PhD Program

Eric Roth in Kenya

Our PhD program

Our PhD program distinguishes itself from other Anthropology PhD programs where the focus is on the traditional anthropological subfields of cultural and biological anthropology, and archaeology.

Our unique program aims to bring together faculty and doctoral students into research areas that transcend these traditional sub-disciplinary boundaries, and which are also of interest to the wider university community. The program is built around four broad research foci that cross cut traditional subfield boundaries:

• Inequality, Culture, Health
• Evolution and Ecology
• Indigenous Peoples
• Visual Anthropology and Materiality

PhD requirements

Admission requirements

Applicants are normally required to have completed a BA or BSc and Masters degree in Anthropology (thesis or non-thesis) from a recognized academic institution.

Students will be assessed on a case-by-case basis at admission and will be advised of suggested or required pre- or co-requisite course requirements deemed necessary by the Admissions Committee to ensure their success in the program. If the Departmental Graduate Committee deems it necessary for an incoming student to make up a deficiency, the student will be required to register in no more than 3.0 units (two one-semester courses) of pre-requisite coursework.

Normally there will be one entry point in an academic year, in September.

Applicants will be expected to have achieved a minimum GPA of 7.0 (or equivalent) in their master's program, have good letters of reference, present a clear statement of research interests, and submit an example of scholarly work, including publications, if any.

All applications will be reviewed by the Departmental Graduate Committee (chaired by the graduate advisor) and students will only be accepted into the program if there is at least one faculty member able, interested, and available to supervise the proposed topic of research.

Please note that: "All applications (including supporting documents) must be submitted ONLINE through the graduate studies admission system." 

Residency requirement is two years

During residency, PhD students will take four one-semester courses: 

• ANTH 600   Professional Development in Anthropology
• One of the ANTH 690 series: Specialized Directed Study in Inequality, Culture, and Health, Evolution and Ecology, Indigenous Peoples, or Visual Anthropology and Technology, which will be offered in 2012
• One of the following seminars:ANTH 611 Advanced Research Seminar in Socio-cultural Anthropology: Inequality, Culture, and Health,ANTH 641 Advanced Research Seminar in Indigenous Peoples in Prehistoric, Historic, and Contemporary Contexts, or ANTH 651 Advanced Research Seminar in Ecology and Evolution (ANTH 661 Seminar in Visual anthropology and Technology offered in 2012)
• Breadth of Knowledge requirement (a course from another academic department or another theme within Anthropology)

PhD students are also expected to attend and participate in ANTH 612: Department of Anthropology Graduate Colloquium during their two year residency.
After completion of all course requirements, PhD students will register in:
ANTH 697/698 and Candidacy Examinations and Dissertation Proposal Defense
To advance to candidacy, the student, in consultation with their Ph.D. committee, will craft three important and original questions related to their particular research area, and answer those questions in a written format (three comprehensive papers), drawing upon pertinent literature. The three comprehensive papers will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis by the student’s Ph.D. committee. In the case of Visual Anthropology, students may be required to create a photographic exhibition or film (visual project) as one of the three comprehensive papers.
The students’ dissertation research proposal will be defended orally and separately from the comprehensive examination requirements.  Students will make a 20-30 minute presentation on their proposal topic and then answer questions posed by the examining committee, on theory, method, and significance of the proposed research. The oral defense will also be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. The Ph.D. committee will be comprised, at minimum, of the supervisor, a departmental committee member and a member from another department as per UVic. Graduate Calendar regulations
Ph.D. students must also complete a Language Requirement (either a course or courses in another language, or demonstrated proficiency in a translation of a passage from an academic work in a non-English language to English)
Once candidacy is completed and the dissertation proposal is accepted by the student’s committee, the student may begin their dissertation research.

Transferability

In the past, we have accepted the transfer of a few graduate students (both Masters and PhD) who have begun their graduate degree at other institutions. These kinds of situations may arise when a supervisor or other committee members depart or where the research project coincides closely with work being done at UVic.

In these situations, the students apply through our regular admissions channels. If accepted, they may be given transfer credit for their coursework at the original university, according to regulations of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. For most students, this has meant completing their dissertation requirements and candidacy examinations here. The department may continue this practice on a case-by-case basis.

The curriculum of the proposed PhD Program has been designed in sufficiently general terms so that students who begin their graduate studies in anthropology at the University of Victoria can be assured that the content of the courses they take here will be consistent with that of courses in other Canadian universities offering the same degree. They will therefore be likely to receive transfer credit from other institutions, provided that their institutional policy permits such transfer.

For more informaton see here: PhD Student Handbook: 2012