Prospective Applicants

The Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine seeks graduate students interested in a highly selective and intensive program that emphasizes current developments in anthropological theory and innovative methodologies for the study of contemporary issues.

The Department offers a Ph.D. degree program in Anthropology. It does not offer a terminal M.A. Students admitted into the Ph.D. program may earn the M.A. along the way. Graduate cohort size ranges between 5 and 8, and the Department generally has between 40 and 50 students in its Ph.D. program at any one time. While students work closely with their main advisors, they also draw on the expertise of the entire Department and the campus in pursuing their educational and research goals.

Since the Department specializes in sociocultural anthropology, successful applicants to the Ph.D. program must have selected this field of the discipline for intensive study. Moreover, the Department expects applicants to have preliminary research interests that are broadly consistent with those of our faculty. This is especially important given the nature of anthropological fieldwork (long-term field research, typically abroad). Successful applicants to our program excelled in their undergraduate work and have demonstrated strong intellectual capabilities and creativity in pursuit of their scholarly goals. Accordingly, while a high score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is helpful, the Department gives primary consideration to applicants' statements of purpose and letters of recommendation.

Application Procedures

The Department of Anthropology admits students for the fall quarter only. Accordingly, we encourage all graduate students to begin the application process early to ensure ample time for collection of all required materials. Completed application packets must be received by January 15th in order to be fully considered for admission and financial support for fall quarter. Early applications are strongly encouraged by December 15th.

Please send transcripts and any other admission-related materials to:

University of California, Irvine
Social Science Graduate Office
3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA 92697-5100

Transcripts, etc. sent directly to the Anthropology department will be re-routed to the Social Science Graduate Office.

Further information on application procedures for graduate study at UCI and application materials are available at UCI's Research and Graduate Studies OR by contacting us at 949-824-7352 or email: unibinni at uci dot edu. See also UCI information for prospective applicants.