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Applied Anthropology Master's
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Program type:
Major
Format:
On Campus
Online
Est. time to complete:
2-3 years
Credit Hours:
36
Help solve some of society's most compelling problems.
Our master's degree in Applied Anthropology will teach you to take informed and thoughtful
action as a street-level practitioner, administrator, agency-based researcher or program
evaluator.
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Request More InfoWhy Earn an Applied Anthropology Master's?
The on-campus master's program offered by UNT's Department of Anthropology was created in 2000 to serve students who wanted to obtain an advanced degree in applied anthropology. Most of our graduate courses are offered in the evening to make the program more accessible for students who work during the day. On-campus students enjoy the small size of each cohort and the opportunities to meet with other students and faculty. The program can be completed in two years. In order to do so, students take three classes each fall and spring semester, for a total of twelve classes, and conduct the thesis research in the summer between the first and second year.
The online master's program was created to serve students who are unable to attend an on-campus master's program due to geographic, work and/or family constraints. Among other groups, we hope to attract students with diverse backgrounds who have been historically underrepresented in anthropology. This program was created by the UNT anthropology faculty using innovative pedagogical designs that maintain the rigor of a fully face-to-face program while making it more accessible.
In addition to their geographic expertise, our faculty members have extensive backgrounds in bilingual education, health, migration, race and ethnicity and sustainable communities. Some of their research has explored:
- Environmental health and sustainability
- Factors that influence food insecurity
- Outreach and educational attainment of Latinos
- Refugee and asylum seekers
- Place making and the urban environment
- Virtual communication and collaboration in the workplace
Marketable Skills
- Oral and written communication
- Advanced teamwork
- Application of applied Anthropology theory
- Qualitative and quantitative research method practices
- Leadership ability
Applied Anthropology Master's Highlights
Our master’s anthropology program ranked 1st in the nation for best value by CollegeFactual.com.
You'll have many opportunities to collaborate on projects with a variety of organizations
including corporations and social service agencies.
Our faculty members are applied anthropologists with geographic focuses on Africa,
Europe, Latin America, North America, South Asia, Oceania and the Middle East.
Enjoy the flexibility to take classes on campus or online through the nation’s first
online master’s program in Applied Anthropology.
We offer a prime location in one of the nation’s largest urban areas for applied research
projects such as those involving health issues of ethnic minorities, migrants and
refugees from all over the world.
As part of the M.A., you’ll pursue and demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language.
What Can You Do With an Applied Anthropology Master's?
While some go on to a PhD program in anthropology or another discipline, the majority of our graduate alumni become practitioners of anthropology. Here are a few examples of the types of jobs and careers our alumni are currently working in:
- Epidemiology Specialist at Tarrant County Public Health
- Social Scientist in the Alaska Environmental Science and Services Integration Center for the National Weather Service
- Cancer Screening and Prevention Manager at Parkland Hospital
- Strategic Digital Analyst at CHRISTUS Health, a non-profit catholic healthcare organization
- Outdoor Recreation Planner for the Bureau of Land Management
- Data Analyst with WiLS, a nonprofit member services organization working with libraries and cultural institutions
- Director of the cultural anthropology practice at Team One, a full-service marketing communications agency located in Los Angeles
- Research and Geospatial Analyst at Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity
- Senior Associate for Programming at the civics education nonprofit Generation Citizen
Applied Anthropology Master's Courses You Could Take
Ethnographic and Qualitative Methods (3 hrs)
Focuses on ethnographic and qualitative methods and the development of the skills
necessary for the practice of anthropology. Special emphasis is given to qualitative
techniques of data collection and analysis, grant writing, the use of computers to
analyze qualitative data and ethical problems in conducting qualitative research.
Quantitative Methods in Anthropology (3 hrs)
Basic principles and techniques of research design, sampling, and elicitation for
collecting and comprehending quantitative behavioral data.
Migrants and Refugees (3 hrs)
Focuses on the factors embedded in people’s displacement, either through migration
or refugee movements. Aims at identifying the cultural processes that promote displacement
and those emanating from the consequences of displacement. Emphasizes the human factor
encapsulated in the phenomenon of displacement.
Environmental Anthropology (3 hrs)
Emphasis on theory, major environmental questions, problems, issues, and possible
solutions illustrated by case studies from different parts of the world. Examination
of environmental issues pertaining to land/sea and natural resources, food production
systems, deforestation, population problems, poverty and environmental justice, natural
hazards and risks, resource conflicts and warfare, over-fishing, economic development,
globalization and transnationalism, mineral and oil extraction, landscapes, biodiversity
conservation, the commons, ecofeminism, and valuation of nature.
Anthropology of Education (3 hrs)
Examines issues and approaches relevant to the study of education within the field
of anthropology. Provides an introduction to anthropological concepts and anthropological
methods used in the study of education and schooling. Includes an examination of the
relation between anthropology and education as it pertains to cultural transmission.
Anthropological Thought and Praxis I (3 hrs)
Considers the history of anthropological concepts, the major historical debates in
anthropological theory and historical tensions between applied and theoretical knowledge.
Special emphasis is given to critical examination of concept and theory formation
and the application of anthropological ideas to the problems of everyday life.
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