Apply to the Program

 

The School of Anthropology admits students to the Ph.D. program in Anthropology and the M.A. program in Applied Archaeology once per year, and students are admitted to begin in the fall semester only.

Most students admitted to our programs have been in communication with potential advisors prior to submitting their application. Prospective students are therefore strongly encouraged to contact potential advisors via email to share your interests and confirm that they will be accepting students. Faculty expect and welcome this contact.

Note: The M.A. program in Applied Archaeology is not accepting applications or admitting students for the 2025-26 school year.

How to Apply

To apply, you must complete the University of Arizona Graduate College online application. Follow these steps:

  1. Create a GradApp account
  2. Complete your GradApp profile under "My Account."
  3. Select "Apply to a Program" from the sidebar.
  4. Choose "Degree Seeking" under application type and either "Applied Archeology (MA)" or "Anthropology (PhD)" under program of study.
  5. Choose the semester during which you wish to enter the program.
  6. Your application should now be initiated under "My Active Applications."

Should You Apply to the M.A. or Ph.D. program?

We offer a stand-alone Master's degree in Applied Archaeology. If you are interested in this stand-alone degree, you should apply to the MA in Applied Archaeology program.

All other potential graduate students must apply to our Ph.D. program. We do not offer any other stand-alone Master's degrees. If you do not have a Master's degree or you do not have a Master's degree in Anthropology, you will earn one on the way to a Ph.D. Applicants to our program do not need to have a B.A./B.S./Master's focused on Anthropology, though they should demonstrate a familiarity with the discipline.

Application Requirements

Admission to our Graduate School is highly competitive. The School generally requires a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 for the MA/PhD degree (the Graduate College requires a 3.0 to apply to the MA/PhD program). International Students must have a minimum TOEFL score of 79 iBT (or 60 on the revised PBT with no section score lower than 15). We no longer require or accept GRE test scores.

Application Checklist

The application to the School of Anthropology is online. The online information you will need to enter includes:

  • Contact information
  • Universities/Colleges Attended
    • Any Universities or Colleges you list will require a digital copy of the transcript from each to be uploaded into the application system.  You will also need to provide an official transcript from each institution listed (see below).
  • Digital copies of transcripts from Universities/Colleges attended (for uploading into the application).
  • Standardized Test Results (GRE*, currently optional, or TOEFL** for international students)
  • Other Institutions to which you are applying
  • Personal Statement
    •  Be concise; an ideal essay should say everything it needs to with brevity. Approximately 500 to 1000 well-selected words (1-2 single space pages in 12 point font) is better than more words with less clarity and poor organization.
    • Although a quick Google search for "Personal Statement" will bring you quite a bit of information regarding the many different ways Personal Startements are thought of, basically, the following 4 questions should be addressed:
      • What you want to study at graduate school?
      • Why you want to study it?
      • What experience you have in your field?
      • What you plan to do with your degree once you have it?
  • Short Writing Sample
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Contact information for 2 Letters of Recommendation (minimum)
    • The contact information you supply will generate an email sent directly to the recommender. There will be a link to your application (the recommenders section) and a code to gain access. This is the most efficient and comprehensive manner in which to have a recommendation connected to your application (as there are a few questions in addition to uploading the letter of recommendation). Please alert your recommender of an incoming email from the University of Arizona once you have completed and submitted your application.
  • An application fee

*To submit your GRE score, must send the graduate college a copy of the official report of results from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which must have been take no earlier than five years prior to the application date. (Report Official Scores to Institution Code: R4832, Department Code: 1701). 

**International Applicants may provide TOEFL scores instead of GRE scores if they are not enrolled in English-speaking institutions. Minimum score 550 on paper-based test or 213 on computer-based test. (Report Scores to Institution Code: 4832.)

Additional Notes

Please make sure to use the same name on your School of Anthropology application and all your tests. For example, if you use "Jane Doe" (first name/ current last name) on your Anthropology application, do not use "Elizabeth Buck" (middle name/maiden name) on your TOEFL scores. We have no way of connecting these two so your application may be incomplete, in which case we will be unable to consider you for our program.

We offer a Master’s degree in Applied Archaeology. We do not offer any other stand alone Master’s programs. If you are not applying for a Master’s in Applied Archaeology, you will need to apply to the Ph.D. program. If you do not yet have a Master’s degree, you will be required to finish one in the process of achieving your Ph.D.