annwyn

This is the BEST revived thread ever!  I had a similar experience and had to switch advisors to finish my MA, I can't imagine a PhD under this kind of person.  I just want to add, for the poor soul who reads this and thinks...I think I could take it....
 
You might.  People are tough, and driven people are incredibly tough, but here is a story that convinced me that I needed to leave my own situation. 
 
Sometimes, it doesn't matter how tough you are.  If your advisor is abusive, they can find ways to make it impossible for you to finish.  In the case of this story, this person was nearly done with his PhD.  Classes done, research nearly completed, big portions of his dissertation were written.  THEN, his advisor literally packed up his research collection and SHIPPED IT AWAY to another researcher across the country.  He literally showed up at the lab and his project wasn't there. 

He told me he didn't know what to do.  What could he do?  Start a new project?  Try and get his project back???  Still work for this advisor when they could do something like this AGAIN??  The school knew how the advisor was, and wasn't prepared to take any action against them.  Lucky for him, out of the blue another university called him (I believe for a collaboration) and he was able to swing that into a PhD dissertation.  But I believe he had to move several states over to finish it. 
 
Long story short: don't do it! Don't put your future in the hands of somebody who can make it impossible for you to complete your degree.  It isn't about toughing it out if you literally can't get done. 
 
Thanks thescientist for posting your update!!  I'm so glad you shared what happened! 

I have two older girls that were small when I did my BA and had my son in the middle of my MA which was also the first month of my RA.  I was stressed to death about having a baby right at the beginning of an NSF research position.  It was fine.  I had a great supervisor and PI, and that was key.  In some ways being a parent to a young one helped me by FORCING me to extremely organized with my time.  

Here are some of my thoughts (some of it is repeated from above and not necessarily in order of importance.
 
1. Baby wearing!  Find the one you love and use it.
2. Find the perfect mix of parent time and student time.  If you can mix the two, great.  If you can't, don't (which is also great).  Just be honest with yourself about what works and be open to the idea that this is a fluid relationship that WILL CHANGE.  What worked last week won't work this week, that's fine.  Just keep options open for when you have to have student only time, which can be difficult.
3. Get a support network together now!  Look into what childcare you need to have, I have always used an on campus daycare.  It has been the best decision I could have made.  The baby was close when I needed to nurse him, and it was less expensive than any other option.  Find a parent group and work out friends you can call in emergency type situations where you just need a few hours to finish a paper or whatever. 
4.  If you can find an advisor who is kid friendly, do it.  I can't stress this enough.  You will have more to do than you can imagine and you REALLY don't need to be fighting your advisor in the meantime.  I have seen students with babies and unsupportive advisors, and it isn't pretty.
5.  Trust yourself.  You will hear an amazing amount of advice.  In the end, do what works for you and your little family, whatever that is.  For us, we co-slept (got great sleep!) and demand fed and almost NEVER did laundry.  It worked for us.  Some of my friends lost their minds doing what worked for me, and I lost mine trying to sleep train.  Bottom line: do what you need to do to get through.  First year is the hardest (both baby and grad school).  You can do it!
 
And lastly, and probably most importantly...Grad school is HARD on relationships.  Babies can be HARD on relationships.  Be open with your partner now about your feelings, goals, needs, EVERYTHING.  Talk about how you want to manage baby care and grad school responsibilites now, before the baby comes.  Grad school is very demanding and a fairly selfish endevour (even for the most selfless person).  A baby will intensify this.  Be good to each other.  Don't let things eat at you, and don't your partner do the same.  ENJOY this time.  As crazy as it is...it is amazing!!  Best of Luck to you all!

Since your weakness is in verbal, and that's where I did well (97th), I'm going to address that.  I took the test twice, five years apart, and was able to bump my verbal from 89 to 97 (percentile).  My math score stayed about the same at just above the 50th each time (practice geometry).
 
I used a couple of vocabulary apps for the GRE, but I honestly don't think they made a difference.  What I feel DID work, and I wish I had done it more than the apps, was writing the words and definitions.  I took the list that ETS gives you for vocabulary.  I can't remember exactly, but I believe it's online.  (You can definitely find GRE vocab word lists all over!) 
 
I would go through them,  and ANY word I wasn't 1000% on I would write out old style.  Just like in elementary.  Write the word, then the definition...THEN I would put it in a sentence (didn't write these).  I wrote 25 words at a time for a few days, making a new sentence every time.  At the end of the day, usually while cooking dinner, I would have somebody quiz me on my list.  At the end of the week, I would revisit the previous week list and see what needed help, and added it to my daily list.  I don't think I had more than a handful of words make it longer than two weeks.
 
Doing this, I learned more words and could use them appropriately MUCH FASTER than any other method I tried.  I did well on the apps, but the words weren't sticking.  If I went back a week later I couldn't recall the exact definition.
 
I would add, take practice tests.  But in small chunks.  It will help get a feel for the test itself.  Don't burn yourself out on taking the full length practice tests, but do take a couple.  Maybe one at the beginning to get a feel for where you need to focus, and one closer to your date.  Take the free practice tests ETS gives you so you can get an idea of how the computer software works.  You don't want the first time you see the test software to be on the day you take the test.  You want to be able to navigate in each section, be able to skip questions, go back, check answers, and submit answers (when you are REALLY done) and not have ANY of that be new. 
 
Employ test taking strategies.  My advisor (who teaches the GRE Princeton Review prep class) said remember: this test hates you.  It tries to be tricky.  Once you take a few practice chunks, you will start to see how they try to trip you up.  Watch for those kinds of questions.  Time is not your friend, you can go back and answer questions later, so skip ones that will take you longer.  Answer EVERY question.  Keep an eye on your time, when it gets close...fill in the blanks.  Just pick your favorite letter.   Take the test at the time of day you are best.  If you are a morning person, take it in the morning.  If you don't function until later in the day, take it then.  If you know that you'll stress out so bad you'll make yourself crazy, maybe a morning time would work better so you get it done.  Eat if you usually at that time.  You don't want to eat a big meal if you don't usually.  Likewise, you don't want to skip a meal if it is when you usually eat.  The test is long, and you can't leave to go to the bathroom in the middle of it...plan accordingly. Spicy buffalo wings the night before, might be a bad choice.
 
Sorry this is so long, but good test taking has so much more to it than just the test (and the test is bad enough)!  Best of luck!  You have a ton of prep stuff, find the ones that seem to help you best, and stick with those. 

Older and less tech savvy? I swear that the "digital natives" only know how to use social media (exaggerating, but it boggles my mind how many 20-somethings don't really know how to use computers). Whereas those of us who are "older" remember command lines, having to program to get a computer to do anything, etc. I find those in their 40s who had Commodore 64s as their first computers are much more "tech savvy" than the 20 year old who uses social media, but can't put together a computer or program anything.

Well I finally got all my offers in, and made a decision!  I will be attending University of Minnesota...School of Public Health.  So count me among the anthropologist that are in Health Services Research.  I'll still see some of you at SFAA I'm sure!

The number of anthropologists doing health services research is growing!

Congratulations annwyn! I'll see you at SFAA!

I was admitted to my first school in January and they had no problem giving me extra time.  However, turned out I didn't need it.  I found out Friday I didn't get off the wait-list and I was able to accept my other offer.  I was VERY relieved to not have to make that decision!  I hope you hear very soon!

Since your weakness is in verbal, and that's where I did well (97th), I'm going to address that.  I took the test twice, five years apart, and was able to bump my verbal from 89 to 97 (percentile).  My math score stayed about the same at just above the 50th each time (practice geometry).
 
I used a couple of vocabulary apps for the GRE, but I honestly don't think they made a difference.  What I feel DID work, and I wish I had done it more than the apps, was writing the words and definitions.  I took the list that ETS gives you for vocabulary.  I can't remember exactly, but I believe it's online.  (You can definitely find GRE vocab word lists all over!) 
 
I would go through them,  and ANY word I wasn't 1000% on I would write out old style.  Just like in elementary.  Write the word, then the definition...THEN I would put it in a sentence (didn't write these).  I wrote 25 words at a time for a few days, making a new sentence every time.  At the end of the day, usually while cooking dinner, I would have somebody quiz me on my list.  At the end of the week, I would revisit the previous week list and see what needed help, and added it to my daily list.  I don't think I had more than a handful of words make it longer than two weeks.
 
Doing this, I learned more words and could use them appropriately MUCH FASTER than any other method I tried.  I did well on the apps, but the words weren't sticking.  If I went back a week later I couldn't recall the exact definition.
 
I would add, take practice tests.  But in small chunks.  It will help get a feel for the test itself.  Don't burn yourself out on taking the full length practice tests, but do take a couple.  Maybe one at the beginning to get a feel for where you need to focus, and one closer to your date.  Take the free practice tests ETS gives you so you can get an idea of how the computer software works.  You don't want the first time you see the test software to be on the day you take the test.  You want to be able to navigate in each section, be able to skip questions, go back, check answers, and submit answers (when you are REALLY done) and not have ANY of that be new. 
 
Employ test taking strategies.  My advisor (who teaches the GRE Princeton Review prep class) said remember: this test hates you.  It tries to be tricky.  Once you take a few practice chunks, you will start to see how they try to trip you up.  Watch for those kinds of questions.  Time is not your friend, you can go back and answer questions later, so skip ones that will take you longer.  Answer EVERY question.  Keep an eye on your time, when it gets close...fill in the blanks.  Just pick your favorite letter.   Take the test at the time of day you are best.  If you are a morning person, take it in the morning.  If you don't function until later in the day, take it then.  If you know that you'll stress out so bad you'll make yourself crazy, maybe a morning time would work better so you get it done.  Eat if you usually at that time.  You don't want to eat a big meal if you don't usually.  Likewise, you don't want to skip a meal if it is when you usually eat.  The test is long, and you can't leave to go to the bathroom in the middle of it...plan accordingly. Spicy buffalo wings the night before, might be a bad choice.
 
Sorry this is so long, but good test taking has so much more to it than just the test (and the test is bad enough)!  Best of luck!  You have a ton of prep stuff, find the ones that seem to help you best, and stick with those. 

Well I finally got all my offers in, and made a decision!  I will be attending University of Minnesota...School of Public Health.  So count me among the anthropologist that are in Health Services Research.  I'll still see some of you at SFAA I'm sure!

Wow.  Hard decision.  I have been told to stay where you LOVE it, because you will need that fire to keep you going through the difficult phases of your grad work.  However, SMG brings up a good point about why you love it so much at UTA.  Could you pick up something like that at WashU?  You may still be able to collaborate with the professor at UTA if you attend WashU (I have friends who have done this EXACT thing with professors outside of their school at sites they love). 

50% more funding is no joke, especially since I think the cost of living in St. Louis is significantly lower.  Six years vs. four years might be an issue if you don't finish in four.  How does funding work at UTA for those students that go longer?  Are there funding options for them (RA or TA)?  The difference in the teaching requirement is a big deal too.  

There are a lot of things to consider besides funding.  If the funding at UTA is sufficient to complete the research you want, then perhaps you should look at other factors to help you decide.  What is each city like?  How well does each program support you in publication or presentation opportunities?  Does one program place considerably more graduates in the kind of job you want?
 
It's a hard decision, no doubt.  No matter which you choose, once you are there, don't second guess yourself.  You'll go crazy if you start to consider all the "what ifs?"   Congratulations too!  It's a wonderful problem to have!

I'm in a similar situation.  I would wait as long as you can, especially if they will match funds.  You might consider telling your current acceptance that you are waiting on final decisions.  I contacted my program for clarification, and they told me I technically have until 11:59 on April 15th to accept and still be within the deadline.  However, they gave me a couple of days beyond the deadline to make my decision in the event an offer comes in at the last minute.  It relieves a tiny bit of stress to have those extra days.    Hope you hear some definite answers soon!  Congratulations as well!

But you're missing out on prime pants-shitting research, OP!
 
Glad it all worked out. I'm currently trying to figure out who I should approach as an adviser when the time comes, so this thread has been very helpful!
 
Edit: downvote? Look at OP's title!

Posting on a zombie thread to say that everything TakeruK said was completely correct. 
 
Luckily, I had my massive disagreement with Advisor #1 before I joined the group. So lucky. In fact, I ended up doing what TakeruK said and working for the other big badass in the department - who is known for his science and only his science. Not known mostly for his stupid bullsh*t and posturing. 
 
My advice to anyone else in the situation above, because you probably won't get lucky like I did and get Institution #1 without Advisor #1... GO FOR NUMBER TWO. 
 
It's pretty rough, because #1 still 'hates' me, and tried to get my boss not to take me; I have no proof but she's also done other things to try and discredit or devalue me. It's rough seeing her around the department, and feels like there are constant fireworks. This is not fun. You do not want an Advisor #1 in your life.
 
So, the point of reviving the zombie thread was to thank you all for your great advice. I didn't take it, or anyone else's, and it's just by a tiny chance that everything still worked out for me. Thank you. 

Hello!

You made it this far with Notre Dame! Assuming you get the acceptance on April 15, you still dont have to decide on MN right away. From what I understand, April 15 is the deadline for sending admissions decisions from all the graduate schools (it's'a consortium of sorts) in the U.S., and that deadline does not mean students must submit offers by that date. How could you make an informed decision when funding might not come until May? Unless UMinn gave you a deadline by which to decide your offer, you can wait a bit.

I finished my MPH a few years ago and I'm starting a PhD program in med anthro this fall. From taking med anthro coursework during my public health program (and having no prior anthropology experience), I know that preparation for the coursework was not an issue. Much of the courses in pub hlth (at Brown, the masters and phd students had much of the same courses) were quantitative with most students learning topics for the first time. Don't worry too much about being "behind" your peers at UMinn. Besides, you'll be a beast in your qualitative methods courses. UMinn should have that, and if you need to take some qual coursework in the anthro or sociology depts, I doubt that will be a problem (it's'a shame that you're an outlier for being interested in qualitative research at a public health institution).

Notre Dame sounds like you'd'have the opportunity to build something new there, but I understand your hesitation in committing to that sort of undertaking.

If you want an academic job, you are right to highly consider program prestige. If you are interested in a non-academic career path, your degree type will correspond to the type of career you want. You can pursue non-academic jobs with a PhD in pub hlth or anthro (NGOs, policy work, foundations, think tanks, news services, domestic and foreign govt, etc). Your training will differ between the two disciplines, but you can strengthen your focus in an area that will suit your intended career path from either discipline. I'm pursuing a non-academic career path with an anthro PhD and I am confident that I can succesfully compete with public health PhD-holders and Anthropology PhD-holders for jobs.

It is true that there are traditional "anthropology jobs" and "public health jobs" but the parameters that comprise those traditional job-types do not include many of the non-academic jobs I highlighted earlier. Getting a PhD in anthropology will not hinder you in the job search, especially if it sets you apart from the rest.

Congratulations on your acceptances thus far.

According to Council of Graduate Schools, the April 15 Resolution only applies to offers of financial support, not admission. This means that you can accept your offer on April 16, provided that your offer letter did not contain any funding committments.

Since UMinn offered you funding, you must accept or decline by April 15 in lieu of an extension, so disregard the beginning of my previous post, as it was incorrect. Sorry about that.

www.cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution

Your choice comes down to whether or not you feel UMinn (with funding but little interest in your regional focus) or ND (a new program with funding to come later but the BOSS in your interest area) is better for your career prospects.

In theory, that's what the CGS agreement means. In practice, most graduate schools expect a decision from their applicants by April 15 (regardless of whether they offered you funding) unless they specify otherwise. It's the uncommon program that won't expect a decision by then, as they need to make enrollment decisions and start planning for next year's intake. So I think the OP is right to expect that Minnesota is going to want a decision by April 15.
 
My PhD is in public health and trust me when I say you won't really be starting out behind most of the other students. Most of public health theory in the social and behavioral sciences is drawn from anthropology and sociology, and some of the most prominent public health theorists are anthropologists. I'm a psychologist who did mental health research before I started my PhD and *I* actually felt a little behind my classmates because I didn't know how to read sociological theory yet. The intro biostatistics and epidemiology courses are taught at a beginner level, pitched to people who have little or no experience in biostatistics and epi. In fact, I managed to waive out of mine because of undergraduate statistics courses and took a more advanced class at my university during my PhD, but I saw what my roommate was learning, and it was stuff we covered in psychological statistics 201 in college. I did take epidemiology and if you know how to do basic algebra, you'll be all right.
 
I was a quantitative analyst amongst qualitative analysts. It didn't really bug me that much. As long as you have mentors who can guide you and advise your dissertation research, you should be fine. (It's not true that public health is based on quant analysis at its core - many public health researchers use qual analysis and a considerable number do mixed-methods. My top 10 public health department was primarily made up of qualitative researchers, and many of them are quite well-known!) Also, the cohort you met isn't going to be your cohort...your cohort isn't there yet. But they will be in your department, so it's important to get along with them. You don't need to "click" immediately, though!
 
You want to be busy. Busy means publications and presentations - and lines on your CV! You will be busy no matter what PhD program you go.
 
I guess the question is - what do you want to do post-graduation, and where do you want to teach (if academia is your goal)? Public health programs are popping up like moles everywhere, and there are positions, but these positions are VERY different from traditional anthropology ones. Many of them are in schools of public health or medicine, and you teach mainly graduate students, and they tend to be more heavily soft money than anthro jobs - meaning you will have to secure up to 100% of your salary in grants (sweet spot seems to be between 50 and 80 percent). You'll also be teaching more interdisciplinary classes. Do you dream of teaching intro anthropological theory and classes on ethnography, or advising undergraduates? Then an anthro program might be better suited for you.
 
If academia is not your goal, and you want to work for a nonprofit or NGO or think tank or something, then I think the public health degree will be somewhat more flexible, although you can get a job with either - what really matters more is the training and skills you bring. In the non-academic world, too, the prestige of your university might matter more than your specific program. In that case, Notre Dame does have a better-known name than Minnesota.
 
​One thing I will say, though, is that your career goals might change significantly. When I first started my PhD program, I wanted to be firmly in a non-academic position in the federal government. Near the end of my PhD program, I decided that I might want an academic job, but at a place that balances teaching and research and maybe even fell more heavily on the teaching side. Now I'm finishing the first year of a postdoc and I actually want to be at an R1 (sucked in!!). So you want to pick a program that's best for your current goals but also gives you some flexibility. (I think both programs will provide that.)
 
Honestly, you sound way more excited about Notre Dame, and that excitement is important. It is what will sustain during the hard, long nights So to me it sounds like if Notre Dame comes back to you with an offer that you should go there. Just focus on acquiring some skills that might assist you in finding post-graduation positions (like grant writing, maybe some quant analysis...)
 
Also
 
My POI is THE GUY in my field, but he is looking to retire.  He has assured me that if I were to come that he would see me through to the end of my program, but a POI at the end of their career has different focus and drive than one at the beginning.
 
True...but PIs at the end of their career know tons of people, have lots of connections, and are more focused on the generative stage of their career. A PI at the beginning of their career needs tons of publications - but they also need lots of time to build their tenure file and tons of first-authored publications. A PI near the end of his career is already confirmed in his position, and is going to be more focused on mentoring junior scholars and guide them through the program into good jobs.
 
One more thing...just by my own observation, new programs at elite schools tend to be pretty successful early on. The key factors to look for are top people in the field and the ability to attract a range of scholars - from assistant to associate to full. Some new PhD programs at mid-range or lower-ranked schools might only be able to get new people at first, and that can be a detriment - you don't want a department full of newbies who are trying to figure out how to be scholars, run a department and develop a new curriculum all at once. But if you have a variety of stages and the clout to attract some big names, that bodes well. One example I use all the time is Brown's new PhD program in the social and behavioral sciences in public health. Brown's SPH is pretty new and that PhD is just starting this year, but they've already attracted some big names (including someone pretty huge in my own area) as faculty and they have a well-established medical campus and school. So I'm fairly certain they'll be successful.
 
That's what you need to look for. Notre Dame is a big name; they seem to have already gotten a big PI in your sub-area; do they have strong adjunct departments (like sociology, political science...?) Those are key.

Having hit the "can't do cultural anthropology in U.S. wall" myself, I would encourage you museum_geek to keep your options open in regards to PhD programs.  I struck out 100% last year because my project was US based (I want to look at the effects of healthcare policy on parenting practices in various populations).  I received lot of enthusiastic responses from POI's but ultimately, there was this feeling that I wasn't doing anthropology.  This year, I decided to apply to a variety of programs outside of anthro because I felt that what I wanted to do can be done using anthropological theory and methods, but under a program that will support my research.  My most enthusiastic supporters this round have been public health programs.  I am not super thrilled about leaving anthropology, but I am STOKED about having acceptances at top programs with awesome funding.  I would say just put the idea in your head to look at programs outside of anthro and if you see a great fit, go for it!

I am a natural self-saboteur and professional buyer's remorse....uh....haver. I accepted my one offer before hearing the final decision on funding on my other offer and part of me is like.....it'd have to be AMAZING, but what if it IS!!!!?????
 
So for self-doubting types like me, or for people who find themselves suddenly surprised by funding or additional offers elsewhere, after they've accepted, worry not! I present you with the April 15th Resolution, by the Council of Graduate Schools: 
 
https://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGS_Resolution.pdf
 
Basically, any acceptance BEFORE April 15th is non-binding, as long as you write a letter to the school withdrawing your acceptance. So if you accept and then get a better offer, accept the better offer and write your initial acceptance to withdraw. No harm, no foul. Except on a personal level of course but what are you gonna do?
 
If you accept AFTER April 15th the matter becomes much more complicated and the first place has to write a letter releasing you before you can accept anywhere else. 

Wait, I thought this outside committee members thing was really common knowledge! PSA: your outside committee members are really crucial resources, especially when you are on the job market. At least where I come from, there's like a pipeline of post-docs and junior faculty positions that come from outside committee members. I already have mine lined up...definitely something to think about!

Thanks! That really helped me understand!
I have actually read a bit about the adjunct system in the US and was APPALLED... so if this is how money is allocated I completely understand why anybody would want to leave.
As I will be heading to California for my PhD I am now hoping that the faculty is treated well, not only because I wouldn't want people to leave but also, because it will have a huge affect on the the atmosphere in general and I'd like to that to be good for their and also my benefit.

First, ouch.  Been there, done that and it isn't a great feeling.  Just know that SO MANY of us got completely shut out our first application cycle. 

Next: what do you want to do?  Decide what kind of questions you are most interested in answering and then tailor your future studies/applications to those questions.  My questions were based around culture in the US, so I hit a wall when applying to Anthro PhD programs last year.  This cycle, I worked on reining my questions to better fit Anthropology in general.  But I also worked on getting clinical experience and worked with women's groups and applied to Gender programs and public health programs in addition to Anthro programs.  That seemed to work.

If you are especially interested in research that involves poplations outside of the US and western culture, I think I would go ahead and finish the Anthropology BA if it wasn't a financial strain.  But, if my questions were focused on populations here, I wouldn't worry about the Anthro BA, and instead I would look for ways to strengthen my application in gender studies or maybe even in sociology.  Present a paper or two at various conferences (sign up for these NOW while you still can get student rates!!) and look for work in those area of research.  

And I don't think I would necessarily do the MA.  I did, and wished I didn't.  It was a lot of money and it didn't do much but take up time I could have spent doing a PhD.  Since PhD was always my end goal...the MA doesn't make sense in hindsight.  But that is just my experience, yours might be different.

Hope that helps.  Sorry about the shut out.  Try not to get too down about it, it doesn't necessarily reflect on your worth as a researcher or as doctorate material in any way.  Good luck!!

I've been rejected from  5/7 Ph.D programs, I am currently an undergrad, and I have to say that this post has made me feel a lot better. I plan on really diving in researching, presenting and networking so I can apply again next year.

I know the chances of a good academic gig coming at the end of all this is pretty slim.  Worst case scenario I spent the next 5+ years reading interesting books and doing cool research.  Best case scenario the same plus middle class employment with some sweet perks.  I'm cynical about the academic job market but I'm also cynical about there being meaningful work that pays a living wage at all shit I'm cynical about finding meaningless wage slavery that pays a living wage.  We're fucked! I might as well get a PhD before the whole edifice comes crashing down. 

Exactly. I'm so glad you asked after why this seems to be such an issue (and I think other responses to my initial post have expanded on how cultural anthropology currently relates to U.S. work) because it isn't talked about much, especially across subfields. 
 
The good news is that we are each other's peers, and our attitudes will hopefully help shape the discipline moving forward. It is my hope that cultural anthropology in the U.S. will be more open to looking inward and exploring domestic topics, as there are certainly many spaces where anthropology has the potential to do important and significant work in America. That is not to say that international topics should be pushed aside for U.S. work. On the contrary, there is justification and room enough for both! 
 
But what applicants for 2016 can take away from this discussion is to think hard about what kind of work they want to do and where, and whether or not anthropology at this point in time will welcome their research and insight. If you don't need the specific anthropology PhD credential, there are many other avenues for legitimate (and even better-funded) doctoral study: American and area studies, cultural studies, media studies, information studies, public health and more.