Applied Anthropology

Opportunities for graduate studies

By studying applied anthropology at the University of North Texas, you will be well-trained in helping solve some of society’s most compelling problems through working with nonprofit and for-profit community agencies.We offer a number of unique advantages including:

• numerous opportunities to collaborate on projects with a variety of organizations, from corporations to social service agencies
• faculty members who are all applied anthropologists with a variety of focuses including Africa, Oceania, North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe
• faculty members who are actively engaged in building networks around the diverse applications of anthropology in North Texas
• flexibility that allows you to take classes online or on campus (We offer the first and only online master’s program in applied anthropology in the United States.)
• prime location in one of the largest urban areas in the U.S. for applied research projects such as those involving health issues of ethnic minorities, migrants and/or refugees from all over the world

Our Master of Science or Master of Arts degrees in Applied Anthropology prepare you for employment primarily outside of academia. You will learn to take informed and thoughtful action as a street-level practitioner, an administrator, an agency-based researcher or a program evaluator. A dual degree is available in applied anthropology and community health through a cooperative effort with the UNT Health Science Center at FortWorth. The master’s program also prepares you to enter a doctoral program.

While you are not required to choose a specific track in the graduate program, our Department of Anthropology offers several specialties:

• Anthropology of education focuses on understanding various aspects related to the educational process. It explores the connection between culture and education in a variety of contexts, paying particular attention to concerns related to teaching and learning.
• Business, Technology, and Design Anthropology includes the areas of communication in the workplace, consumer behavior, diversity, globalization, humancomputer interaction, marketing, organizational analysis and change, teams, and user-centered design.We work with the private and the not-for-profit sectors. The Dallas-FortWorth region offers opportunities for partnerships with a wide variety of organizations.
• Environmental and ecological anthropology includes communitybased conservation of natural and cultural resources, cultural landscapes/seascapes, environmental justice, ethnoecology, globalization and environmental policy, human ecology, indigenous peoples and protected areas, political ecology, traditional ecological knowledge, sustainable development, and world views concerning the environment.
• Medical anthropology focuses on health issues of ethnic minorities, migrants and/or refugees; healthcare delivery; indigenous medicine; and public health. You’ll have access to the UNT Health Science Center at FortWorth. In addition, the region provides countless opportunities for those interested in the health issues of ethnic minorities migrants and/or refugees from all over the world.
• Migration and Border studies include the situations of migrants and refugees, cultures of Latin America, and experiences of Mexicanos and Latinos in the U.S. In this field, students have local access to the people and issues typical of a border state like Texas.

Admission requirements

You will need to meet admission requirements for the Toulouse Graduate School as well as the following program requirements:

• complete a Department of Anthropology application form
• have adequate subject preparation in anthropology (If you are accepted into the program with fewer than 12 credit hours of anthropology, you must take an online prerequisite leveling course the summer before the first semester of study.)
• provide a 500- to 750-word statement of purpose
• submit a writing sample that is a significant piece of scholarly work from your undergraduate career or any research you have done since you graduated
• provide three reference evaluation forms (or supply letters of recommendation) from persons familiar with your academic record

More details and a step-by-step application checklist are available at anthropology.unt.edu using the graduate programs link.

Degree requirements

You will need to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language if you are pursuing the M.A. degree. You are required to take a course in an additional skill appropriate to your specialty as part of the 36 required credit hours if you are pursuing the M.S. degree. Both degrees require completion of:

• 15 credit hours of core courses
• 15 credit hours of electives
• 6 credit hours of Applied Thesis

Specific course requirements and course descriptions are available at catalog.unt.edu.

Financial assistance

The department funds a number of scholarships to help you pursue your master’s degree. The graduate committee recommends nominees based on their first year status and academic achievements. On-campus students must take a minimum of 9 hours, while online students must take a minimum of 6 hours. Several teaching assistant/grader positions are also available. Please visit anthropology.unt.edu and use the graduate program link for scholarship information. For information on federal financial aid or scholarships available to graduate students, access www.unt.edu/finaid.