Faculty

Indiana Prehistory Laboratory

M.S. in Anthropology
 – Overview
 – Admission to the Program
 – Coursework

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Research Opportunities

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Master of Science in Anthropology

Anthropology is a broad academic field with four primary subfields (Cultural Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, Anthropological Linguistics, and Archeology). The Anthropology Graduate program tracks represent two of these four subfields. In general, it seeks to provide for its students opportunities to maximize academic and technical skills in the science of Anthropology and Archeology via outstanding classroom, lab, and field experiences.

The program emphasizes three areas, each or any combination of which students may choose for specialization:

• Bioarcheology
• Molecular Anthropology
• Archeological Science

The curriculum is founded on anthropological and archaeological theory and hands-on training, which students apply to their research and the unique scientific study they are expected to complete for graduation.

The program also offers exposure to cutting-edge technology and encourages its students to be active members of the professional scientific community. It is intended for highly motivated and talented students who plan on becoming a professional archeologist or going on to doctoral study.

How Our Program is Unique

The distinguishing characteristics of the Anthropology program is that it simultaneously emphasizes all of the following:

1. Students will learn a cultural perspective.
   At UIndy, this approach is three-tiered and draws on three major epistemological bases
   1. material culture studies
   2. biocultural studies
   3. comparative ethnology
2. Coursework will emphasize anthropological theory, particularly evolutionary, archeological, and cultural theory.
3. The program emphasizes population level studies, particularly on bones and DNA; analyses will focus almost entirely on intra- and inter-populational comparisons.
4. The program emphasizes lab and field experiences in archeology.
   From day one, entering anthropology masters students will be expected to be involved and to participate in active lab and field research.
5. The program emphasizes Earth sciences training.
   It merges anthropology with the Earth sciences sub-fields of geography and geology, an approach that greatly expands our field training capabilities.
6. Students will be expected to contribute to professional presentations and peer-review publications as lead and co-authors.
   Students will be trained as members of professional and academic communities and will be expected to make direct contributions to those communities while at the University of Indianapolis.
7. Students will have a well rounded experience that combines training in three of the major components of archeology:
   1. geoarcheology
   2. biology (bioarcheology and molecular anthropology)
   3. anthropology (anthropological archeology)

Facilities

Students have access to three labs, all of which are designed to facilitate archeological research.

• Indiana Prehistory Laboratory—houses materials suitable for bioarcheology research
• Molecular Anthropology Laboratory—is a space dedicated to the purification and analysis of skeletal DNA
• Geoarcheology Laboratory—students gain training in archeology field work