Anthropology

专业详情

The Department of Anthropology offers two free-standing MA programs: the MA in Sociocultural Anthropology, and the MA in Museum Anthropology.

MA in Sociocultural Anthropology

The free-standing MA program in Sociocultural Anthropology is designed specifically for those who wish to cultivate a deeper understanding of the discipline of anthropology and improve their particular professional competence, but who intend only to pursue the MA degree. Study may be undertaken on either a full-time or part-time basis. Applicants with degrees in medicine, psychiatry, business, social work, the arts, library science, theology, demography, law, foreign affairs, international relations, criminology, linguistics, architecture, planning, and community affairs are encouraged to apply for admission to the program, while professionals in the fields of education and nursing are encouraged to consider appropriate programs at Teachers College (see below).

MA in Museum Anthropology

The MA in Museum Anthropology is offered by the Department of Anthropology at Columbia in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). It is a professional degree for those already employed in, or interested in, moving into the museum field. Students learn the practical skills entailed in working in museums and develop the theoretical perspective essential to those who use material culture to express ideas through visual display. The program prepares students to interpret ethnographic and archaeological collections for the general public, work in registration or collections management, and become scientific or research staff at facilities ranging from small local museums to larger institutions.

Curators from the American Museum of Natural History are appointed Adjunct Professors of Anthropology, teach seminars and lecture courses at Columbia, and advise graduate students. Columbia faculty and students, in turn, have access to the museum’s research facilities, library, archives, laboratories, and photograph and artifact collections. In addition, opportunities for graduate students to work in the field with museum curators are available. Collectively, this agreement substantially increases the intellectual community at Columbia in all anthropological subdisciplines, giving students a greater chance to exchange ideas and work with faculty whose research spans four continents and many methodological and theoretical approaches.