Want to transition from Business to Anthro. So lost.

[drumbum]

Hi all,

 

I recently graduated from a US top 20 school as a Finance and Chinese double major this past May. I had realized halfway through my studies that business isn't really my thing whether it be studying it or choosing to work in it, but I felt it was too late to switch at that point. After much thinking, I've decided that it'd be much more meaningful and fulfilling for me to pursue a PhD in Anthropology that focuses on China and Hong Kong, but not much of my background really supports that so I am sort of lost on how to approach this. 

 

Things going against me are my low undergrad GPA (3.18) and no relevant letters of rec from anthro professors. The only thing that stands out is having written an honors thesis on social identity in Hong Kong which focused on a mixture of culture, history and politics and my native fluency in Mandarin and Cantonese. 

 

My questions are:

 

- Is it a big negative to work in business for a year or two so that I can pay off my loans (roughly $10k) before applying?

- Would it make better sense to apply for a masters program before a PhD program because my undergrad has nothing anthropology related?

- What's the best approach to finding a suitable program once I've narrowed down research interests? Or is it better to start broad and narrow it down later? I feel that I have interests in multiple areas (globalization, urbanization, ecology) don't even know what I should start googling as I search for professors with these areas of focus. 

 

Thanks so much for reading.

Edited December 23, 2013 by drumbum

[slouching]

You might want to look into taking some additional anthropology courses, either at a community college or as a non-degree seeking student at a four-year school. You didn't mention how many anthropology classes you took as an undergrad, but if you only took a few, it could be a good idea to get some more experience in the subject before applying to graduate programs. That would give you an opportunity to get letters of recommendation, and to show programs that you know what you're getting into. When you're researching grad schools, be sure to look carefully at the admissions requirements, because some places may require a degree in anthropology or a certain number of anthropology credits, whereas other places may be more open. Considering your background, I'd definitely think about applying to some MA programs.

 

As for finding the right programs, I've found that it's easiest to start the search by looking at schools rather than professors, but that may be because I'm looking at grad programs in a few different fields, not just anthropology. If you know you're only interested in anthropology programs, it may be easier to use another approach, and I'm sure there are a lot of people here who can give you suggestions on that.

[jellyfish1]

I've heard from grad students in anthropology that taking time to work for a few years is not a bad choice and can even be beneficial. I know someone who went from 20 years working in real estate/finance to going for a PhD in Anthropology, actually. I would second Slouching's advice to take some anthro classes at a local school to make sure it's really what you want. I've heard it's best to take time off and have experience vs. hopping directly from one school to PhD work. When you do apply, perhaps apply to both PhD and master's programs- If you don't have enough experience or qualifications for a PhD program, you can do a master's first and build your credentials. But you never know! Anthro programs seem to look for unconventional backgrounds sometimes and a really persuasive SoP could get you in! Best of luck!

[Canis]

The key question is: What do you want to do in your PhD?

 

There are certainly great schools who admit students without a previous background in anthro - but without it you might find it very hard to even formulate your research interests in your statements for applications - simply because you're unfamiliar with the field. Every discipline has a way of approaching the world, and you will need to speak in the language of anthropology to 'sell' yourself to a PhD program.

 

I highly recommend finding a good MA program that is near where you want to live, and contacting them - let them know you would like to take a course or two as a non-matriculated student. Take the courses for credit and see what you think after one semester or two. If all goes well, and you're inspired - you'll have anthropology courses on a transcript and some recommendations from anthropology professors for your PhD app. This would be much more useful than taking a job in business or finance (unless you do both at once). Also, if you want to change fields and you want to make a compelling case that you want to, then you need to start now - not wait and work in your old field first.

 

Alternatively - if you double-majored, then just tell the story differently as you go forward. Many people integrate area studies or language study into anthropology courses of study. So you could put yourself forward as a Chinese major who also studied Finance - because you are interested in, for example, doing research on the way that capitalist ideologies take on local forms through language communities in Hong Kong. You could use your background to make a very compelling case for studying something like this - and if you got into a PhD program, you can always end up writing about something else in that area.

[NoSleepTilBreuckelen]

If you're looking for a way to explore anthropology more and clarify what your interests within the field are, you might keep an eye out for anthropology MOOCs. EdX (https://www.edx.org) has offered some very interesting anthropology courses, it's basically free online courses from a bunch of universities, including UT Austin, MIT, Berkeley, Harvard, and lots of others. If nothing else, taking or auditing one of those classes could help you build your background in the field, and even though the institutions don't award credit for these classes, taking one might also help demonstrate your interest in the field to the schools you apply to.

 

And remember, schools don't expect you to come in knowing everything - that's why they have several years of coursework at the start of the program!