Competition for Anthropology PhDs?

[NewScientist12]

Hi, all:

My girlfriend is thinking about pursuing an academic career in anthropology. My general question is: how competitive are PhD programs in this field? In my field (psychology), it's not uncommon for top programs to admit only 1 or 2 applicants out of pools of ~50 for each division. And from my experience in applying this season, it seemed that to have a shot at a decent/top program, programs were looking for something like 1300+ GRE, 3.5+ GPA, 2 years of research exp in a couple of different labs. How does anthropology compare in competition? Any advice for my girlfriend on next steps to take? She's just going into her 2nd year of undergraduate...

Edited April 17, 2012 by NewScientist12

[CarlieE]

This and last year seemed to be very competitive.. more so than before... Several of the schools I looked at only had spots for 3-7 candidates, out of pools of 150-200+. I think I got into a cohort of 5 or 6, of which I am sure 4 of us accepted.

I think it's great your gf is starting to look now; she can make her CV impressive with conference presentations, UG research, field schools etc early and be well prepared for applying her senior year. Good luck

[acher]

What subfield is your girlfriend looking at? perhaps we can weigh in on what is most important. In general, have her start working hard on getting a research internship or perhaps some field experience over the summer.

[NewScientist12]

Thank you for the advice so far. As far as her interests go, she's likes cultural, but is still open to other areas. She's pretty curious, so I imagine that in the end it might be hard for her to settle on one. And regarding research experience, you mentioned internships and field practice... do the skills and more research-oriented tacit knowledge usually come by way of these opportunities? Are there opportunities or expectations to work on research with a professor or professors throughout the school year? Thanks again.

[NewScientist12]

And this may sound dumb to an insider, but what exactly is a research internship? In social psych, profs were running studies around the clock it seemed, so volunteering as an RA was no problem, as they were usually looking for extra hands. Are the work opportuniities in anthropology more competitive or involved than this?

[Polanthro]

If she is interested in cultural anthropology, I don't think research internships will be as common or easy to come by, but it might be good for her to either volunteer as an RA to a professor of Anthropology at her institution, or try to do an independent study with someone and design her own research project. In my opinion, the best and single most important thing she can do to help her application is to spend some time in the part of the world she is wanting to study, and if it requires a language, to study that language in some capacity or another. There are so many opportunities out there I never took advantage of as an undergrad, but I also had no idea I would eventually want to study anthropology. If she knows that's her interest, she can now focus on developing her knowledge of and contacts in a region of the world that will be relevant to her research.

[laurissimo]

PhD programs are extraordinarily competitive, but in a different was than psych. I think if you polled folks, a vast majority of anthropology students (in any subfield) have to go through the MA program first, before being accepted to a PhD. Because a lot of anthro PhD programs are fully funded, competition is RIDICULOUS and you're up against people who have both a MA and 5-10 years experience. The trick is to really find out what your girlfriend is interested in, hone it, and apply to the schools with POI who are interested in that same thing. And I definitely second what everyone else is saying- do fieldwork, do papers, go to conferences. I didn't have a chance to do the latter two, but did a good bit of fieldwork during the summers of my UG work.

Also with cultural anthro- it's a lot of theory and studying specific cultures, so really the only application is in academia. The other subfields- linguistics, bioanth, and archaeology- have more "real-world" applications and much easier to intern/work for.

As far as numbers go, from what I've heard from my admission boards, anything over 1200 on the GRE is pretty good (great for MA; good/ok for PhD). 3.5 GPA is standard; obviously the higher, the better. As far as research experience... most programs I looked at only required a field school (for archaeology), but otherwise didn't require research. It will definitely put you on a different level than other applicants, though.

[CarlieE]

PhD programs are extraordinarily competitive, but in a different was than psych. I think if you polled folks, a vast majority of anthropology students (in any subfield) have to go through the MA program first, before being accepted to a PhD. Because a lot of anthro PhD programs are fully funded, competition is RIDICULOUS and you're up against people who have both a MA and 5-10 years experience.

While I think this is mostly true, I'm in a situation which is different. I'm finishing my UG and entering a tier 1 PhD in the Fall with a cohort that is mostly made up of UG grads without MAs. We all have full funding and 12 mo stipends. My point is, while it IS competitive, I think your gf should keep this in mind when she starts looking at where to apply.

With that said, I am coming in with 2 field schools (arch), 2 study abroad programs, 1 UG research apprenticeship (linguistics). My sub-field is cultural.

I agree that cultural research is hard to come by and generally expensive, but I think you can broaden your appeal to a PhD program by showing how you've developed your research and analytic skills in the other 3 sub-fields. If you do find a study abroad in the region of your interest, I think it's worth it to do it. There are a lot of grants and scholarship money available for study abroad if you're willing to do the research (it's how I paid for both of mine). Also, look at study abroad programs/field schools that are offered by Other universities - often they will allow you to piggy-back onto their program and you'll still get credit for it at your home institution.

[Armadilla]

AnthroDork, I got two questions for you!Did you have a publication prior to applying to your grad program?Which element of your application do you think increased your chances of being admitted the most?

[CarlieE]

AnthroDork, I got two questions for you!Did you have a publication prior to applying to your grad program?Which element of your application do you think increased your chances of being admitted the most?

Armadilla - I didn't have a publication, however, I made it a point to present papers at student conferences at my UG uni. If you want to publish, a lot of universities have undergraduate journals that are an option. Perhaps the UG journal isn't strictly anthropology, but might be a regional one, or in another social science, but they are worth looking into.

I'm not entirely sure what made my application successful, but I'm inclined to think it was because 1) I made my dissertation topic very clear in my SOP (I took research and design in a grad/UG cross-listed course and wrote a draft for a MA thesis proposal - this was where I began developing my ideas for my research) 2) I contacted the POI via email and discussed my proposed research before I applied 3) I had a good GPA and a lot of courses in my sub-field and area of interest 4) I have skills in 2 pertinent languages to my region (instead of 1 language I took 2 and got overrides to have some of my language courses applicable to my minor requirements) 5) I was very active in applying for scholarships and doing study abroad programs and I got a some key scholarships that allowed me to study abroad in the region I'm focusing on.

All that said, my GRE scores were not good. My qualitative was good but my quantitative scores were horrendous. Also, I took a double major and a minor so I had 2 senior years (they called it a Super Senior year at my uni) rather than finishing in the prescribed 4 years.

I know a lot of people work, but I didn't work during my UG. Instead my habit of applying for scholarships/grants resulted in me getting a full tuition waiver and a monthly stipend. I'm a fan of the "don't work harder, work smarter" school of thought.

I think that I got in because I put a lot of effort and thought into my UG. If there was a student conference coming up, I wrote a paper for it and presented it; if there was a research opportunity for an UG I applied for it - even if it wasn't completely up my alley; if there was a scholarship available I applied for it - on average, per semester, I'd apply for 5 or 6 grants/scholarships; I tried to attend all the seminars/talks offered by the department and I took notes in all of them; whenever I wrote a paper I always asked for feedback on it, how to improve it etc - even if I got an A on the paper - and then I'd implement the changes and ask the prof to read it over the break; if a prof mentioned an optional book in class or just mentioned an author as a remark in class I'd read it or look up articles by that author.

I'm not saying that I'm the best student - but I wanted to be a serious contender so I put a lot of effort into making my CV look really good, and giving my profs substance so they could write me good LORs. If I put this much effort into my UG, there's a good chance I'll do the same (or more) in my PhD program. I think that that's why I got accepted into a PhD program.

[Armadilla]

Thank you so much for such a detailed response, I really appreciate it!

[kphd]

Hi All!

I am trying to decide whether I should apply for a PhD. in international relations or Socio-Cultural Anthropology.

I did my post grad in Eco. and worked for three years (not related to eco, IR or ANthro)....

I have a 1430 equivalent in GRE

V-165

Q-158

AW-4.0

I am not sure how to convert my 55% in both undergrad and post grad from India into GPA scores.

I would prefer Anthro PhD, and I am prepared to spend 5 years in a MA + PhD course

Please suggest what universities I should look at for realistic chance of getting full funding.

Please bear in mind that I have no training in this field and I cant prepare a very specific research proposal...it will probably indicate a broad area of interest.

Please give me specific advice on how to go about the application process.

Thanks and Regards,

[heeby]

Hi kphd,

This really depends where you are applying - in the USA, or another country. Finishing an anthro PhD in the US typically takes an average of 7 years. Finishing in 5 is really, really challenging at most departments. This is because a grad student there typically takes 3 years of coursework (after which point an MA is awarded), does 1-2 year(s) of fieldwork, and then takes 1-2 years to write up the dissertation. If you don't get funding to do your fieldwork right away, you might have to delay another year while you apply for other fellowships; if you don't get a job on your first try, you might delay graduating for one year so that you can continue to teach as a TA and have health insurance/affiliation.

By contrast, cultural anthro PhD programs in most other anglophone countries are much shorter. You might have 1-2 years to complete an MA and then spend the rest of your time doing research and writing up. The same potential delays for funding or jobs apply, but the entire process is much faster. Having a PhD from another country can make it difficult to get a job in the USA if by chance you want to work there, but you can still get a great education. Australia, South Africa, Britain, and Canada all have fantastic universities.

This is the only part of your question for which I can hazard an answer. Hope this helps.