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The Department of Anthropology

University of Montana
Doctoral Program in Anthropology
Concentration in Applied Medical Anthropology

Revised November 2010

Degree Requirements


The Ph.D. program requires coursework, a reviewed portfolio, a comprehensive examination, and a defended dissertation. The faculty will assign the student a committee chair upon acceptance into the Ph.D. program; and the student, in consultation with the chair, will select at least two more members for the committee within their first semester in the program. The committee chair will guide the student in choosing appropriate courses and research experiences to accomplish their desired educational outcomes, including serving as the dissertation committee chair. If a student's interests change to the extent that another faculty member would be more appropriate as the dissertation committee chair the student may present a written petition to the graduate advising coordinator, who will consult with the student's existing committee chair, the prospective new committee chair, the Department Chair, and any other relevant faculty in making a decision to grant the student's request.

The requirements for earning the Ph.D. are as follows:

  1. Graduate Contract and Portfolio. The student and their Ph.D. committee will formulate a plan of study, in the form of a graduate contract, tailored to the student's specific goals and consistent with Graduate School policy (section D.2000), within the student's first semester of entering the program. The contract will state the student's desired educational outcomes, the way in which the outcomes will be achieved, and the manner in which the outcomes will be assessed. The contract may only be altered with the approval of the student's Ph.D. committee. The student will create and maintain a portfolio of work documenting progress toward fulfillment of the graduate contract.

  2. Coursework. The coursework requirements vary depending upon whether the student has a master's degree in anthropology or enters the program with a bachelor's degree. Students with an MA are expected to complete a total of 30 credits and those with a BA a total of 60 degree credits.

    I. The course requirements for students with an MA are:

    A. ANTH 601 Research Design and Proposal Preparation

    B. One of the following seminars:

    ANTH 501 Historical Anthropology
    ANTH 513 Seminar in Bioarchaeology and Skeletal Biology
    ANTH 550 Seminar in Archaeology
    ANTH 570 Seminar in Linguistics

C. At least two of the following methods courses:

EVST 555 Research Methods for Social Change
SOCI 561 Qualitative Methods
SOCI 562 Quantitative Methods
SOCI 563 Social Data Analysis
HHP  544 Community-based Participatory Research Methods
PUBH 510 Introduction to Epidemiology
PUBH 520 Fundamentals of Biostatistics
PUBH 550 Program Evaluation and Research Methods

D. ANTH 520 Seminar in Ethnology (with either Quintero or Haddix McKay)

E. At least two of the following classes:

ANTH 410 Human Evolution
ANTH 417 Adaptation and Nutritional Anthropology
ANTH 422 Psychological Anthropology
ANTH 444 Culture, Health and Healing
ANTH 445 Drugs, Culture and Society

Those PhD students entering the program with an MA in anthropology but with limited medical anthropology background will be required to take 520 with Quintero and McKay as well as ANTH 522 Seminar in Medical Anthropology and ANTH 521 Applied Anthropology.

II. The course requirements for students entering the program with a BA:

A. The following graduate seminars:

ANTH 500 Contemporary Anthropological Thought
ANTH 520 Seminar in Ethnology (with Quintero or Haddix McKay)
ANTH 521 Applied Anthropology
ANTH 522 Seminar in Medical Anthropology

B. One of the following methods courses:

ANTH 431 Ethnographic Field Methods
ANTH 448 Quantitative Ethnographic Methods

C. Three courses from the following:

ANTH 403 Ethics and Anthropology
ANTH 417 Human Evolution Adaptation and Nutritional Anthropology
ANTH 418 Ecology and Genetic Variation in Human Populations
ANTH 422 Psychological Anthropology
ANTH 444 Culture, Health and Healing
ANTH 445 Drugs, Culture and Society

  1. At least nine credits in research (ANTH 690) and/or dissertation (ANTH 699). Students may apply up to 10 credits of ANTH 593/590/599 or the equivalent and 10 credits of ANTH 690/699 or the equivalent toward the 60 post-baccalaureate credits required for the degree. After students have earned a M.A. degree they may not enroll in ANTH 593/590/599.

  2. Dissertation Research Proposal. Before accumulating 45 post-baccalaureate credits and before enrolling in ANTH 699 the student will develop a detailed dissertation research proposal. A funding proposal to an appropriate source may be substituted for the research proposal. At a minimum the proposal should include:

    1. The goal of the scholarly work, including hypotheses to be tested;
    2. The materials and methods to be used;
    3. A significant annotated bibliography or literature review;
    4. A completed, but not submitted, University of Montana Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects in Research checklist form if the scholarly work involves living human subjects.
    5. A completed, but not submitted, Graduate School Application for Graduation.

  3. Dissertation Committee. After completion of the dissertation proposal the candidate will form a dissertation committee consisting of five members who meet the requirements listed in Graduate School Policy (sections D4.100 and D4.300), including one University of Montana -- Missoula faculty member who is outside Anthropology.
  1. Comprehensive Examination. Each student will orally present their research proposal at a meeting with their dissertation committee. During this meeting the committee will ask questions designed to assess whether the proposal and the student's background demonstrate the likelihood of successful completion of the dissertation research. The committee will also review the student's portfolio to assess the student's progress toward their desired outcomes. If the student has demonstrated substantial progress toward fulfillment of their graduate contract and is, in the opinion of the committee, prepared to undertake dissertation research, then they will be invited to continue work toward the completion of their dissertation. If deficiencies exist the committee may prescribe remedial action or direct the student toward graduation with a terminal M.A. degree. However, students may not earn a second M.A. degree in Anthropology from The University of Montana by this mechanism.
  1. Dissertation Defense. After the dissertation is completed, the student's dissertation committee will review it and ask the student to defend it following the process described in Graduate School policy (section D5.000).

Please note Graduate School Policy C1.300- At least half the credits required for your degree (excluding a combined total of 10 semester credits for thesis and research) will be at the 500 or 600 level. To apply this rule to your course of study, subtract the number of thesis and research credits you completed (up to 10 semester credits only) from the minimum number of credits required for your degree. All courses used to meet graduation requirements must be at the graduate level.