UPenn Anthro?

[AKJen]

Anyone have insight into this program? I'd love to hear other people's thoughts.

[anthrogradhopes]

I know a student in UPenn's Anthro grad program. Do you have any specific questions?

[coyabean]

I know a student in UPenn's Anthro grad program. Do you have any specific questions?

Well they're also on my list so if it's ok with the OP I'd like to know about the socio-cultural focus of the department; how the dept feels about applied or activist bents to anthro research; the relationship with the greater Philly area; any good Americanist and/or critical race theory work going on; funding after the Big Recession; housing (cheap, available, on campus or off); how social is the dept...i mean, just for starters.

[anthrogradhopes]

Well they're also on my list so if it's ok with the OP I'd like to know about the socio-cultural focus of the department; how the dept feels about applied or activist bents to anthro research; the relationship with the greater Philly area; any good Americanist and/or critical race theory work going on; funding after the Big Recession; housing (cheap, available, on campus or off); how social is the dept...i mean, just for starters.

I've talked to her about funding and she's told me that just about every Ph.D. student get very livable funding for 5 years (and tells me the average student takes eight years to finish; after five years most have to teach or look for some other outside source of funding) and it doesn't seem that the recession has much affected their ability to fund. I don't know specifics about health insurance and the like. I haven't talked to her much about housing either but I have walked around West Philly pretty extensively and it seems that a lot of grad students live in very nice, cute houses in the general vicinity. I haven't talked to her at all about applied/activist bents to anthro research (not really my thing) but if you look at the website it seems like several undergrad courses integrate activism into their work so if it isn't an overarching focus of the program then at least there are likely some interested/knowledgable faculty. I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of the current grad students and they all seems very friendly and supportive of one another, very familiar with one another's projects. I thought that was great. Reviews of faculty friendliness, approachability, helpfulness, and the like were mixed: according to the students I spoke to, there are some awesome faculty members and some who weren't so awesome (unsurprisingly). UPenn is a pretty integral part of Philadelphia. University City connects to center city Philly via a five-minute SEPTA ride and the relationship between UPenn students and faculty and West Philly residents unaffiliated with the university seems to be improving every year (you can google for some of the initiatives they've taken since the 1980's, there's a lot of info). Campus security is also pretty fantastic. If you walk around University City at night, you'll likely feel very safe (this is something I've done on many occasions; I'm an undergrad in a Philly suburb and so have spent a lot of time in the city).

As for departmental focuses, apparently although UPenn is known for its strength in Central and South American Anth and Archaeology, a lot of the faculty who brought this renown have retired recently, although a few still remain. I just earlier this year realized that I want to do Anthropology and I'm still trying to figure out how all of the sub-fields break down, so I apologize for not being incredibly knowledgeable or helpful in this topic. From what I gather, they're very strong in physical anthropology as well as cultural anthropology and historical archaeology. This is obviously a "duh" thing to say, but you should definitely check out the faculty profiles and graduate courses offerings if you haven't yet.

Also check out the UPenn Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, which a lot of grad students (and not just anthro students) become involved with, either merely as a resource for research or in a more hands-on way, developing exhibits and becoming involved with the behind-the-scenes works, etc.

Sorry so much of this is vague. I'll ask her your questions and get back to you with more specific and helpful responses.

[coyabean]

I've talked to her about funding and she's told me that just about every Ph.D. student get very livable funding for 5 years (and tells me the average student takes eight years to finish; after five years most have to teach or look for some other outside source of funding) and it doesn't seem that the recession has much affected their ability to fund. I don't know specifics about health insurance and the like. I haven't talked to her much about housing either but I have walked around West Philly pretty extensively and it seems that a lot of grad students live in very nice, cute houses in the general vicinity. I haven't talked to her at all about applied/activist bents to anthro research (not really my thing) but if you look at the website it seems like several undergrad courses integrate activism into their work so if it isn't an overarching focus of the program then at least there are likely some interested/knowledgable faculty. I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of the current grad students and they all seems very friendly and supportive of one another, very familiar with one another's projects. I thought that was great. Reviews of faculty friendliness, approachability, helpfulness, and the like were mixed: according to the students I spoke to, there are some awesome faculty members and some who weren't so awesome (unsurprisingly). UPenn is a pretty integral part of Philadelphia. University City connects to center city Philly via a five-minute SEPTA ride and the relationship between UPenn students and faculty and West Philly residents unaffiliated with the university seems to be improving every year (you can google for some of the initiatives they've taken since the 1980's, there's a lot of info). Campus security is also pretty fantastic. If you walk around University City at night, you'll likely feel very safe (this is something I've done on many occasions; I'm an undergrad in a Philly suburb and so have spent a lot of time in the city).

As for departmental focuses, apparently although UPenn is known for its strength in Central and South American Anth and Archaeology, a lot of the faculty who brought this renown have retired recently, although a few still remain. I just earlier this year realized that I want to do Anthropology and I'm still trying to figure out how all of the sub-fields break down, so I apologize for not being incredibly knowledgeable or helpful in this topic. From what I gather, they're very strong in physical anthropology as well as cultural anthropology and historical archaeology. This is obviously a "duh" thing to say, but you should definitely check out the faculty profiles and graduate courses offerings if you haven't yet.

Also check out the UPenn Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, which a lot of grad students (and not just anthro students) become involved with, either merely as a resource for research or in a more hands-on way, developing exhibits and becoming involved with the behind-the-scenes works, etc.

Sorry so much of this is vague. I'll ask her your questions and get back to you with more specific and helpful responses.

How very awesome of you! Thank you for all of this. Penn is actually pretty high up my list, so, it is nice to hear all of this. Although 8 years is a bit scary.

Any other info you pass along would be greatly appreciated.

[anthrogradhopes]

Sure thing...I'll talk to the grad student I know pretty soon and will post what I find out.

And sorry about all the random pluralizations in my previous post. I don't know what that was about.

Good luck with your search in the meantime!

[AKJen]

Well they're also on my list so if it's ok with the OP I'd like to know about the socio-cultural focus of the department; how the dept feels about applied or activist bents to anthro research; the relationship with the greater Philly area; any good Americanist and/or critical race theory work going on; funding after the Big Recession; housing (cheap, available, on campus or off); how social is the dept...i mean, just for starters.

I did an REU project at the museum, so I can answer general questions about the department. I've been in touch with several of the faculty members that I worked with previously and I do think there is some activist and/or applied things going on, though it doesn't seem to be a departmental focus. We only worked with a few of the grad students, but there did seem to be a lot of things happening on campus. There's also a lot of opportunities for collaboration within the museum especially. From what I've heard, the funding situation is still the same, though the number of students accepted may be smaller than in previous years. All PhD students are offered a fellowship with teaching obligations and a liveable stipend. I lived in the grad student housing on campus which was very convenient but not the best situation.

I started the topic to hopefully get impressions from others outside the department re:reputation. I'm a little close to the department.

[anthrogradhopes]

jennyb: my impression of the department, even before I started making contacts there, was that it was fairly prestigious and well-rounded. Professors at my school seem to have similar opinions, though they may have more ties with faculty there than at schools in other places since we're right outside of Philly.

Can you say more about why you didn't like the on-campus grad student housing?

[coyabean]

jennyb: my impression of the department, even before I started making contacts there, was that it was fairly prestigious and well-rounded. Professors at my school seem to have similar opinions, though they may have more ties with faculty there than at schools in other places since we're right outside of Philly.

Can you say more about why you didn't like the on-campus grad student housing?

I second the request about your concerns with on-campus housing. As I'll be a transplant that is a serious consideration for me.

[AKJen]

The graduate student housing, while convenient (next to WaWa!) was very barebones and dark compared to the undergrad housing on campus. It served its purpose, I suppose, but its atmosphere was not conducive to studying in my opinion. However, the rooms were large and were all pretty much singles with shared bath or shared bath/kitchen. If you did go that route, I would try to get in one of the suites with kitchens. I was without for the semester, so it was dining halls for me. Which were actually not that bad, but there wasn't one in the grad housing.

And really, grad housing is a misnomer, since a lot of the people in there are undergrads. I will say the noise level wasn't bad. The laundry facilities are in a very depressing and creepy basement.

If I had to live there again, I could deal, but it's my impression that there is affordable housing near the campus. Probably not in Center City, but very close to the campus.

[goukaku suru you ni]

it seems that the areas of concentration of the UPenn anthro faculty is predominantly central and south americas. i wondering if people who have southeast asia as regional focus would stand a chance... what do you think, guys? thanks.

[GordonW]

it seems that the areas of concentration of the UPenn anthro faculty is predominantly central and south americas. i wondering if people who have southeast asia as regional focus would stand a chance... what do you think, guys? thanks.

I knew a Penn PhD student working on Thailand. Jaesok Kim teaches east asia...

[goukaku suru you ni]

I knew a Penn PhD student working on Thailand. Jaesok Kim teaches east asia...

hey, thanks.

Prof. Sanday who's a southeast asian specialist is already retiring. one of the professors whose research overlaps with mine replied and encouraged me to apply but i think there might be a lot of applications doing central/south america. after a lot of online research, graduate application committees seem to greatly consider the available support for the applicants' regional or geographical (not thematic) focus.