Anthropology Department

Graduate students posing for photo

Graduate

We offer M.A. and M.S. degrees to provide you with graduate-level competence in biological anthropology, archaeology, and sociocultural anthropology, and equip you with the necessary skills to support a wide range of professional and academic career trajectories.

You have the option of choosing from three tracks:

  1. Internship Track: You'll complete a supervised internship at a partner organization, and write a thesis that combines an internship deliverable to the organization and a final internship reflection paper. This track prepares students for work as a practicing anthropologist.
  2. Skills Track: You'll complete a curriculum tailored to their career objectives as an applied anthropologist. In your final quarter, you'll take comprehensive exams and submit a portfolio documenting the skills you've obtained during the program.
  3. Thesis Track: You'll conduct original research in an area of special interest and write a thesis based on this data. This track is excellent preparation for doctoral programs.
Program Details about this content
Museum with archaeological bone specimens

Anthropology MA/MS

Our program is committed to research and scholarship in "applied anthropology" – where anthropological scholarly products address "real world" problems; and knowledge is returned to the peoples and places where the research is conducted.

group of people on Oregon beach

How To Apply

Review our program’s deadlines and requirements as you prepare to take the next step in your education and career.

Jeremy Spoon, Shelby Anderson, Mrinalini Tankha

Meet Our Faculty

You'll work closely with a faculty advisor. As you prepare your application, contact faculty that share your interests and with whom you wish to work. During the graduate application reviews, students are assigned an advisor based on student interests and faculty availability.

Instructor writing on board at front of classroom

Apply for Graduate Assistantship

We offer 3-5 teaching assistantships per year. These assistantships provide nine hours of tuition reimbursement per quarter, as well as a monthly stipend.

student in field gear

Apply for Scholarships

Each year, our program offers a graduate scholarship of $1,000 that can be applied towards tuition and a fellowship of $5,000 that is designed to pay for a student's final-year tuition.

Graduate Program Support

The Graduate Program Coordinator is available to answer your questions about our graduate program, including the admissions process, orientation, degree requirements, program deadlines, and forms.

Graduate Program Coordinator: Charles Klein, chklein@pdx.edu