Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology



Application Deadlines

Spring semester *

  • October 15 - For program and assistantship applications

Fall semester *

  • March 15 - For program and assistantship applications
Notes :

 * If the above dates fall on a weekend, the deadline is the next weekday.
** Applicants for assistantships must have submitted complete applications, including GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and transcripts to the graduate school by the assistantship application deadline.

Applications


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Applied Anthropology

Applied anthropologists use anthropological knowledge to solve practical problems for agencies, community groups, or other clients. They do fieldwork and employ other methods to gather data in specialties as diverse as cultural resource management, health care, historic preservation, economic development, museum design, forensics, and migrant settlement. Anthropologists' recovery and analyses of the data are aimed at providing solutions to particular problems faced by their clients. Applied anthropologists work both internationally and in the United States. There is a growing demand for anthropologists with practical experience and applied training to work in local, state, and federal government agencies and in private businesses and non-governmental organizations.


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Program Description

Graduate study leading to a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology, with an applied focus, is offered by the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures. Degree requirements include a thesis, a one-semester or one-summer long internship (5 hours credit), an oral exam, and 25 hours of graduate course work. Students may elect to specialize either in applied archaeology, including bioarchaeology, or in applied cultural anthropology.

The program in applied archaeology focuses on cultural resources management, including preparation in archaeological method and theory, proposal writing, consulting practices, and ethics. Specialty areas include archaeological surface survey and excavation methods; artifact analysis; settlement pattern analysis; environmental archaeology; and osteoarchaeology. The areal emphasis is the Southeastern U.S., although principles and methods are adaptable to application anywhere.

The applied cultural anthropology specialization emphasizes medical anthropology; program evaluation; and communication in multicultural settings. Ethnographic and qualitative research methods, as practiced in applied settings, are emphasized. The program focuses on preparing students for placement in the public and private sectors as cultural resource specialists and program evaluators, especially in medical settings, as well as preparing them for further graduate study.

Click to be directed to the Office of Graduate Studies at Mississippi State University for information about applying to graduate programs and online applications.


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Funding Opportunities

AMEC students, especially graduate students in Applied Anthropology, are encouraged to look over the following list and brief descriptions of funding opportunities for research and travel. You may discuss any of these with your major professor or with Dr. Peacock if you have not yet chosen a major professor. We strongly encourage students to seek outside funding for research and travel, as it benefits the department and adds to a student's CV.

  • American Association of University Women (AAUW) International Fellowships for Women. AAUW has a long and distinguished history of advancing educational and professional opportunities for women in the United States and around the globe. One of the world's largest sources of funding for graduate women, AAUW provides large numbers of fellowships and grants to outstanding women each year. For the 2011-2012 academic year, Master's/Professional fellowships of $18,000 and Doctorate fellowships of $20,000 are available. Applications are available from Aug. 1 - Dec. 1, 2010; application deadline, including all supporting documentation, is Dec. 1, 2010. The fellowship year is July 1, 2011 - June 20, 2012. A number of international fellowships are available for women who are United States citizens or permanent residents. Please visit www.aauw.org/learn/fellowships_grants for more information.
  • The Society of Ethnobiology has initiated an Undergraduate Ethnobiologist Award. Please check http://ethnobiology.org/awards/undergraduate-ethnobiologist for application guidelines.
  • Travel Assistance Grants for Graduate Students (TAGGS). The Office of the Graduate School at MSU offers 20 Travel Assistance Grants annually, 10 for each of two travel periods. For these travel periods, there are corresponding time intervals for submission of applications to request funding. The level of funding offered ranges between $1,000 and $1,500 per request. Grants are offered in support of graduate students who plan to travel to national or international conferences. Preferences will be given to doctoral students. A graduate student may apply once per year. No more than two requests will be accepted per department per application period. Consideration of the award is contingent on 1) receipt of online application (requires student to authenticate using Net ID/Password); 2) documentation of an abstract being accepted to the conference; 3) provision of original MSU Travel Authorization and Reimbursement Form; and 5) a brief letter of request that justifies why funding assistance is needed (must be submitted electronically as part of the online application). Travel periods: November 1 - April 30 (Application period: August 15 - November 15) and May 1 - October 31 (Application period: March 15 - May 15). All requests must be authorized by e-mail approval of department head. Within two weeks of request, a graduate student will be informed whether or not the funds will be granted. Applications will be considered until either the interval for acceptance of application expires or the maximum funds available per granting period have been exhausted. Additional information and the application form are available on the website of the Office of the Graduate School.
  • The Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry at the University of Madison-Wisconsin has annual research grants for graduate students to help train them in analytical methods of chemical analysis using archaeological/bioarchaeological materials. Equipment includes a variety of mass spectrometers, atomic emission spectrometers, laser ablation spectrometers, etc. The award is to perform the analytical services for free for a project proposed by the student (thesis projects are an obvious route), with direct student participation encouraged. Deadline for application is Jan. 1 each year, with the award to be announced on March 15. Details and answers to questions can be obtained from T. Douglas Price or James H. Burton.
  • NSF GRFP (Graduate Research Fellowship Program). Early stage Master's students in Archeology, Cultural Anthro and Medical Anthro are eligible to apply to the NSF GRFP (Graduate Research Fellowship Program): http://nsfgrfp.org/ and http://nsfgrfp.org/how_to_apply
    NOTE: Must be done within first 12 months, so apply early!
  • National Science Foundation short-term summer courses. April 1 is the deadline for NSF's three-week summer training program in research design for cultural anthropology (for graduate students). Details on the Methods Mall, at http://www.qualquant.net/training/.
  • The Geological Society of American, Archaeological Geology Division, annually offers the Claude C. Albritton, Jr. Scholarship. This scholarship supports field and/or laboratory research for a graduate student pursuing a Masters or Doctoral degree. The research must "involve interdisciplinary archaeology-earth sciences concepts and methods. Specific disciplines/subdisciplines and geographic areas are open, but can include geomorphology, pedology, sedimentology, archaeometry, stratigraphy, paleontology, zooarchaeology, and archaeological materials and characterization". [Note: this is ideal for using the Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer here at MSU, for example; radiocarbon and other dating also is supported]. Any student enrolled in the archaeology/bioarchaeology track is eligible. Awards are up to $650. Proposals are due by March 1 every year. Follow the link for information on applying: http://rock.geosociety.org/arch/GSA_Awards.htm.
  • Geochron Laboratories Graduate Student Awards. Each year, Geochron Laboratories awards research grants to graduate students for free analytical services, such as isotopic analyses and radiocarbon dating. They give several awards each year. Applications must be received before May 1. Follow the link for details: http://www.geochronlabs.com/research.html .
  • The Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research, sponsored by the American Philosophical Society, supports "exploratory field studies for the collection of specimens and data and to provide the imaginative stimulus that accompanies direct observation. Applications are invited from disciplines with a large dependence on field studies, such as archaeology and anthropology." Grants are available for graduate students "who wish to participate in field studies for their theses or for other purposes." Awards are to support travel, and range from "several hundred dollars" to $5,000. There is no deadline for application. The applications are on-line at http://pull.xmr3.com/p/4028-7D73/63428231/Applications_available.html.


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Forms


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Graduate Coordinator :
Dr. Evan Peacock

Office : 106 Cobb Institute of Archaeology

Address : Post Office Box AR, Mississippi State University, MS 39762

Phone : (662) 325-1663

Email : peacock@anthro.msstate.edu


Office of Graduate Studies
at Mississippi State University.

AMEC Graduate Students