (4)
ANTH 6750: Film Culture, Morality and Modernity (3)
ANTH 6980: The Anthropology of Europe (3)

8. Research skills requirement

See description in M.A. requirements above. A course outside of the unit pertaining to the interests of the student might satisfy this requirement with a museum-focused course (consult with the instructor and the graduate director).

*By the semester midpoint of a student’s second semester, students will choose either the Capstone Option or the Thesis Option and complete requirements 9 and beyond from either option.

In lieu of two specialization courses, museum anthropology students are also required to take:

ANTH 6150 Museum Anthropology

AND ANTH 8070 Museum Experience

AND additional 6000/ 8000 level anthropology courses to achieve a total of 36 credit hours. Up to six graduate-level credit hours may be taken of non-anth courses. See the Museum Anthropology Course Completion Form for an up to date list of approved museum anthropology courses.

The Department of Anthropology offers a Graduate Certificate in Ethnography. Students must apply to the certificate program during either Fall or Spring semester. Current anthropology MA students, graduate students in other departments, and other interested individuals holding at least a bachelor’s degree may apply to the certificate program.

This program provides specialized knowledge and skills training in ethnographic research, focusing on research design, data collection and analysis, communication of results for diverse audiences, and policy analysis and writing. Ethnography is a field-based research methodology for the study of social and cultural patterns and practices. Ethnographers utilize participant-observation, direct observation and interaction, focus group interviews, and other qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques to uncover detailed patterns of human behavior in their cultural context. Ethnographic data are also relevant and useful in assessing community needs, addressing concerns of personnel, and enhancing cross-cultural communication.

Ethnographic data analysis is especially productive in clarifying complex issues, informing policy, and designing data-driven innovative and effective solutions to organizational problems. As such, this signature methodology of cultural anthropology has broad application in a variety of academic disciplines, creative industries, professional fields, and employment settings. Ethnographic interviewing is a core skill that attorneys, therapists, social workers, administrators, and journalists adopt to understand and to serve an increasingly diverse population of colleagues, clients, interlocutors, and stakeholders.

Ethnography encompasses basic and applied research, informs project planning and implementation, and illuminates assessment and impact analysis in areas that range from public health, education, and the arts to product design, user experience and marketing. The Certificate in Ethnography is ideal for MA and Ph.D. students in such fields as sociology, community psychology, education, nursing, linguistics, communication, business, and area studies who pursue qualitative research. For students who wish to pursue careers in academia, private business or the public sector, the Certificate offers applied and marketable skills in culture- and people-focused knowledge production and communication.

Required courses (9)

• ANTH 6670: “Methods in Sociocultural Anthropology” (3)
• ANTH 8010: “Qualitative Methods in Anthropology” (3)

And choose one of the following

• ANTH 6480: “Ethnography into the 21^st Century” (3) OR ANTH 8000: “Anthropological Theory and Praxis” (3)

Elective courses (6)
Choose from the following courses for a total of six credit hours

Anthropology Courses

• ANTH 6040 “Race, Class, and Gender in Global Perspective”
• ANTH 6080 “Consumption and Material Culture”
• ANTH 6111 “Anthropology of Self and Emotion”
• ANTH 6112 “Modernity and Identity”
• ANTH 6114 “Language and Social Justice”
• ANTH 6190 “Archaeological Practice and the Public”
• ANTH 6200 “Urban Anthropology”
• ANTH 6340 “Applied Anthropology”
• ANTH 6460 “Health and Culture”
• ANTH 6470 “Visual Culture”
• ANTH 6480 “Ethnography into the 21^st Century”
• ANTH 6500 “Work and Culture”
• ANTH 6550 “Field School in Anthropology”
• ANTH 6560 “Advanced Field School in Anthropology”
• ANTH 8000 “Anthropological Theory and Praxis”

Educational Policy Studies—Research, Measurement, and Statistics

• EPRS 8500 “Qualitative Research in Education 1”
• EPRS 8510 “Qualitative Research in Education 2”
• EPRS 8520 “Advanced Qual Research ”
• EPRS 8700 “Visual Research Methods”

Geosciences

• GEOS 6515 “Qualitative Methods in Geography”

Sociology

• SOCI 8342 “Qualitative Methods”

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

• WGSS 8004