Admissions Instructions and Information

African Diaspora Studies Specialization Admissions (Department of Anthropology)

All questions from prospective students should be directed to the Graduate Admissions Coordinator.   Please note that our admissions process has recently changed.

Admission to the Anthropology Graduate Program at UT-Austin is highly competitive and your application should be prepared with care.  A seriously constructed Statement of Purpose, an interest in areas in which our faculty have teaching and research expertise, and an application that is complete and filled out carefully with all necessary information are of great importance. Although the department places no specific restrictions on GRE scores or GPA, the Office of Graduate Studies may choose to deny an applicant with extremely low scores or GPA.

The Anthropology Department admits new students only in the fall; we do not have spring admission.

THE DEADLINE TO APPLY IS DECEMBER 1st.   All materials MUST be received by this date in order for your application to be considered. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

Application to the Graduate School (The Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC)) processes all applications for U.S. and International graduate admission into the University of Texas at Austin.  U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents should review GIAC's information page for U.S. applicants.  International applicants should review GIAC's information page for International applicants.

Applicants will need to use the online application to apply to the program and to upload materials.  The Texas Common Application is the first step in the application process- all other materials are submitted once the application has been received by GIAC.

The following application materials must be received by GIAC by December 1st:

• Texas Common Application for Admission to Graduate Study (U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents only) or Texas Common Application for Students from Other Countries (international applicants)
• Official report of GRE scores;  the report is mailed directly from the testing agency
• Official report of TOEFL scores (international students only);  the report is mailed directly from the testing agency
• Official, sealed set of transcripts from all universities attended
• Certification of financial responsibility (international students only)
• Application fee payment (U.S.- $65.00; non-U.S. - $90.00)

The following application materials must be uploaded to the applicant's file by December 1st: 

• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Three letters of recommendation.
• A Statement of Purpose detailing your research interests and goals. Though the Anthropology Department employs a holistic approach to admissions, the Statement of Purpose is quite possibly the most important part of your application. Your Statement should demonstrate your ability to clearly articulate a research proposal and to situate that research within the discipline. Faculty will be looking for students with well-developed research interests which are compatible with their own.
• A writing sample: for students applying to the Ph.D. program, a copy of your MA thesis or report is required; for students applying to the MA program, a writing sample related to your area of study is required.

Selecting a Major
When filling out the Texas Common Application, you will be asked to identify your major from a drop-down menu.

Applicants who are applying to Archaeology, Linguistic, Physical, or Social Anthropology should select Anthropology (major code 606200).  For more information.

Applicants who are applying to the Folklore,and Cultural Studies Program should select Anthropology/Folklore and Public Culture (major code 606201). Please note that while students in the Folklore & Public Culture program receive an M.A. or Ph.D. in Anthropology, admission is decided by the Folklore and Public Culture Admissions Committee. This is a separate admissions committee from the one that decides admission for archaeology, linguistic, physical, and social anthropology.  If you are interested in Classical Archaeology, please apply to the Department of Classics (major code 623200).

Selecting an Area of Interest or Specialty within your Major
Within the Texas Common Application you will be asked to identify an area of interest or specialty within your major, if applicable. Those students applying to the Anthropology major code, should indicate the sub-discipline to which they are applying: Archaeology, Linguistic, Physical, or Social.   Additionally, students applying to either Anthropology or Anthropology (Folklore and Public Culture) can indicate their interest in the Activist, African Diaspora, or Mexican Borderlands concentrations from the pull-down menu.

Degree you will seek
Although the application may provide you with other options to choose from in response to this question, the Anthropology Department offers only an M.A. or a Ph.D.  Even if you intend to complete both an MA and a PhD in the Department, please only select the Ph.D. option only if you will have already earned an M.A. by the time you begin studies at UT.

Please contact the Graduate Admissions Coordinator with any questions regarding the admissions process.

Doctoral Portfolio Program Admissions

Students interested in developing an African and African American Studies Portfolio must complete an application form, which will be reviewed by the African and African American Studies Doctoral Portfolio Steering Committee. The application will include a statement that details the candidate's academic and research plans and the importance of the portfolio work to those plans. It should also include a list of the courses the candidate plans to take for completion of the portfolio requirements. The student's Graduate Advisor must sign the application indicating his or her approval of the portfolio plan. Students can enter the African and African American Studies Portfolio Program at any point in their doctoral work. However, it is recommended that they complete the portfolio requirements before being admitted to candidacy.

Candidates must be students in good standing in an approval doctoral program, maintain a grade point average of 3.3 or better, and receive approval to join the Portfolio Program in African and African American Studies from their Graduate Advisor and the African and African American Studies Portfolio Steering Committee that outlines the student's research goals.

For more information please contact the Doctoral Portfolio Program Coordinator Dr. Tiffany Gill at tmgill@mail.utexas.edu.