Doctoral Program

three people hiking down a hillsideOverview

We offer a PhD program emphasizing two foci of investigation:

Course Requirements

Each track has its own course requirements; learn more about these tracks on their respective pages or in the UA Graduate Catalog.

Admission

We anticipate students apply to either track of our program with the intention of working with a specific advisor. The relationship with the advisor will be one of mentorship as the student moves toward a mastery of the craft of original research and publication and gains familiarity with the role of a colleague.

Admission to our PhD program is open to those students already holding an MA in anthropology or a closely related field and a small number of applicants directly out of their undergraduate studies who qualify for a direct-to-doctorate (DTD) pathway. Typically, DTD students already have substantial research experience. We anticipate that more than half of our PhD students will still come to us after completing an MA program at the University of Alabama or elsewhere. Please contact the Director of Graduate Studies to discuss which admissions pathway might be most appropriate for you.

Anyone interested in applying to either track of our PhD program is encouraged to read about it on this site and to contact the Director of Graduate Studies or Department Chairperson.

More Information

To learn more about what our graduate students have done for their dissertations, the awards they have received, and where our doctoral alumni went after completing their time with us, visit our Doctoral Alumni page.