Anthropology/Gerontology, PHD

Required Courses (42-66 credits)

PHD candidates must take 66 credits of coursework and a minimum of 24 research credit hours. If a student enters the program with a Master’s, a minimum of 42 hours of coursework beyond the Master’s degree is required (not including a minimum of 24 hours of dissertation work).

For students without an MS or entering with an external Master’s, the first two years of the sequence will be identical to the MS (see below). This sequence entails the theory and core subfield courses needed to meet the program’s standards of broad proficiency. Students must also take the qualifying examination during their first year in the program.

Every student, in conjunction with their major professor and advisory committee, will develop a Plan of Study with considerable depth in selected areas of specialization using courses within and outside the department.

Statistics Course (0-3 credits)

Students must take at least three semester hours of statistics in the social sciences or must have had an equivalent course at the undergraduate or graduate level. This course must be taken for a grade. Students must receive a C- or better to fulfill the requirement. Courses taken to satisfy the statistics requirement do not count towards the 90 credit hours required for the PHD. If the student’s particular research orientation requires more sophistication in quantitative methods, such further work may be used as an elective to satisfy a portion of the 90 credit hours required for the PHD.

• ANTH 30600 - Quantitative Methods For Anthropological Research Credits: 3.00
• SOC 38200 - Introduction To Statistics In Sociology Credits: 3.00

Dissertation Research (24-48 credits)

The dissertation is assumed to represent the equivalent of 24 to 48 hours of coursework, and a minimum of 24 hours of dissertation research hours must be taken. A student must be registered in research credits for every semester in which the dissertation research is carried out.

• ANTH 69900 - Research PhD Thesis Credits: 1.00 to 18.00 (Credits: 24.00)

Electives (0-24 credits)

The remaining course credits will be made up of additional core courses as needed, 600-level seminars, 590s, and specialty courses outside the department.

Non-English Language Requirement

Each PhD student is required to demonstrate proficiency in one language other than English. The requirements should be satisfied concurrently with or prior to the completion of the preliminary examination and before students embark on the main phase of dissertation data collection.

Language proficiency may be demonstrated by any of these procedures:

1. By satisfying the non-English language requirement at another graduate school and transferring

the record to Purdue.

2. By passing the fourth semester of Purdue’s undergraduate course sequence in an acceptable language with at least a grade of C- in the last course, or with an equivalent of this requirement transferred from another institution. In cases where sufficient language courses in a particular language are not available, a student may fulfill the requirement through one year each of coursework in two languages, with the approval of the student’s advisory committee.

3. By examination. The student’s department will notify the School of Languages and Cultures of the skill it requires (reading, conversation, etc.) and will submit examination material to be approved by the non-English language examiner. The School of Languages and Cultures will then prepare, proctor, and grade an appropriate examination and transmit the results to the student’s department. A student may not take this examination if currently enrolled in one of the corresponding non-English language courses listed under method four. This examination may be repeated only twice. If a language requirement is to be met by examination (regardless of language), the examination and examiner must be approved by the School of Languages and Cultures, and the report to the student’s department must be made by the School of Languages and Cultures. The School of Languages and Cultures must be contacted a session in advance of the student’s deadline for establishing knowledge in a language other than English, so that they may administer an examination, evaluate performance and/or validate.

4. By graduate coursework. It consists of passing the appropriate 600 level course with a grade of B-

or better. Admission to either of these courses requires either a grade of at least C- in the 601 course in the same language or the permission of the School of Languages and Cultures. Grades in these courses will not be counted in the student’s grade index.