AKJen

I don't know if it's very strong, but Case Western Reserve University offers a dual degree and they have some interesting opportunities for interdisciplinary study. I have a friend that did the MPH program at Emory with a year fellowship within the anthro department. There was no degree associated with the fellowship, so she thought the anthro students were getting a much better deal with their extra year of study. I wouldn't rule out programs just because there's no formal joint program or formal medical anthropology program. One thing I would look for is if professors have received funding from sources like NIH for medical anthro projects. That's often a good gauge in my experience of people that might have the expertise to help start a career in medical anthro research, if that's what you're after.

I'm applying this year. It's a little (okay, a lot) overwhelming. I graduated two years ago from a no-name liberal arts school and have spent the time since then working in a small research department with an Alaska Native tribal health organization. It's been very interesting and I've had the chance to take lead roles in our current NIH-funded efforts because the department is so small. We're working on one large scale qualitative study looking at the ethical and cultural implications of specimen banking among Alaska Native people. However, I can't really progress at all until I have my Ph.D., which has always been my plan anyway. I've narrowed my list down a little, but not much. I hope to apply to about 10 schools. I'm taking the GRE next month. I don't know that my area of interest is that rare, but it certainly has been challenging finding faculty that have at least an interest in Alaska Native research, even if it's more a Native North American focus. I've been looking at a few interdisciplinary programs as well, because I'm very interested in the impact of federal law on Alaska Native culture from the recent past to the current era. Any advice or programs I should be looking at? I'd certainly appreciate the help.