Northwestern University / Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Anthropology
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Admission

The application deadline is December 15

PhD Admission Information

Applicants must be admitted to The Graduate School before they can be enrolled in the Department of Anthropology. For information on admission, see The Graduate School web site. The web site also provides an annual academic calendar, information on financial aid, tuition, and other important matters.

All applicants must apply online via the ApplyYourself website:https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=nwu-grad .  Applicants will be given an application PIN and User ID via ApplyYourself.  The online application may be accessed as many times as necessary before submission.  Once submitted, the applicant can not change his or her application.  Using the same PIN and User ID, applicants will also use the online application to view their admission decision.


The Department relies on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), letters of recommendation, transcripts, and a personal Statement of Purpose in making choices for admission and financial aid. GRE scores are required for admission to the Department whether or not the applicant is seeking financial aid. The required Statement of Purpose is a brief statement of career plans that must be submitted to the Department. A writing sample is optional, but students who have relevant samples of writing are encouraged to submit them. For more information on graduate study in the department see the Anthropology Guide to Graduate Study.


Students whose first language is not English are required to take the TOEFL examination, and to score 550 or higher on the paper-based test, 213 or higher on the computer-based test, or 90 or higher on the internet based test.

The institutional code assigned to The Graduate School at Northwestern by ETS is 1565.  If you are taking the TOEFL or GRE be sure to include this number on your test form. If your results are not sent to this code, we will not receive them. Applicants taking the Paper-based TOEFL should reference department code 01. This will ensure that the TOEFL scores are sent to The Graduate School and not the undergraduate college.  TOEFL code rules are posted on the TGS web site Application Requirement page

To ensure that test scores are received in a timely manner, applicants are encouraged to take standardized tests (GRE and TOEFL) at least three months before the department's December 15th application deadline.

Departmental requirements supplement, but do not supersede, Graduate School regulations. Applicants with well-defined interests should study the list of courses offered by the Department of Anthropology and related departments to ascertain the availability of courses in their desired specializations. Bear in mind that not all courses are offered every year.

Admission Qualifications

The following should be submitted to the Department of Anthropology, by the department's December 15th deadline:

Please note:

Submit all supplemental materials on line through the Applyyourself website.  

Materials submitted in support of an application become property of The Graduate School and cannot be released for other purposes or returned.

Prospective students may direct any further questions about our program or the application process to Tracy Tohtz.

 

THE GRADUATE INTERDISCIPLINARY

CLUSTER INITIATIVE

Graduate students in Humanities and related fields are encouraged to participate in the Interdisciplinary Cluster Initiative, a program designed to help graduate students

during their academic career at Northwestern by fostering connections with students and faculty in other programs with whom they might have natural intellectual affinities. Interdisciplinary clusters in different areas of intellectual

inquiry have been developed by faculty across schools and programs and will provide a second intellectual home for incoming and current graduate students. Clusters offer their

own discrete courses as well as sponsor a number of

activities and events for students and faculty.  Students interested in pursuing dedicated interdisciplinary

study should visit www.tgs.northwestern.edu/academics/academic-programs/cluster-certificate/humanities/index.html for more information about the intellectual activities of these programs. Prospective students have the opportunity to select on their application to graduate school the cluster with which they would like to affiliate, though choosing a cluster is not a requirement for admission. Students may affiliate with a cluster at any point during their study at Northwestern.

Current interdisciplinary clusters are:


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