MA in Anthropology
Why do human beings around the world speak different languages, eat different foods, think about justice in different ways and engage in different healing practices? Where did human beings come from, and how did we, as a species, come to be the way that we are? Questions like these form the core of anthropology.
An MA in anthropology opens doors to a wide array of career paths. Our graduates find success in fields such as technology, business, marketing, healthcare, environmental and social policy, international development, user experience, museums, public health, non-profits, journalism, government, education and research in the academy and the private sector.
The 36-credit Master of Arts in Anthropology at George Washington University provides a grounding in the foundational concepts of the discipline: biological anthropology, sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology and archaeology. Students may earn their degree in general anthropology or in one of three concentrations: international development, museum training, or health, science, and society.
Program Outcomes
The versatile skills you'll develop in our program prepare you for both traditional and emerging careers. You will have the opportunity to learn to:
- Conduct qualitative (ethnographic) research
- Analyze social phenomena
- Communicate across cultures
- Explore acquisition and curation practices
- Design and evaluate programs and policies
- Apply ethical considerations to real-world challenges
GRE scores are not required for application to the MA, MS and PhD programs and, if submitted with the application, will play no role in our departmental admissions decisions. The department of anthropology values building a thriving intellectual community that is diverse, equitable and inclusive. We do not consider GRE scores to be a valid predictor of intellectual promise — indeed we believe the GRE often promotes injustices that are contrary to our values.
Culminating Project
Master’s students complete a culminating project that can take the form of a thesis or a journal paper. Students in the Development and Museum Training concentrations are not required to complete a thesis, but students in those fields may substitute six credit hours of thesis work for coursework. Learn more about culminating projects in the Anthropology Graduate Student Guide (PDF).
"My master’s in anthropology from GW has been essential to my professional success."
Christina Samuels
MA ’13
Education Policy Manager, The New York Immigration Coalition
Course Requirements
The following requirements must be fulfilled:
The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate Programs.
A minimum of 36 credits in graduate coursework, including 9 credits in proseminars and 3 credits in an approved methods course. Students must also complete either a thesis (for which they must register for 3 to 6 credits of ANTH 6999 Thesis Research) or a culminating journal article. The remaining credits are fulfilled with electives and, if a concentration was selected, concentration courses. Students are encouraged to plan their programs with an advisor.
Foreign language—There is no language requirement for the MA degree. However, thesis projects that require language skills will only be approved by department advisors provided students show evidence of having language skills that are required.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core requirements | ||
| Proseminars | ||
| At least three proseminars selected from the following: | ||
| ANTH 6101 | Proseminar in Biological Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6102 | Proseminar in Sociocultural Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6103 | Proseminar in Archaeology | |
| ANTH 6104 | Proseminar in Linguistic Anthropology | |
| Students with significant background in a field, as determined by evaluation of a petition to the proseminar instructor, may waive one proseminar. Those who are permitted to waive a proseminar must take one course from group A and one from Group B. | ||
| Group A | ||
| ANTH 6101 | Proseminar in Biological Anthropology | |
| or ANTH 6103 | Proseminar in Archaeology | |
| Group B | ||
| ANTH 6102 | Proseminar in Sociocultural Anthropology | |
| or ANTH 6104 | Proseminar in Linguistic Anthropology | |
| Methods | ||
| One approved 3-credit methods course. | ||
| Thesis or other culminating project | ||
| Students must write either a thesis or a culminating journal article. Students who choose to write a thesis must register for 3 to 6 credits of ANTH 6999 Thesis Research.. | ||
| Electives | ||
| 18 to 24 credits in elective courses, depending on the number of credits taken in core course requirements. Students may choose to pursue a concentration (below), in which case any credits remaining after core and concentration requirements have been met are taken in elective courses. | ||
| In addition, students can enrich their degree through courses in programs at GW's other research centers or through the DC- schools consortium. | ||
| Optional concentrations | ||
| In addition to completing all core requirements for the degree, students may choose to pursue a concentration as part of their program of study. All requirements for the concentration must be fulfilled. | ||
| Museum training concentration (12 credits) 1 | ||
| 12 credits in courses selected from the following. 6 of these credits may be in an internship. | ||
| ANTH 6200 | Museum Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6201 | Methods in Museum Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6203 | Preventive Conservation Concepts | |
| ANTH 6204 | Preventive Conservation Techniques | |
| ANTH 6205 | Problems in Conservation | |
| ANTH 6230 | Internship in Museum Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6291 | Special Topics in Museum Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6508 | Ethics and Cultural Property | |
| International development concentration (12 credits) | ||
| Required | ||
| ANTH 6301 | The Anthropology of Development | |
| Two courses selected from the following: | ||
| ANTH 6302 | Issues in Development | |
| ANTH 6330 | Internship in Development Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6391 | Anthropology and Contemporary Problems | |
| ANTH 6501 | Gender and Sexuality | |
| ANTH 6507 | Nationalism and Ethnicity | |
| One approved graduate-level course in quantitative analysis. | ||
| Health, science, and society (HSS) concentration focus options (12 or 15 credits) | ||
| The HSS concentration offers a choice of two focus areas: medical anthropology (15 credits) and science and technology studies (12 credits). Please consult with the advisor for each focus area. | ||
| HSS concentration—Science and technology studies focus (12 credits): | ||
| Required | ||
| ANTH 6504 | Social Study of Science and Technology (This cornerstone course should be taken in the first year of the program.) | |
| One approved 3-credit methods course | ||
| 6 credits in sociocultural anthropology coursework selected from the list below. For courses not directly focused on health, students should direct their learning toward health issues to the extent possible, e.g., by selecting a health-related term paper topic. With the concentration advisor's permission, other anthropology courses, including courses offered through the Consortium of University of the Washington Metropolitan Area, may be taken to fulfill this concentration requirement. | ||
| ANTH 3503 | Psychological Anthropology (for graduate credit) | |
| ANTH 3991 | Special Topics (Race and Policing (taken for graduate credit)) | |
| ANTH 6506 | Topics in Medical Anthropology (Culture and Psychiatry) | |
| ANTH 6591 | Topics in Sociocultural Anthropology (Either Materiality: The Anthropology of Things AND/OR Anthropology of Environmental Politics) | |
| AMST 2620 | Human Mind and Artificial Intelligence (taken for graduate credit) | |
| AMST 6610 | Constructing the Natural, Unnatural, and Artifactual | |
| HSS concentration—medical anthropology focus (15 credits): | ||
| Required | ||
| ANTH 6505 | Medical Anthropology (This graduate seminar is the required cornerstone class and should be taken in the fall of first year) | |
| 6 credits in research methods courses, which must include one course in qualitative methods and one course in quantitative methods, selected from the following: | ||
| Qualitative methods course options: | ||
| ANTH 6331 | Research Methods in Development Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6531 | Methods in Sociocultural Anthropology | |
| SOC 6232 | Qualitative Methods | |
| Quantitative methods course options: | ||
| PUBH 6003 | Principles and Practices of Epidemiology | |
| 6 credits in sociocultural anthropology coursework selected from the following courses. For courses not directly focused on health, students should direct their learning, as much as possible, toward health issues, for example, by selecting a health-related term paper topic. (With the concentration advisor's permission, other anthropology courses, including courses offered through the Consortium of University of the Washington Metropolitan Area, may be taken to fulfill this concentration requirement.) | ||
| ANTH 6301 | The Anthropology of Development | |
| ANTH 6302 | Issues in Development (Anthropology of Intervention) | |
| ANTH 6391 | Anthropology and Contemporary Problems (Anthropology of Security) | |
| ANTH 6501 | Gender and Sexuality | |
| ANTH 6504 | Social Study of Science and Technology | |
| ANTH 6505 | Medical Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6506 | Topics in Medical Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6591 | Topics in Sociocultural Anthropology (Displacement and Diaspora) | |
| ANTH 6707 | Issues in Middle East Anthropology (Anthropology of State and Government AND/ OR Anthropology of Citizenship and Displacement) | |
| IAFF 6138 | Special Topics in International Development Studies (Gender and Development or Indigenous People) | |
| Undergraduate courses and graduate internships may be taken for credit toward the HSS concentration—medical anthropology focus with the permission of the concentration advisor. Examples include, but are not limited to the following: | ||
| ANTH 3503 | Psychological Anthropology | |
| ANTH 6330 | Internship in Development Anthropology | |
1Students whose primary interest is in museum techniques, rather than anthropology, are advised to apply to the MA in museum studies program. (Note that an MA in teaching in the field of museum education is also available through the Graduate School of Education and Human Development.)