Anthropology, Ph.D.

Admission

Candidates for admission to the doctoral program in anthropology, with a concentration in archaeology, must either hold a bachelor’s degree in anthropology or archaeology or hold a bachelor’s degree in another subject with significant coursework in anthropology. Candidates without this background may apply after first strengthening areas of deficiency. The graduate advisor will assist in this process. Applicants for admission should have a minimum grade point average of 3.5. All applicants must submit scores from the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination. Students with exceptional promise that do not meet one or more of the admission conditions may be admitted on probation with the approval of the graduate advisor and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Transfer Credits

Students with an M.A. degree in a relevant field of study may apply up to 30 credit hours to the Ph.D. program including up to 9 hours of thesis work. Up to 12 credit hours of graduate enrollment not applied to any degree may be transferred. See the Academic Policies  section of the Graduate Bulletin for more information about transferring graduate credit.

General Requirements

The total hours required for the Ph.D. include a minimum of 72 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 42 hours beyond the master’s degree.

There is no formal language requirement for the Ph.D. degree. However, students will consult with their advisors regarding the development of pertinent linguistic and/or computer skills necessary for thesis research and analysis. Students are reminded that many research positions require proficiency in one or more foreign languages.

Curriculum

Advisory Committee

Students in the Ph.D. program will be advised initially by the graduate advisor. The student must select a research area and a research advisor or co-advisers by the end of the second semester after enrollment in the program. The student, after consultation with the advisor or co-advisors, recommends the members of the advisory committee to the Dean of the Graduate School by the end of the third semester of enrollment. The advisory committee must have at least three graduate faculty members, consisting of at least two members from the Department of Anthropology  and one member from outside the department. One member of the advisory committee may be a qualified expert in the research area from outside the University. At least half of the total committee must be full time anthropology graduate faculty members at The University of Tulsa. The advisory committee approves the dissertation and administers the final dissertation oral examination.

Comprehensive Exam and Prospectus Defense

Doctoral students will stand for the comprehensive exam at the end of the fourth semester for students who are entering without a Master’s degree from TU and after the second semester for those who have a Master’s degree from TU.  This exam will generally be about the discipline of anthropological archaeology with a focus toward the student’s dissertation topics.  

Once a doctoral student has an approved dissertation prospectus, they will stand for an oral exam called a Prospectus Defense. This oral exam will be related to the student’s dissertation prospectus and generally about the dissertation background and will normally be taken in the sixth semester.  The Prospectus Defense is presented orally before the advisory committee in a forum open to any students or faculty.

Candidacy

A student in the Ph.D. program is recommended for candidacy by the Graduate Program Advisor after the comprehensive examination has been passed and the prospectus defense has been successfully completed.

Dissertation

Ph.D. candidates must write a dissertation on the results of their research. The dissertation must demonstrate the candidate’s abilities in independent investigation in the area of interest and must contribute to the field of archaeology. The dissertation must follow the Graduate School’s recommended procedures for submission to the student’s advisory committee, and before it is finally reproduced it must be presented to the full advisory committee for examination and review and presented orally in an open forum. The dissertation will be graded on a pass/fail basis.

Final Oral Examination

Each candidate must pass a final oral examination before the advisory committee. The examination will consist of a defense of the dissertation, questions regarding the general field of the dissertation, and other parts of the program which may be chosen by the committee. The advisory committee recommends the candidate to the Dean of the Graduate School for the Ph.D. degree upon successful completion of the final oral examination and acceptance of the dissertation.