加州大学圣芭芭拉分校

There are three specializations in the M.A./Ph.D. program: Archaeology, Sociocultural Anthropology and Integrative Anthropological Sciences (IAS). Further specialization is possible within each of these fields.

(PLEASE NOTE: The ONLY terminal M.A. program offered in Anthropology is a specialization in North American Archaeology.)

Applicants are admitted to the M.A./Ph.D. program with the expectation that they will meet the requirements for the M.A. degree and advance to complete the PhD degree. Applicants who have received their M.A. degree from another institution must demonstrate that they also meet the UCSB Department of Anthropology M.A. requirements and may be asked to complete courses and/or pass the appropriate comprehensive examination or assessment before advancing to Ph.D. candidacy. These determinations are made by faculty after the student is enrolled in the program, usually during the first or second year. Therefore, applicants wishing to pursue a Ph.D. will apply to the M.A./Ph.D. program.

Archaeology

The archaeology program is committed to providing students with a broad understanding of anthropological archaeology while also providing opportunities for the development of scholarly expertise in particular theoretical, methodological, and geographic areas. Faculty research interests include political economy, identity politics, empires, culture contact and interaction, secondary state formation, cultural ecology, and human behavioral ecology. Student and faculty researchers pursue these interests globally with particular emphasis placed on the archaeology of Andean South America, southern Germany, northern Africa, eastern North America, Coastal California, and Mesoamerica. Methodological interests include epigraphy, archaeobotanical, zooarchaeology, ceramic analysis, lithic analysis, and architectural and spatial analysis.

Sociocultural Anthropology

Our program uses the theories and methods of social and cultural anthropology to examine contemporary processes related to the changing global order. Our goal is to prepare students to participate in these matters both as scholars and as engaged citizens. Our programmatic emphases center on the cultural and social dimensions of such issues as distribution and inequality, production and reproduction, citizenship and statecraft, human-environmental interactions, religion, and media from the perspective of an engaged anthropology. Core and affiliated faculty conduct research in Asia, including India, Japan, and China, and the Americas, from the Brazilian Amazon and Central America to the United States, Mexico, California, and “borderlands.”

Integrative Anthropological Sciences: Evolutionary and Biological Anthropology

Graduate study in UCSB’s IAS program offers a unique combination of strengths conducive to discovery in areas of human behavior, culture, psychology, and health. First, an emphasis on past selection pressures illuminates the evolutionary bases of human phenotypic design and variation. Second, more than any other social science, anthropology is in a position to capitalize on rich ethnographic fieldwork to catalyze fruitful interactions between theory development and empirical data. Third, life-history perspectives offered at UCSB provide a powerful framework for analyzing variation in human growth, development, reproduction, aging, and mortality. Fourth, psychological approaches are emphasized to highlight the cognitive underpinnings of behavioral adaptations. Finally, a commitment to a fully interdisciplinary approach, and ties to other Centers throughout the University, allow both first-rate anthropological research and genuine contributions across the broad range of human sciences.