Anthropology, Applied Anthropology Option, M.A.

On April 25, 2022, the CSU Chancellor’s Office issued a memo that GWAR will no longer apply to new and continuing graduate students (regardless of catalog year) at CSULB. Catalog copy has been updated on 07/21/2022 to account for this change.

The department offers a master’s degree in anthropology and an option in applied anthropology.

This is a 33-unit M.A. option comprised of a 9-unit core, a 12-unit applied core, a 6-unit thesis/project, and 6 elective units.

Within the global context of urban and regional cultural change, the program offers three concentrations: multicultural education, medical/health care, and community/organizations. Regional emphasis begins with the languages, cultures, and organizations of southern California and the Southwest and extends globally.

Prerequisites

A bachelor’s degree in anthropology; or
A bachelor’s degree with 24 units of upper-division courses in anthropology, comparable to those required of anthropology majors at this University; or
A bachelor’s degree in another field, either a social science, humanity, education, or medical science one, with fewer than 24 units of upper-division course work in anthropology, showing evidence of strong potential skills in applied anthropology.

Students under category (3) should submit a petition together with whatever supporting materials as recommended by the Graduate Advisor. If the Graduate Student Committee considers an applicant to lack a basic understanding of anthropological theories and methods, such an applicant will be accepted provisionally into the program (as an unclassified post-baccalaureate student), in which case he/she will be advised to enroll in courses during the first semester recommended by the Committee. Providing that the student performs satisfactorily in these courses, he/she will be admitted into the program the following semester, gaining classified status, and credit will be given for those courses completed the previous semester that are required for the Master of Arts degree.

Advancement to Candidacy

Classified status;
Satisfaction of the general University requirements for advancement to candidacy;
Approval of the candidate’s graduate program by the departmental graduate advisor.

Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 33 units of 400 upper level upper division and graduate courses in a program approved by the Graduate Advisor, including:

ANTH 501 - Current Trends in Anthropological Theory (3 units)
ANTH 503 - The Anthropological Perspective (3 units)
ANTH 505 - Practicing Anthropology (3 units)
ANTH 510 - Proseminar (3 units)
ANTH 517 - Applied Anthropology (3 units)
ANTH 530 - Ethnography of Communication (3 units)
ANTH 560 - Ethnographic Research Methods (3 units)
ANTH 698 - Thesis or Applied Project (3 units)

Two Upper Division/Graduate Elective Courses

Two upper division/graduate elective courses selected in consultation with the Graduate Advisor

Up to 3 units of course work outside the Department of Anthropology

Up to 3 units of course work outside the Department of Anthropology may be included in the 36 unit total. Students may substitute other courses for those normally required, but only with the approval of the Graduate Advisor.

Thesis or Project

Students must undertake and satisfactorily complete, under the supervision of the committee, a Thesis or Project. In order to satisfy the culminating activity requirement (thesis, project, or comprehensive examination dependent upon the program), students must earn at least three (3) units and no more than six (6) units related to the completion of the culminating activity.