Graduate Adviser: Sarah K. Campbell

The Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University, offers a graduate program leading to an M.A. degree in Anthropology (Thesis Only).

The relatively small size of our Department (ten full-time faculty) enables us to work closely with students on projects and maintain the "family" atmosphere. We are pleased that our MAs are competitive in the job market with the majority employed in their fields or enrolled in Phd programs.

Graduates will be required to fulfill core requirements and at least one each of the upper-division or graduate courses in the Culture Region, Methods & Topical components to gain skills necessary to ensure success in your subdiscipline or applied focus. Graduates with insufficient background in statistics, anthropological history, or in theory and methods, will be expected to take undergraduate courses as instructed by the graduate advisor. The ideal duration is approximately two years and core requirements should be completed within four quarters, if attending full-time.

While our program provides a broad exposure to all the subfields of Anthropology, our greatest strength is in cultural anthropology with emphasis in area specialties of our faculty. With an archaeological and cultural concentration the Pacific Northwest, we also take pride in our Pacific Rim ethnographic strengths, which complement expertise in other departments on campus.

Our main concern is grounding in the discipline--its theory and data. We are not a technical college, but we do encourage you to pick an "applied" topic for your thesis. Additional skills can be acquired through our "special skill requirements," which may be completed through other departments on campus.

The members of our Department have always been committed to excellence in teaching and scholarship, as well as providing a warm and open learning atmosphere.

Application Information

Application Deadline for each academic year is March 1   

Application Requirements:

Please note: Applications will not be forwarded to the department for review until all required materials have been received by the Graduate School.

Anthropology MA Program (Thesis Only)

Prerequisites
Undergraduate major in anthropology or equivalent in social sciences, or departmental permission: candidates with insufficient backgrounds in anthropological history, or theory and methods, will be expected to take undergraduate courses as deemed necessary by the graduate program advisor.  There is a stats requirement, if a stats course was not taken in undergraduate coursework the student be required to complete one at Western Washington University.

Degree Requirement is 45 credits consisting of the following:

            Anth 501 (5 crs)
            Anth 502 (5 crs)
            Anth 503 (5 crs)

        *Note:  3 crs of Anth 690 are required.  Not more than 12 crs of Anth 690 will apply to 45 cr degree requirement

           *Note:  No more than 10 crs of 400-level courses can be applied to graduate degree.  At least 35 crs must at the 500 or 600-level.

Time Limit
All requirements for the degree must be completed within 5 years of the initial quarter of registration.

Graduate Assistantships

Teaching Assistantships
Teaching Assistantships (TA) are allocated by the Graduate School and assigned by the Department.  The Anthropology Department assigns TAships quarterly, with a minimum of two quarters, to graduates progressing in the program and maintaining a 3.0 grade point average. Generally, first year students are not assigned to TAships the first quarter of entry so that they can become accustomed to the university and their environment.  Graduate students that want to be considered for a TAship must fill out a Graduate Assistant Form and submit with their graduate application.  TA's are full classroom support to instructors and duties are outlined by individual instructors.  TA's are full-time (20 hr) positions, receive a partial waiver on their tuition and are salaried for the quarter. 

Research Assistantships           
Research Assistants (RA) are considered graduate work study and are awarded through the Financial Aid process. Graduate students
interested in an RAship should be sure to mark work study on their FAFSA form.  RA's are expected to do research, typing, collect
materials on faculty projects or provide other required assistance (not TA duties) to individual instructor. RA's are paid by the hour and do
receive a tuition waiver.