Department of Anthropology

The Master of Arts program is designed to provide an organized course of study for students who wish to pursue inquiry into anthropology beyond the baccalaureate level, and to become acquainted with professional work in anthropology. Students enter the anthropology Master's program with different career paths and should work closely with their advisor to guide their coursework and Master's paper research and writing in a way that contributes best to that path. Master’s students who wish to apply for doctoral programs may do so in their first or second year.

Requirements for completion of the Master of Arts in Anthropology include:

• Eight four-credit courses or the equivalent (32 credits total), and
• Participation in ANTH 340d Anthropology Graduate Proseminar, and
• A Master’s research paper.

In addition to the academic requirements for the degree, students must complete one year of full-time residency (full-time tuition for one year), or the equivalent in part-time study.

Master’s students may not use transfer credits to fulfill the coursework or residency requirement. There is no foreign language requirement. Language courses do not count toward the coursework requirement.

The degree must be earned within four years of beginning graduate study at Brandeis University.

Coursework Requirement

M.A. students are required to complete eight courses passed with a grade of B- or better, as follows:

• ANTH 203b Contemporary Anthropological Theory, and
• Seven elective courses pertaining to the student’s anthropological interests, selected in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor.

Master’s students may combine two-credit courses toward their overall 32-credit requirement. 

Master’s students are also expected to register for and participate in ANTH 340d Anthropology Graduate Proseminar during the coursework phase of study. See more on the proseminar under the Resources and Facilities for all Graduate Students section of this Handbook.

Master’s students may opt to complete all of the requirements within one year, or may choose to take additional semesters to complete their degree. See the companion document Planning Your Trajectory as an Anthropology Graduate Student for information about the benefits and limits of a shorter or longer time to complete the Master's degree.

Master’s Research Paper

The Master's research paper involves substantial research by the student and should be 25-40 pages long, not including references. The paper should be of professional quality. The paper may have been written previously for a Brandeis anthropology course; normally students will undertake substantial revisions on the paper as part of the rewriting process. In consultation with the primary advisor, a student may register for ANTH 300a, "Directed Research for MA Students: Master’s Paper." However, this course does not count toward the eight required courses.   

The Master's research paper must be approved by two faculty members, at least one of whom is a member of the anthropology department (normally the student’s advisor). Master’s paper deadlines are generally as follows: a first full draft of the Master's paper is due approximately one month before the semester ends; one or both readers will provide feedback within two weeks; the final revised paper is due to both readers two weeks later. Once approved, the final version of the Master's research paper must be submitted to the department office. The Master's paper approval form requires the signature of both readers, and is required before the registrar’s deadline for final certification of completion of degree requirements. Specific deadlines are listed within the department's graduate resources webpages. For more information see Writing a Successful Master’s Paper and Master’s Paper Statement of Plans, both available on the graduate resources webpages as well.

This joint Master of Arts program is designed for anthropology students whose interests and research involve women’s, gender, and/or sexuality studies.

Requirements for the joint degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology and in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies include:

• Eight four-credit courses or the equivalent (32 credits total), and
• A Master’s research paper.

In addition to the academic requirements for the degree, students must complete one year of full-time residency (full-time tuition for one year) or the equivalent in part-time study.

Master’s students may not use transfer credits to fulfill the coursework or residency requirement. There is no foreign language requirement. Language courses do not count toward the coursework requirement.

The degree must be earned within four years of beginning graduate study at Brandeis University.

Coursework Requirement

Joint M.A. students are required to complete eight courses passed with a grade of B- or better, as follows:

• ANTH 203b Contemporary Anthropological Theory
• ANTH 244a Gender and Sexuality Seminar (or ANTH 144a The Anthropology of Gender or ANTH 166b Queer Anthropology, by petition)
• WMGS 205a Graduate Foundational Course in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• A course in feminist research methodologies (WMGS 208a Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Research Seminar, or The Feminist Inquiry course offered through the Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies, or an approved alternate)
• Four elective graduate courses, including one in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies from a field other than anthropology, selected in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor. 

Master’s students may combine two-credit courses toward their overall 32-credit requirement. 

Joint M.A. students are also expected to register for and participate in ANTH 340d Anthropology Graduate Proseminar during the coursework phase of study. See more on this proseminar under Resources and Facilities for all Graduate Students in this Handbook.

Master’s students may opt to complete all of the requirements within one year, or may choose to take additional semesters to complete their degree. See the companion document Planning Your Trajectory as an Anthropology Graduate Student for information about the benefits and limits of a shorter or longer time to complete the Master's degree.

Master’s Research Paper 

The Master's research paper involves substantial research by the student and should be 25-40 pages long, not including references. The paper should be of professional quality. The paper may have been written previously for a Brandeis anthropology course; normally students will undertake substantial revisions on the paper as part of the rewriting process. In consultation with the primary advisor, a student may register for ANTH 300a, "Directed Research for MA Students: Master’s Paper." However, this course does not count toward the eight required courses.   

The Master's research paper must be approved by two faculty members, at least one of whom is a member of the anthropology department (normally the student’s advisor). Master’s paper deadlines are generally as follows: a first full draft of the Master's paper is due approximately one month before the semester ends; one or both readers will provide feedback within two weeks; the final revised paper is due to both readers two weeks later. Once approved, the final version of the Master's research paper must be submitted to the department office. The Master's paper approval form requires the signature of both readers, and is required before the registrar’s deadline for final certification of completion of degree requirements. Specific deadlines are listed within the department's graduate resources webpages. For more information see Writing a Successful Master’s Paper and Master’s Paper Statement of Plans, both available on the graduate resources webpages as well.

For more information see Master’s Degree Deadlines.

Readings and Research Courses

Students may register for readings and research courses after their first semester with the approval of the course instructor. A student may take no more than one readings course per semester. 

Cross-registration

Brandeis participates in a cross-registration program with selected Boston-area institutions. For more information, see Resources and Facilities in this Handbook.

Extended Master’s Status

A graduate student enrolled in a Master’s program who has completed residence requirements and who needs to utilize the full range of academic services and university facilities while completing degree requirements is an Extended Master’s student. Normally students may not exceed two semesters on Extended Master’s status. Students in this category may register for content courses, audit courses, and/or complete their Master’s research paper.

Anthropology Master's students who have completed their one-year tuition residency requirement, but not their degree requirements, are eligible for the Extended Master's fee (a very significantly reduced tuition). See the Cost of Attendance Calculator. There will be additional partial fee waivers for the Extended Master's fee under the following circumstances: (1) students completing a thesis or final paper only and not registered for any content course or independent study; (2) students finishing an incomplete and not registered for any content course or independent study; (3) students serving as Course Assistants for Arts and Sciences. For further information, please refer to this document.

Teaching Opportunities 

Master’s students have the opportunity to apply to work as Course Assistants for a number of courses at Brandeis. Students selected to serve in this capacity receive a stipend for the semester and, after meeting the residence requirement, are eligible for a partial tuition fee waiver. Most often, anthropology Master’s students serve as Course Assistants for large undergraduate courses, such as ANTH 1a, ANTH 5a, ANTH 26a, or WMGS 5a.

Course Assistants work closely with the faculty in advising students and grading assignments. Course Assistants may be given opportunities to lecture and lead class discussion, and in some cases are expected to staff regular discussion sections. Final decisions regarding Course Assistants for Anthropology courses are made by the Director of Graduate Studies; for WMGS or other courses, inquire with the department or program administrator regarding how to apply. 

Research Assistant Opportunities

Each year the department offers opportunities for graduate students to work closely with a faculty member on a research-related project. Samples of past projects have included help with assembling a bibliography for a book manuscript, searching for articles and books, scanning documents into pdf files, reading draft manuscript chapters with an eye for a broad audience (making suggestions for revision), citation checking, locating existing literature and scholarship on a new research topic, and transcription work. The department also hires graduate students to help with administrative and event tasks for the department. 

Other Resources

See later sections of this handbook for information on 

• Funding Opportunities
• Working Groups
• The Brandeis Anthropology Research Seminar (BARS)
• Workshops and Programming from Graduate Student Affairs
• Libraries
• Material Culture Study Center
• Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnography

The department admits a small number of students each year in order to maintain its character as a small department in which students and faculty are closely associated and to ensure as high a level of student financial support as possible. Graduate training is based on required courses in the history, theory, and method of anthropology and on elective courses available in the four subfields: sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and physical anthropology. Training for independent research is stressed, with particular emphasis on theoretical issues and fieldwork.

Full tuition scholarships and teaching assistantships are awarded to entering doctoral students. Given satisfactory academic performance, this financial support is renewable for five years. After five years of funding, students are responsible for the post-resident tuition fees each semester.

Phases of Study

The doctoral program in anthropology consists of three stages: the coursework/examination stage, the proposal stage, and the dissertation stage. Students admitted to the doctoral program after one or more years of coursework in the Brandeis Master's program in anthropology are then normally considered to have completed their first year of the doctoral program.

Coursework/Examination Stage: Years 1-3

In this stage, the student: 

• fulfills the department’s requirement of sixteen semester courses, including the three required courses;
• prepares for and completes the qualifying examination;
• begins (or continues) specialized language and technical training needed for dissertation research;
• fulfills at least four out of six semesters of their teaching assistantship obligation.

Students are expected to finish this stage by the end of the third year (or by no more than two years in residence as a Ph.D. student following one or more years of M.A. work). Receiving fourth year funding is contingent upon meeting these conditions. In cases where students need language study in uncommon languages—which may require extra summer study and/or study far away—or other special requirements, they may need one extra summer. In this case, students must complete the qualifying examination by the end of registration period in September.

Proposal Stage, Year 4

In this stage, the student:

• writes and defends the dissertation proposal
• completes the foreign language examination
• applies for internal and external funding for dissertation research
• normally completes the final semester of teaching assistantship obligations

A student who has successfully defended their dissertation proposal and completed all other requirements is considered to be A.B.D. (“all but dissertation”).

Except for exceptional circumstances, to be approved by the student’s advisory committee in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, a student who fails to become A.B.D. by the end of their fourth year as a doctoral student will be asked to leave the program. Normally during the third and/or fourth years, as well as during one or more summers, students engage in preliminary dissertation fieldwork in order to be eligible for dissertation research grants and to complete the dissertation proposal.

Dissertation Stage, Years 5-7

In this stage the student:

• carries out field research,
• writes their dissertation, and
• defends their dissertation.

Advisory Committee

On matriculating into the Ph.D. program, each student is assigned a first-year faculty advisor. By the end of the second semester of residence in the doctoral program, the student is expected to recruit a committee of at least two and normally three departmental faculty members to assume advisory responsibilities. The student’s choice of committee members should be based on their research interests and sub-disciplinary specializations. One of the committee members whose field of specialization is related to the student’s interests serves as the student’s principal academic advisor and committee chair.

The student is responsible for providing the names of the advisory committee members to the Director of Graduate Studies and for filing the appropriate documentation in the department office. With the prior approval of the student’s advisory committee members, a student may ask a faculty member from another department or another institution to serve on their committee. The student may make a preliminary, unofficial invitation; the actual formal invitation must come from the advisory committee chair.

The advisory committee has the following general responsibilities: (1) to aid the student in constructing a coherent program of coursework leading to a high level of competency in one or more areas of anthropological theory and methodology; (2) to make certain that the courses selected include exposure to other areas within the discipline; and (3) to ensure that the student is knowledgeable in the anthropology of one or more of the world's culture areas.

The committee chair is responsible for organizing the student’s language exam. The committee approves the student’s qualifying examination reading list, conducts the qualifying examination, supervises the writing of the dissertation proposal, and provides guidance as the student conducts field research and writes the dissertation.

In the course of the student’s graduate career, as their interests evolve, the student may request changes or additions to the advisory committee. Once the new committee member agrees to serve, the change must be communicated to the Director of Graduate Studies and must be recorded on a form in the student’s file in the department office. Forms for registering or changing advisory committee members are available in the department office and must be filled out and submitted by the student. If the need should arise, the Director of Graduate Studies can either serve as the substitute advisor or a temporary replacement, with the student’s consent.

Residency Requirement

Residence requirements for all full-time graduate degrees are computed by determining the amount of registration for credit and the tuition charges. The residence requirement for Ph.D. students is three academic years in a full-time graduate credit program for each year, at the full-time tuition rate for each year, or the equivalent thereof in part-time study. A maximum of one year’s approved transfer credit may be granted toward residence for the Ph.D. degree.

Time to Degree

According to the Brandeis University Bulletin, students entering Brandeis with no previous graduate work must earn the doctorate within eight years from the inception of doctoral study. Students who have passed the terminal point for the degree must apply to the Graduate School for an extension no later than the final semester prior to the expiration of their time to graduate. See the Brandeis University Bulletin for additional details. Every student pursuing work for a degree, whether or not currently in residence, must register at the beginning of each term. 

Transfer Credit

After completing at least one semester of full time residence, Ph.D. students may apply for credit for graduate-level anthropology courses completed elsewhere or in a Brandeis M.A. program other than anthropology. A maximum of one year of residence credit (or eight semester courses) may be granted. Courses being transferred must carry a grade of B or better and must have been earned at an appropriately accredited institution. To apply for graduate transfer credit for a course from another institution, students must complete the appropriate form on the registrar’s website and submit an official transcript and syllabus for evaluation by the Director of Graduate Studies. 

Cross-Registration

Brandeis participates with other Boston-area institutions in consortiums and other cross-registration programs. For more information about these opportunities, see the Resources and Facilities section of this Handbook. 

Coursework Requirement

Ph.D. students must complete sixteen semester courses, normally taken at a rate of three or four per semester, with a grade of B- or better. The curriculum is flexible, allowing doctoral students, with the assistance of their advisory committees, to design a program of study around their particular anthropological interests. Students who wish to be exempted from any required course, whether a foundational course or a course required by the advisory committee, should formally petition the department before the beginning of the semester in which that course is given; the department faculty as a whole will make the decision. Graduate programs of study must be approved by the student’s advisor prior to registration.

Required Courses

Doctoral students must complete three required courses covering theory, methods, and history:

• ANTH 203b Contemporary Anthropological Theory is taken in the fall semester of the first year.
• The required methods course is either ANTH 202b Designing Anthropological Research or ANTH 204a Advanced Seminar in Archaeological Theory. These courses are offered every other year.
• ANTH 201a History of Anthropological Thought is required for all doctoral students and is offered every other year.

Doctoral students are also expected to register for and participate in ANTH 340d Anthropology Graduate Seminar during the coursework phase of their study.

Breadth in the Discipline 

Students are strongly advised to take, and their advisory committees may require, courses ensuring exposure to the discipline’s breadth of concepts and approaches, such as ANTH 186b Linguistic Anthropology and ANTH 123a Archaeology in Theory and Practice.

Specialization Courses 

The remainder of a student’s course program is organized around their particular interests, with the approval and guidance of the student’s advisory committee.

Readings and Research Courses

Students may register for readings and research courses after their first semester with the approval of the course instructor. A student may take no more than one readings course per semester. 

Language Courses

Language courses may be taken at Brandeis or other institutions to develop fluency for fieldwork or for review in preparation for the foreign language exam. Language courses do not count toward the coursework requirement.

Incomplete Coursework

The department’s policy on incomplete coursework follows the rules set forth in the Brandeis University Bulletin:

A graduate student who has not completed the work (exams, papers, etc.) for any course may receive an EI (excused incomplete) or a failing grade at the discretion of the course instructor. A student who receives an EI must satisfactorily complete the work of the course in which the incomplete was given in order to receive credit for the course and a letter grade. All work for an incomplete must be submitted no later than the date published in the University Registrar’s Academic Calendar. An EI that is not resolved by the deadline in the Academic Calendar will automatically become a permanent incomplete (recorded as "I" on the transcript).

Annual Evaluation and Readmission

Admission to the doctoral program is valid for one academic year. The department reviews doctoral students’ academic progress annually and makes recommendations to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) regarding readmission.

The anthropology readmission progress has three steps. At the end of the academic year, the department asks doctoral students to prepare a brief year-end summary of their academic and professional accomplishments and their plans for continued progress toward their degree. The department then prepares an evaluation letter for each doctoral student, and makes recommendations to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences regarding readmission. Departmental recommendations may include:

• Recommendation to the Graduate School for readmission to pursue work leading toward the Ph.D.
• Recommendation to the student to pursue a terminal Master of Arts degree

If a student is not making suitable academic progress, academic probation or withdrawal may result. GSAS issues readmission letters with funding information, usually in June.

Teaching Requirements

Doctoral students in anthropology generally complete six teaching assistantships as part of their doctoral funding package. Graduate teaching assistants are essential contributors to the university learning community, and gain valuable teaching experience.

A collective bargaining agreement between Brandeis University and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 509 governing the terms of employment for graduate assistants began on July 1, 2018.

Teaching Assistant (TA) duties may include assisting the professor with course preparation before and during the semester, maintenance of the university learning system (Latte) used by the faculty, and grading essays, exams and assignments. TAs may be required to attend classes on a regular basis. TAs may also be responsible for some instructional duties, such as leading discussion sessions and/or teaching an occasional class. They may also be responsible for some student advising and usually hold office hours. TAs are required to complete Title IX training.

The GSAS TA Handbook outlines available resources, describes best practices, and explains administrative procedures that TAs need to know.

Other TA resources include workshops designed for graduate teaching assistants, the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Committee for the Support of Teaching, and the English Language Programs office.

The Director of Graduate Studies oversees teaching assignments each semester, working closely with the Senior Academic Administrator.

Foreign Language Requirement

A reading knowledge of at least one foreign language relevant to the student’s research interests must be demonstrated during the student’s period of residency by successful completion of a written examination. While the faculty may permit a student to delay fulfilling this requirement, in all cases it must be passed before beginning dissertation fieldwork.

In this two-hour written examination, the student translates two texts, usually one theoretical and one empirical, into idiomatic English. The sample texts are selected by the student’s advisor in collaboration with the person doing the evaluation in the student’s area of topical and geographical specialization. Students have one hour to translate each text, and use of a dictionary is permitted. The exam can be taken in the department or at home; in the latter case, each text is emailed to the student, who must return the translation in the allotted time.

A “pass” or “fail” evaluation of the written exam is based on the degree of comprehension, the quality of the translation, and the proportion of each text that was translated. In the case of failure, the student may retake the exam in a subsequent semester. The texts will not be the same.

When the student has completed the foreign language requirement, the student is encouraged to incorporate sources in the selected language in research papers and the dissertation.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination tests for overall mastery of anthropological theory and literature. It is normally taken in a full-time student’s third year in the program and must be successfully completed before fourth-year funding is received. Students may not sit for the examination if they have not completed the coursework requirement or have any outstanding incompletes.

In consultation with the advisory committee, the student constructs a reading list of around 200 books and articles (the length of the reading list will vary and will be determined in consultation with the advisory committee) that will be the subject of the qualifying examination. It is expected that the student will seek the advice of each member of the committee in composing the reading list. The reading list should contain a theoretical section and an area section; each section should be clearly divided into three or four subsections. The theoretical section, building on readings in graduate courses, covers the student’s subdisciplinary concentrations, e.g:, “Language and Society,” “Theories of State Formation,” or “Culture and Power.” The area section addresses relevant regional, historical, and ethnographic literature, e.g.: “The Politics of Public Space in South Asia,” “East Asian Popular Religion,” or “Maya Kingdoms.” Taken together, the readings in the subsections should constitute an argument or intellectual conversation, serving as an analytic framework to be elaborated and refined in the subsequent dissertation proposal.

The student notifies the advisory committee and the Director of Graduate Studies when they are ready to sit for the qualifying examination during the regular academic year. Students will be asked to choose one theoretical question and one area question from a group of questions based directly on the student’s approved reading list. The examination lasts for one week, and each question should be answered in not more than ten double-spaced pages, not including bibliography. The student is responsible for giving the Director of Graduate Studies and each member of the committee a copy of the written responses. In a one-hour oral examination before the committee, the student responds to questions addressing both the written responses and the construction of the reading list. The committee then evaluates the student’s performance on both the written and oral components to determine if the student has passed or failed the examination. The committee may ask the student to prepare specific written revisions within the space of one week before making its final determination. A student who fails the qualifying examination will be allowed a second opportunity within a six-month period to answer a different set of written questions. 

Dissertation Proposal

After completing all required coursework and passing the qualifying examination, the student prepares a dissertation proposal, which consists of (a) a substantial literature review of the chosen topic and fieldwork area, (b) a detailed presentation of the dissertation research questions or problems, and (c) a discussion of the proposed research methodologies. In the proposal the student is expected to formulate explicitly how the review of significant issues in the scholarly literature leads to and provides a theoretical motivation for the dissertation research agenda. For more guidelines, click on the Guide To Writing a Dissertation Proposal.

When the student’s advisory committee agrees that the dissertation proposal is defensible, the document is circulated among the entire faculty and is made available to graduate students two weeks prior to a formal oral proposal hearing. Attended by a quorum of at least five anthropology faculty members and open to anthropology graduate students in all degree programs, the hearing will consist of a ten-minute presentation by the student, followed by constructive criticism, questions and advice from the faculty, and the student’s responses. After the hearing, the chair of the advisory committee, in consultation with the members of the committee, prepares written comments to guide the student’s revision of the document. In the past, faculty have requested various formats for these revisions including a 10-15 page written response to specific questions, a grant proposal incorporating the feedback from the hearing, and so forth, depending on the committee’s sense of what will benefit the student most.

The student is encouraged to discuss these comments with all members of the committee before submitting the final version of the dissertation proposal, which is normally due within two weeks of receiving the committee chair’s comments. The committee then has one week to pass or fail the dissertation proposal. A student who has successfully defended their proposal and completed all other requirements save the dissertation is considered to be A.B.D. 

Fieldwork Preparation

Prior to departure for dissertation fieldwork the student must prepare a brief, two-page fieldwork statement, to be submitted to the advisory committee and to the Director of Graduate Studies. The statement should include (a) a brief summary of the research topic, (b) information on the location and duration of the fieldwork and names and addresses of local contacts, (c) the current status of all funding applications, and (d) IRB status (passed or pending). This statement should also address the following departure checklist: 

• Visa (Has the student obtained a visa, if necessary, to enter the country?)
• Research Permit (Has the student obtained a research permit from the government of the host country, if necessary?)
• Health (Has the student consulted with a doctor about vaccinations, malaria prophylaxis, etc.? Does the student have the necessary medical insurance, including medical evacuation coverage if necessary?)
• Safety (Are there travel advisories posted on the Department of State’s website?)
• Registration status at Brandeis

While in the field, students are expected to keep their committee members apprised of their progress and of questions that have arisen. Students who receive departmental funds for their fieldwork must complete a formal checklist and report. The checklists are available on the graduate program resources page. 

Progress toward Degree

A graduate student who has completed all degree requirements except the dissertation is eligible for continuation status. A student in this category enrolls on a full-time basis and is eligible for university health insurance, borrowing privileges in the library, university account access, use of gym facilities, and the purchase of a parking sticker. Continuation status students are not normally eligible for leaves of absence, except for health reasons.

Continuation students must enroll before the end of the registration period each semester in CONT 500a (Graduate Research). Information about CONT 500a is available on the Registrar’s webpages and in the Bulletin. See Appendix 1 for information from GSAS regarding student status and tuition fees.

A continuation student is expected to schedule periodic meetings with their advisor and to submit writings in progress. When a doctoral student does not submit sufficient written material or updates over the course of a semester, the faculty will take this into consideration in making decisions about re-admittance for the following term.

If a student is not able to make progress, they may voluntarily withdraw, or be asked to withdraw by the department. When the student wishes to be considered for readmission, the minimum expectation is a 10-page written document; the student’s advisory committee may develop a more detailed requirement for readmission. The decision to readmit a returning student is made by the department as a whole.

Dissertation and Defense

Fieldwork and/or data gathering and the writing of the dissertation are carried out under the guidance of the student’s advisory committee. When complete, the dissertation must be submitted, together with an abstract of no more than 350 words, to the committee for determination if it is ready to be defended.

Once accepted by the advisory committee, the dissertation must be successfully defended in an oral examination. The dissertation must be deposited in the department office at least two weeks prior to the oral defense. In meeting these requirements, students are reminded to be attentive to the academic calendar deadlines posted on the Registrar’s web site and the dissertation submission procedures and deadlines of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The department selects an external examiner who serves as a reader for the dissertation and participates in the dissertation defense. Once the committee chair has received a commitment from the external examiner, the committee chair sets the date and time of the defense. The student prepares and submits the Dissertation Examining Committee Form. This form requires the approval and signature of the graduate program chair and the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The oral defense, presided over by the dissertation examining committee, will be open to any faculty member engaged in graduate instruction and to invited faculty members from other institutions. Following the defense, the candidate must submit the signed Report on Ph.D. Dissertation and Final Oral Examination to the Registrar’s Office. This report is signed by members of the dissertation examining committee, and certifies that the dissertation has been accepted and that the final oral examination (defense) has been passed. Required revisions of the dissertation must be completed and accepted by the committee within six months of the defense date; otherwise the dissertation must be re-defended. Submitted dissertations must follow all GSAS guidelines.

Rights and Responsibilities

Each year, the Department of Student Rights and Community Standards (DSRCS) publishes the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook. These policies and procedures are set forth in writing in order to give students general notice of community standards. See the DSRCS website for further information.

Student Accessibility Support

Brandeis University welcomes all qualified individuals as students, faculty, or staff members. The University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with appropriately documented physical, learning, or psychological disabilities. For more information, please see the university’s Services for Graduate Students pages.

Graduate Student Representatives and Anthropology Community Meetings

Anthropology graduate student representatives are elected to facilitate communication between graduate students and faculty on myriad issues. Representatives usually consist of one or two Master's students and one or two doctoral students. Representatives meet periodically with the Director of Graduate Studies and/or Department Chair. In conjunction with the Director of Graduate Studies, representatives collaborate on planning workshops and events and developing resources for graduate students. 

Brandeis Anthropology Research Seminar (BARS)

An important part of the intellectual life of the department is the Brandeis Anthropology Research Seminar (BARS), a venue for rigorous and creative intellectual engagement with current anthropological research. In This seminar will meet on most Friday afternoons at 2:30 pm, featuring presentations of new research by invited scholars, faculty, and students and on professional development workshops. The seminar provides an excellent way for graduate students to hear about current work in the various subfields of anthropology, to participate in formal and informal questioning, to present their work and receive feedback, and to make personal contacts with visiting scholars. All graduate students are expected to attend department colloquia.

Graduate students in the coursework phase are expected to enroll in ANTH 340d Anthropology Graduate Proseminar, which serves as a formal site to support BARS. Continuing students who have finished taking courses are not required to register for this non-credit seminar, but everyone is encouraged to register.

Each year the department invites distinguished scholars to present the Hunt Lecture in Economic Anthropology and the Saler Lecture in Religious Studies as part of the Brandeis Anthropology Research Seminar. The seminar schedule can be found on the department webpage.

Graduate Student Affairs (GSA)

The Office of Graduate Student Affairs (GSA) supports and encourages life on campus for graduate students outside of the classroom and serves as a liaison between graduate students and university administration. GSA staff members coordinate events and programming among the three graduate schools on campus. 

Graduate Cross-Registration Program

Brandeis participates in a cross-registration program with Boston College, Boston University, Tufts University, Wellesley College, and the Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies at MIT.  Anthropology students are eligible to take graduate-level or language courses at these institutions (no more than one course per term) with the prior approval of their advisors. Refer to the registrar’s website for details. 

Libraries

The social science collections of the university are housed in the Goldfarb and Farber Libraries. These materials are also accessible through the library’s online catalog systems. The libraries have facilities for computerized searches of bibliographic databases such as Academic Search Premier, the Social Science Index, the MLA Index, and other periodical indices. The Interlibrary Loan Office provides books or photocopies of materials not owned by the university. Brandeis is a member of the Boston Library Consortium, composed of twelve academic and research institutions in the area.

Material Culture Study Center

The department has curatorial responsibility for a teaching collection of art and artifacts from Africa, Inner Asia, Australia, the American Southwest, Mesoamerica, Southwest Asia, and Oceania. A rotating selection of objects is on display at the department. 

Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnography

CMRAE is a consortium of Boston-area institutions. Drawing on faculty from Brandeis, Boston University, Harvard, M.I.T., Tufts, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Wellesley, and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the consortium offers courses to students from participating institutions in a wide variety of topics in archaeological methods and the study of materials. is a consortium of Boston-area institutions. Drawing on faculty from Brandeis, Boston University, Harvard, M.I.T., Tufts, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Wellesley, and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the consortium offers courses to students from participating institutions in a wide variety of topics in archaeological methods and the study of materials.

Anthropology Department Funding Opportunities

The Anthropology Department has funds available to support graduate student research and other professional activities. Funded activities include Master's research paper fieldwork or research expenses, specialized language training, pre-dissertation fieldwork site visits, and travel expenses for students who are giving papers at professional meetings. In most years, applications for support from these funds will be reviewed by the faculty in two cycles, on or about November 1 and March 1. Applications for department funds must be made in writing in accordance with the department’s call for proposals, made available on the anthropology department website each year.

Manners Prize

The Manners Prize was established in 1994 to honor Dr. Robert A. Manners, a founding member of the Brandeis Anthropology Department and long-time department chair. Professor Manners also inaugurated the Anthropology graduate program in 1959. The prize is awarded to honor a significant piece of scholarly writing by a doctoral student, such as a research report, conference paper, journal article submission or dissertation. Papers submitted in fulfillment of course requirements are not normally eligible. The winner is selected by a committee appointed by the Chair of the Anthropology Department and is traditionally recognized in May. The winning student receives a cash prize and their name is added to the Manners Prize Plaque, displayed in the Anthropology Graduate Student Lounge.

University-Administered Funding Opportunities

The following internal funding opportunities are available to qualified graduate students. Please see the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website for details on these awards as well as Fulbright and UPI. 

GSAS Master's Research Fund and GSA Travel and Research Grants

GSAS offers small grants to help cover research expenses primarily for a thesis or major paper; GSA grants include travel and research support. 

Doctoral Travel Funds Request 

Doctoral students in the humanities, social sciences and creative arts may apply for up to $500 reimbursement each academic year for travel to present papers or serve on panels at conferences.

Provost Award

An award in the $500--$1,000 range in support of an ABD-doctoral candidate's dissertation-related research expenses.

Other specialized university funding opportunities are available from the Crown Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, the Center for German and European Studies, the Tauber Institute, and the Latin American and Latino Studies Program (Jane’s Travel Grants).

External Funding Opportunities

Students may consult the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website for a list of external funding opportunities.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program enables graduate students (and recent graduates who do not hold a terminal degree in their field) to conduct research and study abroad or to work as English teachers for an academic year. All applicants for this program must be U.S. citizens. All applications must first be submitted by the campus deadline (usually by mid-September) for internal committee review. 

University Prize Instructorship (UPI)

This award gives doctoral students the opportunity to design and teach an upper-division course in their field of research. Instructorships are awarded to exceptional doctoral candidates who have made substantial progress toward their degree. Candidates must have completed at least one semester as a Teaching Assistant and must be A.B.D. (i.e., have completed all degree requirements except the dissertation) by early May of the year the prize is awarded. Up to six instructorships will be awarded to candidates who propose courses that represent strong contributions to the undergraduate curriculum and who have demonstrated excellence and commitment to teaching. Selection criteria include quality of the proposed course as demonstrated by the syllabus, its relevance to the curriculum, and its potential appeal to undergraduates.

The anthropology department encourages students to work closely with advisors to develop creditable proposals for this instructorship during the fall semester. Please submit a statement and proposed syllabus to your advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies by the first day of classes in January, so that the department faculty may review the proposals in a timely fashion and make an appropriate recommendation to the Graduate School.

Outstanding Teaching Fellow Award

Each year, the anthropology department selects a recipient for the GSAS Outstanding Teaching Fellow award. The award is announced in late April, and certificates of distinction are presented to the recipients at a May reception.

Any student who has a grievance about a faculty or staff member regarding an academic matter should meet promptly with the persons directly involved. If that meeting results in a mutually acceptable solution, the matter is closed. If either party wishes to have a written statement of the outcome, the parties should put the solution in writing, sign it, and provide a copy to each person. If the grievance is unresolved, the student should submit a written statement, specifying the complaint and remedy desired, to the graduate advisor or the chair of the department in which the faculty or staff member resides. The chair or graduate advisor is to seek to resolve the matter within 14 calendar days from submission of the complaint, either personally or by assigning the matter to one or more faculty members. Any settlement will be in writing and signed by the parties involved, with a copy provided to all. The student may appeal, in writing, the department’s decision to the Dean of Arts and Sciences within 45 calendar days of the decision. The appeal should specify why the proposed resolution is not acceptable. Final disposition of the appeal will be in writing to all parties involved; the Dean’s decision is final. The Dean of GSAS is available to consult with students at any step in the grievance process.