Anthropology - Master's

Admission requirements include:

• 1. A completed application
• 2. Transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended
• 3. (3) letters of recommendation

• 4.  A Statement of Purpose (SOP): An essay of 2-3 pages that discusses the following::

  1. What topics or questions interest you and how those are related to anthropology?

  2. How your background and experiences have prepared you for graduate school?

  3. Why the USM Anthropology program is well-designed to help you achieve your goals for graduate school?

Additional notes on the SOP: Your statement lets us lets us get to know you beyond grades and previous coursework. This is your opportunity to tell us a bit more about yourself, your research interests, what your professional and personal goals are, and importantly, how our program will help you attain them. Most students spend more time on their Statement of Purpose than anything else in the application despite its short length. Don’t be afraid to ask your professors, classmates, family or friends for feedback, and give yourself plenty of time and space for writing this critical component of your graduate application. A great Statement of Purpose is one that is focused, well-written, and makes it clear that USM is a good fit for you—and that you’re a good fit for us!

• 5. CV or Resume
• 6. A Writing Sample: An academic paper on a topic in anthropology of interest to you; it should be about 10 pages in length, written in English, and use a standard citation style.

Additional notes on the Writing Sample:  The writing sample helps us to evaluate your ability to demonstrate your research skills and present your findings, as you will be asked to do in your graduate career.  The sample should be academic in nature (usually something you have written for a class as an undergraduate), and show that you can write clearly and professionally.  Ideally the paper should display how you can synthesize ideas and concepts concerning a research question and then critically evaluate them.

Application Deadline

March 15 for fall applicants

We have an annual assistantship sponsored by the Department of Defense in which a student works closely with the staff archaeologist at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center. Other internships are available in the program laboratories as well as in off campus settings.

Our program has four laboratories where students can gain hands-on experience as they work closely with faculty members. The most unique facility is the center for primate behavioral studies which houses a colony of bushbabies. We also have a bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology lab which curates a large colonial Maya population from western Belize. Our archaeological facility is home to a variety of research collections from Mississippi and the greater Southeast. The biological anthropology lab is also equipped for hormonal analysis and preparing nutritional samples for further analysis and has equipment that allows analysis of tissues for many hormonal indicators.