PhD Program

For more information on graduate programs,

contact the Director of Graduate Studies at anthgrad@uark.edu. 

 

The PhD program is designed to help students develop the skills necessary for independent and original research. Under the supervision of a faculty advisor and committee of their choosing, students will develop a course of study to successfully complete their PhD. Students are encouraged to complete all requirements for the PhD in four to six years. As stipulated by the graduate school, all requirements for the PhD degree must be completed within seven consecutive calendar years from the first date of enrollment in the PhD program. Exceptions to this timeline will be considered on a case-by-case basis and extensions must evaluated by the student’s advisor and requested through and approved by the Graduate School in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies.

Our PhD Alumni and MA graduates have jobs in K-12 and higher education, medical professions and education, government, industry, cultural resource management, and beyond. 

 

PhD Dissertation Committee

In consultation with their advisor, students enrolled in the PhD program must form a PhD Dissertation Committee. This committee may or may not be the same as the Graduate Advisory Committee. As with the Advisory Committee, students must complete a Graduate School form to officially create this committee; when completed, this form should be submitted to the graduate school, with a copy also sent to the Director of Graduate Studies and Department Chair.

Responsibilities of this committee may include:

  • Reading outlines and drafts of internship reports, dissertation manuscripts, and offering constructive feedback
  • Conducting oral and written examinations as appropriate
  • Advising about career options and opportunities

 

PhD Degree Requirements

Requirements for the PhD in Anthropology include:

  • 24 graduate hours of coursework beyond the MA degree
  • 18 graduate hours of dissertation research credit (ANTH 7000V)
  • A cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
  • Demonstrated competence in a language other than English
  • Completion of written and oral qualifyng examinations
  • Successful defense of the dissertation proposal
  • Completion and successful defense of a doctoral dissertation

 

PhD Coursework

All students enrolled in the Anthropology PhD program must complete a total of 24 hours of graduate coursework beyond the MA degree including the following courses:

  1. The 5000-level Method & Theory course in their area of specialization (ANTH 51003 for cultural, ANTH 52003 for archaeology, and ANTH 53003 for biological). These courses are designed to review the history of anthropological subfields; recent theories and practical implications and applications of various methods of acquiring, analyzing and interpreting anthropological data. Your advisory committee may identify additional Method and Theory courses for you to take.
  2. At least one “core course” in each of the other two subfields of anthropology. A list of courses that will fulfill these requirements will be provided each semester. Although course offerings will vary, a core course will typically include material that is considered foundational for that subfield.

No more than six hours of courses taken outside the Department of Anthropology may be used toward course requirements for the PhD degree. Additional courses may be taken but will not count toward the degree requirements. PhD students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on all graded coursework at the University of Arkansas to be eligible for the PhD degree. Courses where a grade of D or F were earned will not be counted toward the degree requirements.

Additional information regarding the courses listed above, as well as other courses provided in the department, can be found in the Graduate Catalog.

Students must also complete 18 hours of dissertation research credit (ANTH 7000V) beyond the above listed requirements. These credits may be completed after the dissertation proposal has been successfully defended (i.e., after the student has advanced to candidacy).

If you begin your doctoral study at the University of Arkansas with an MA from another university, you must take the required courses as listed above. However, a doctoral-level student that enters the program with an MA in anthropology may request a waiver for core courses outside of their subfield. They may not request a waiver for the 5000-level Method and Theory in their subfield. Students interested in requesting a waiver should contact the Director of Graduate Studies.

PhD students that previously completed their MA in anthropology at the University of Arkansas are not required to retake the core courses or Method & Theory course necessary for their subfield. However, if students switch subfields between MA and PhD, they may be asked to complete additional courses relevant to their new focus. 

 

Language Requirement

PhD students are required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. This may be a language necessary for understanding international scholarship and literature in their field or a language that is necessary for the student to successfully undertake fieldwork or other aspects of their research. 

This requirement can be satisfied in one or more of the following ways, as determined by the PhD advisory committee: 

  1. Coursework
    • Coursework options may include successful completion (B or higher) of two years (four semesters) of college coursework focusing on oral or written proficiency in the relevant language, a summer language immersion course, and/or other options as deemed appropriate by the student’s advisor and committee. Depending on the level of the course taken, any credit hours earned may not be eligible to be applied to the student’s degree requirements.
  2. Native language competence
    • Students whose native language is not English may use that language as their required language. However, if a language other than English or the student’s native language is required for fieldwork, the student may be required to demonstrate proficiency in that language via coursework or examination.
  3. Written and/or oral examination
    • Examinations may be offered by faculty in the Department of Anthropology if expertise is available. If no one in the Anthropology faculty is proficient to evaluate the candidate, another individual fluent in the language may be selected with consent of the advisory committee. The language competency exam will typically include the translation of some or all of a scholarly publication in the chosen language over the course of one or two hours, with a dictionary available to the student during the exam. Other types of exams may be administered depending on the needs of the student and the wishes of the advisory committee.

 

Qualifying Examination

A student must complete departmental course requirements and the language requirement before they are eligible for their qualifying exams. Depending on the wishes of the advisory committee, the student may complete the examination first and then defend their PhD proposal, or the reverse may happen. In either event, students will only fully advance to candidacy when they have successfully both passed their exams and defended their PhD dissertation proposal.

Students will notify their committees of their intention to take the examination, and their committee will construct the examination questions based on a reading list developed by the student and approved by the committee. The exam will be taken on campus over three consecutive days, with four hours allotted per day for the exam.

Each of the three days will include questions generally organized as follows (order and structure/content of these sections may vary depending on your committee):

  • One set of questions will cover theory and method in your subfield of anthropology
  • One set of questions will pertain to the subject area that you plan to pursue for your dissertation research
  • One set of questions will examine research methods/ analytical techniques and/or the geographical area that you will need to know to successfully conduct your dissertation project

The student’s committee will evaluate the written answers. The committee chair will then schedule an oral exam with the student’s committee.

After the oral exam, the committee will meet and make one of the following recommendations:

  1. The student has sufficiently demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to proceed with their dissertation research.
  2. The student fails to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to proceed with their dissertation research.

If the student fails the exam, they will be given the option to retake the exam within six months and/or during the next semester in which they are enrolled immediately following the original exam. The content and structure of the second exam will be determined by the student’s committee. Students will only be given one opportunity to retake the exam; if they fail a second time they will be dismissed from the program.

The committee recommendations and exam outcome should be communicated in writing to the student, Director of Graduate Studies, and the Department Chair within one week of the oral examination. Students wishing to appeal their decision may first consult with their advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Department Chair. If no resolution is reached, the student must follow the formal academic grievance policy set forth in the University of Arkansas Graduate Catalog.

 

Dissertation Proposal Defense

Following successful completion of the qualifying examination (or before the examination depending on the advice of the advisory committee), the student is expected to prepare a PhD proposal that will outline the research to be conducted for the dissertation. To demonstrate competence and preparedness for the dissertation, the dissertation committee will conduct an oral proposal defense. This proposal defense must take place within one semester after completing the written qualifying examinations; exceptions to this timeline will be made on a case-by-case basis. Only after the successful completion of the exams and dissertation proposal defense will the student be considered a PhD Candidate.

The outcome of the proposal defense should be communicated in writing to the student, Director of Graduate Studies, and the Department Chair within one week of the defense.

At this time the student should also submit their Thesis/Dissertation title to the graduate school.

 

Dissertation and Dissertation Defense

Following the dissertation proposal defense, the student will undertake their proposed research and prepare an original dissertation on a topic within their subfield of specialization. The completed dissertation should be submitted to the dissertation chair and dissertation committee within time limits specified by the Graduate School in the Graduate Student Handbook; for a PhD student, this typically means that all requirements for a doctoral degree must be completed within seven consecutive calendar years from the date of admission to the program. Exceptions to this timeline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The dissertation committee is responsible for evaluating the research quality and ensuring it meets departmental, university, and professional standards. The advisor is responsible for overseeing and following the research progress. Once research is completed and the dissertation is written in the proper format, the student should submit their dissertation to the dissertation advisor for comments and suggestions. After making appropriate modifications and upon approval of the advisor, the dissertation should be distributed to the remaining members of the dissertation committee. The dissertation defense should then be scheduled in consultation with the dissertation advisor and with the consensus of the committee.

Once the dissertation defense is scheduled, and at least two weeks prior to the date of the defense, the Graduate School must be notified. Also at this time, and with prior consent from your dissertation committee, you will prepare a memorandum announcing the time and location of your final examination and submit this memorandum to the department office and Director of Graduate Studies to be circulated to the department. This memorandum should include a short (less than 250 word) abstract of your dissertation, and a list of your committee members and dissertation chair. This announcement must be distributed no later than ten days before the final examination.

The final PhD examination is oral and primarily a defense of your dissertation, but it may also include other aspects of your graduate study. After passing the defense and negotiating any necessary final requirements or revisions with your committee, you should prepare the final dissertation and obtain approval signatures from your advisor and dissertation committee. Consult the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate School for proper guidelines for submitting final degree paperwork.

If the final PhD examination is failed, the student may petition in writing for an appeal with their primary advisor, Director of Graduate Studies, and Department Chair. If no adequate resolution is reached, the student must follow the formal academic grievance policy set forth in the University of Arkansas Graduate Catalog. If the student does not wish to appeal they will be dismissed from the program following the procedures set forth in the Graduate Catalog.

 

Teaching Requirement

Although the PhD is primarily a research degree, communication skills are critical to professional development. Therefore, students will be required to engage in teaching activities within the department before completing the program.