How to apply for admission to the Texas State Department of Anthropology Graduate Program (MA)

Our graduate program is designed to be small and intense. Students work closely with their supervising professors and all students are required to present a Masters Thesis. All students begin in the fall semester and are expected to complete their program within 21 months. We welcome applications students and professionals from all disciplines.

Admission to our program is competitive. In a recent year, we accepted less than 50% of all applicants. Our most competitive field is forensics.

Financial assistance in the form of both teaching assistantships and scholarships is available. While funds vary from year to year, we are generally able to offer some form of assistance to at least half of the students we accept. Students who do not receive funding in their first year may receive it in their second.

Before beginning our graduate program you must have either an undergraduate degree in anthropology or have taken undergraduate Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Introduction to Physical Anthropology, and Introduction to Archaeology courses. These correspond to the Texas State ANTH 1312, 2414, and 2415 courses. If you take these courses after completing your undergraduate degree, your introduction to archaeology and introduction to physical anthropology must be four hour lab classes. If all are taken before you complete your undergraduate degree, that requirement is waived. It is possible to be accepted to our program before you have taken these courses but your acceptance will be conditional and you will not be able to register for graduate courses until you have completed these three courses with grades of B or better. You should be aware that we do not give first year assistantships or scholarships to students who are accepted conditionally.

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Texas State Graduate College, the Department of Anthropology requires a minimum grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale, calculated on the last 60 semester hours leading to the bachelor's degree. We prefer a GRE score of at least 1000 (combined verbal and quantitative sections).

Please do the following to apply to our program:

Submit the following to the Texas State University Graduate College, 601 University Dr., San Marcos, TX 78666.

1. A Graduate College Application. Follow the links at www.gradcollege.txstate.edu to download this form.
2. Your transcripts
3. Your GRE scores.
4. Your $40 application fee.

Submit the following directly to the Graduate Adviser, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX, 78666

1. A Statement of Purpose. Your statement of purpose must clearly indicate the sub discipline of anthropology you propose to study. In our department, it must be one of: archaeology, biological or physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, forensics, iconography, or linguistic anthropology.
2. Three letters of recommendation. Letters should include our recommendation form.
3. A CV or Resume
4. A copy of your transcripts
5. A copy of your GRE scores
6. Any additional information you would like the admissions committee to consider.

In addition, we strongly urge all applicants to apply for scholarships. Information about graduate scholarships at Texas State is available from the Graduate College at: http://www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/scholarships.html. Please note that the deadlines are different for different scholarships and the scholarships deadlines are different from the application deadline!

All application materials are due by February 15. Admission decisions are generally available in the first or second week of April and financial aid decisions follow by a week or two.

If your application file is incomplete at the deadline or you are denied admission, you may apply again the following year.  You must submit a new application to the Graduate College, but information your transcripts and information you sent to the Anthropology Department may be "rolled over" from one year to the next.

The graduate adviser is Dr. Richard L. Warms. He will be pleased to answer your questions by phone or email. You may contact him at 512-245-8272 or at r.warms@txstate.edu