Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice

Program Directors

Sociology:

Stephen VanGeem, Main 224D, (435) 797-7331, stephen.vangeem@usu.edu

Anthropology:

Jacob Freeman, Main 245A, (435) 797-5744, jacob.freeman@usu.edu

Criminal Justice:

M. Scott Henrie, CIB-213, (435) 613-5135, scott.henrie@usu.edu

Undergraduate Program Directors

Sociology:
Stephen VanGeem, Main 224D, (435) 797-7331, stephen.vangeem@usu.edu

Anthropology:
Jacob Freeman, Main 245A, (435) 797-5744, j acob.freeman@usu.edu

Criminal Justice:
M. Scott Henrie, CBB-213, (435) 613-5135, scott.henrie@usu.edu

Graduate Program Directors

Sociology (MS, PhD) Director:
Guadalupe Marquez-Verlarde, Main 216F, (435) 797-1241, guadalupe.marquez-velarde@usu.edu

Anthropology (MS) Director:
Judson Finley, Main 216B, (435) 797 9621, judson.finley@usu.edu

Degrees offered: Bachelor of Science (BS), Bachelor of Arts (BA), Master of Science (MS), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Sociology; Associates degree (AS), BS, and BA in Criminal Justice; BS, BA, MS, and PhD in Anthropology.

Online majors are available for Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice.

Graduate Specializations: PhD in Sociology—Demography; Environment and Community; and Social Inequality; MS in Anthropology—Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management; Cultural Resource Management Policy, Advocacy, and Administration; Archaeological Data Analytics; Museum Administration and Collections Management Policy; PhD in Anthropology—Anthropology and Cultural Resource Management.

Full details of the learning objectives, assessment plan, student outcomes, and evidence of continuous improvement for these programs of study can be found at chass.usu.edu/soca-department.

Undergraduate Programs

Objectives

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology offers educational programs for students to prepare for positions in business, social welfare, teaching, research, personnel, government service, social services, cultural resource management, health care, law enforcement, and industry, as well as providing liberal and general education for all interested students. The department offers a wide range of courses for the study of social, cultural, and behavioral dynamics. The department also provides University Studies, Liberal Arts, and other service courses for students from all majors.

Requirements

Departmental Admission Requirements

First-year students admitted to USU in good standing qualify for admission to the sociology, anthropology, and criminal justice majors. Undeclared and transfer students from other USU majors or other institutions must have a minimum 2.5 overall GPA for admission to the anthropology major. For sociology, students must have a minimum of 2.75 overall GPA. In addition, for admission to the sociology major, students must have earned a grade of C or better in SOC 1010 . For admission to the criminal justice major, students must have a minimum of 2.5 overall and, if completed, transfer grades in CJ 1010 and one other CJ course with a C- grade or better.

University Honors Program

The University Honors Program offers students in all colleges and majors the unique opportunity to deepen their educational experience with hands-on practical applications of their academic knowledge. The Honors Program admits incoming, transfer, and existing USU students based on application. High-achieving students with at least one year remaining are encouraged to apply. See the University Honors Program catalog entry and website (usu.edu/honors) for more information.

Sociology

Program Director: Stephen VanGeem
Program Office: Main 224D, (435) 797-7331, stephen.vangeem@usu.edu

The study of the human individual and human groups is central to sociology. Sociology offers a broad foundation for understanding human behavior on an individual and group basis, and encourages the development of skills necessary for establishing favorable societal conditions for human development.

Students learn to systematically describe and explain group behavior, including the effects of one group on another and of groups upon individual behavior. Required sociology classes deal with how people in different societies organize and control their societies; critical issues, such as race, class, and gender, as they have developed through history; and research and statistical methods for analyzing sociological data.

Upon completion of the prescribed program for a major in sociology, the student should be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge essential for understanding society from a sociological perspective;
Identify and critically evaluate the contributions of sociologists, social scientists, and scholars;
Identify and critically evaluate the forces and institutions that influence his or her life as a member of society;
Identify, comprehend, and critically evaluate the influences of race, class, gender, age, and disability on a member of society;
Pursue careers in sociological areas, business, government, and/or graduate study; and
Apply the methods and concepts of sociology to the analysis of social issues, problems, and conflicts in preparation for participation as agents of creative social change.

Students select elective courses from four different areas: Crime and Deviance; Social Inequality; People, Place, and Change; and Social Health and Wellbeing.

Career Opportunities

Surveys of graduates indicate that sociology majors pursue a wide range of occupations. About one-third are employed in the professional sector, while close to one-fourth are in service occupations. In addition, over 25 percent are involved in management or administration. In terms of specific job titles, social service is a popular option, as are retail sales and teaching. Other frequent job titles include vocational rehabilitation counselor, research analyst, data coordinator, management analyst, district sales manager, parole officer, juvenile probation officer, social services director, civil service test examiner, personnel director, insurance salesman, and correctional service officer. A variety of government and business positions are also expanding for sociology majors with the new emphasis on a liberal arts education. The growing awareness of the value of sociological perspectives for problem-solving continues to provide an increasing range of opportunities for employment in a variety of work settings.

Sample Four-year Plan for Sociology Major

A sample semester-by-semester four-year plan for students working toward a bachelor’s degree is available in the CHaSS advising office, and students should consult with the Sociology advisor to develop a plan of study tailored to their individual needs and interests.

Sociology and Social Work Dual Major

Sociology majors desiring additional preparation for employment in the social services may complete a dual major in sociology and social work. With the help of advisors, students who will seek positions in other special areas could include appropriately related courses.

Teaching License

In addition to completing the Secondary Teacher Education Program (STEP) through the School of Teacher Education and Leadership, students may select sociology as an approved teaching minor. The requirements for the minor include: SOC 1010 , SOC 2370 , SOC 2630 , SOC 3010 , SOC 3110 , and SOC 4010 .

Gerontology Program

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is one of several departments sponsoring an interdisciplinary gerontology program, which prepares students for careers in the field of aging. Students may earn a certificate in gerontology by completing a selected list of course requirements, including supervised field practicum in a gerontological setting.

More information concerning the gerontology certification program may be obtained from the Department of Human Development and Family Studies .

American Studies Major

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is one of several departments offering an area of concentration for the American Studies program. Students who wish to focus their work in American culture should refer to the American Studies - BA, BS program description.

Anthropology

Program Director: Jacob Freeman
Program Office: Main 245A, jacob.freeman@usu.edu

Anthropology at Utah State University educates and trains a new generation of citizen-scholars to understand the complex human dimensions of environment, community, and well-being, past and present. The faculty strives to build a premiere student-centered program through research excellence, transformative, and challenging student experiences. Anthropology students learn frameworks for understanding humans as individuals and as members of diverse cultures through courses dealing with the biological evolution of humans, prehistoric culture change, and the present diversity of cultures and human populations. Two parallel goals of the discipline are to explain and develop an appreciation for human diversity and the shared legacy of our common humanity.

Anthropology includes the following subspecialties: cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology, and applied anthropology which can cross-cut the other subspecialties. Major requirements are designed both to encourage broad exploration across anthropology and more in-depth learning of one subspecialty. Students who major in anthropology examine a wide range of peoples and cultures, both past and present. They study lifeways as different as the hunter-gatherers of North America, tribal horticulturalists of lush interior Amazonia, and the diverse ethnic neighborhoods of modern U.S. cities. They explore both the biological and cultural basis of human behavior, and examine how it is manifested in individuals and groups. Anthropology courses use both scientific and humanistic approaches to the study of humankind, in all its complexity. Courses emphasize critical reasoning, oral and written communication skills, global literacy and the expansion of thinking beyond the familiar.

The contemporary social science student lives in a world of diminishing cultural and national barriers. In this setting, a major in anthropology can lead to a wide variety of careers. Anthropologists are on the staff of leading medical, business, law, public affairs, and other professional schools, and have played critical roles in international ventures, public health programs, community development activities, and minority and migrant social actions. Additionally, anthropology serves applied interests in international development, archaeology and cultural resource management, cross-cultural health care, and osteology/ forensics. With first-hand experience in every region of the country and around the world, anthropologists bring a unique understanding of specific social and ethnic groups and of the biological, ecological, and cultural factors that influence human behavior.

Special features of the anthropology program include smaller classes, individualized attention, opportunities for laboratory, museum, and fieldwork, and the opportunity of working in teaching assistant positions. All these features give anthropology majors choices and experiences unavailable to undergraduates in most programs. The Anthropology Museum and Field Schools provide additional hands-on learning opportunities. Anthropology participates in the Department of Geology emphasis in Geoarchaeology, the American Studies Program, and the Folklore Program in the Department of English. The Anthropology Program also hosts USU’s Museum Studies , a CHaSS Area Studies Certification Program, which can be pursued by students with any background and major, and at the undergraduate or graduate level. Anthropology also hosts the Interfaith Initiative, as well as the Native American Studies Minor.

Anthropology leads to a variety of “real-world” jobs. Anthropology graduates are lawyers, nurses, health care administrators, teachers of all kinds, cultural resource professionals, agency and program administrators, and technical writers. They work for museums, government land management, environmental and Foreign Service agencies, Indian tribes, and are common in both the government and private sectors of the environmental-cultural heritage management industry. They can be found in public and private foundations, bureaus, and agencies for the arts, humanities, sciences, and tourism.

Graduate study in anthropology opens the world of practicing anthropology. Not limited to college teaching, anthropologists with graduate degrees can be found in a variety of private sector and government agency positions in jobs that often weather economic downturns better than those in many other sectors.

For students seeking a dual major, an Anthropology major can complement a major in American Studies, Biology, Geology, Geography, History, Languages, Political Science, and various others. It also pairs well with majors in Natural Resources, because cultural resource and Native American issues are important to many positions in private firms and government agencies concerned with land management and the environment.

Sample Four-year Plan for Anthropology Major

Students should consult with both their major advisor and their CHaSS advisor to develop a plan of study tailored to their individual needs and interests.

Criminal Justice

Program Director: M. Scott Henrie

Program Office: USU-Eastern CIB 213 (435) 613 5135, scott.henrie@usu.edu

Criminal Justice is a rapidly expanding field that provides a wide variety of career paths. Because our criminal justice system reflects the realities and concerns of society, the Criminal Justice program draws from a wide variety of academic disciplines such as political science, psychology, history, and sociology. The bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice gives students an educational background of the vast criminal justice system. Classes are structured around the fundamentals of criminal law and investigations, forensic science, the courts, corrections, and the juvenile justice system. Students learn the methods used for discovery, investigation, and apprehension of those committing crimes, the current practices of the courts, through the punishment phase involving corrections using theory and hands-on methodology. The degree in Criminal Justice requires a total of 120 credit hours.

Upon completion of the prescribed program for a major in criminal justice, the student should be able to understand and demonstrate:

Intellectual and practical skills –critical thinking, challenging current practices, and seeking methods to enhance these practices.
Human and constitutional rights of all citizens.
Changing societies as it deals with diversity.
How the world is changing as cultures and laws change
The responsibility criminal justice professionals have when using discretional decisions that makes changes in the lives of people in the criminal justice system.

Career Opportunities

The Criminal Justice field across the United States employs over 2.4 million individuals. There has consistently been a demand for individuals to work in the various criminal justice fields, including courts, corrections, and police. There is a strong demand for employees, for example in the corrections field, where employment has grown over 500% in the last two decades. Different agencies can require various levels of education from a high school degree through graduate degrees.

Sample Four-year Plan for Criminal Justice Major

A sample semester-by-semester four-year plan for students working toward a bachelor’s degree is available in the CHaSS advising office, and students should consult with the Criminal Justice advisor to develop a plan of study tailored to their individual needs and interests.

Associate of Criminal Justice Program

The Criminal Justice Program is an associate degree available on all USU campuses. Associate degrees are designed to meet the qualifications of the first two years of a baccalaureate degree. A student who transfers from USU to another public four-year institution of higher education in the state of Utah will be automatically cleared of all general education requirements if he or she has received an associate degree (students receiving the Associate of Pre-Engineering may have to take additional general education credits). Most accredited four-year institutions of higher education in the United States will accept the associate degree. Students are advised to examine the catalog of the institution to which they plan to transfer.

Credit for courses numbered 1000 or above earned at USU-Eastern are transferable within the Utah State System of Higher Education and will be carried on the student’s transcript by the receiving institution. Acceptance of credit should not be confused with its application toward a specific set of requirements or major. Credit other than that intended wholly to meet the General Education requirements of the receiving institution will be applied on the basis of the appropriateness of credit to a particular institution’s specific degree program requirements, as determined by the receiving institution.

Students must complete the General Education Requirements

Three credits from each of the following: Humanities, Fine Arts and Humanities or Fine Arts

Students must also complete the University Studies Depth Requirements :

Three credits from each of the following: Earth Science, Life Science and Physical Science
Students planning to transfer to the BA or BS program in Sociology at the USU main campus are advised to take STAT 1040 to fulfill the Quantitative Literacy requirement.

Career Opportunities

Sociology Graduate Program

Graduate Program Director: Guadalupe Marquez-Velarde
Program Office: Main 224, guadalupe.marquez-velarde@usu.edu

The Sociology Graduate Program offers graduate work leading to the MS and PhD degrees in Sociology.

The department offers the MS and PhD degree in Sociology and supports training in three specializations: Demography; Environment and Community; and Social Inequality. Typically, admission to the PhD program is limited to students who have already earned a master’s degree in Sociology or a related field. However, exceptionally qualified students may enter the PhD program with a bachelor’s degree. Masters and doctoral students take core theory and methods classes and multiple seminars in substantive areas of sociology as part of their training. Sociology PhD students are required to pass a single written comprehensive examination in one of the supported specialization areas, and to complete depth coursework in a second specialization area. Both MS and PhD students must conduct original research and write and defend a thesis or dissertation to complete their degrees.

The Graduate Program in Sociology provides a unique integrative and reinforcing combination of demographic, organizational, political-economic, and critical orientations to the study major domestic and global issues. Graduate students have the opportunity to merge basic foundation coursework in social theory and research methods with more specialized training in the specialty areas. There are ample opportunities for mentoring experiences on both basic and applied research projects. Sustained personal interaction between faculty and students is a hallmark and strength of the program.

The Graduate Program in Sociology has developed a Graduate Program Handbook that provides more details about the application process, financial assistance decisions, and graduation requirements. An electronic copy of this handbook is available on the departmental website.

The typical graduate application has five main components:

A formal on-line application form, available from the School of Graduate Studies at gradschool.usu.edu;
Transcripts from the applicant’s undergraduate and graduate studies;
For international applicants whose native language is not English, test scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examinations are required. Minimum score requirements for the TOEFL are a score of 213 or higher on the computer-based TOEFL, or 79 or higher on the internet based test. For the IELTS, USU requires a minimum score of 6.0. Scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are not required for any applicant, but may be submitted as part of the application packet at the applicant’s discretion.
Letters of reference from faculty or scholars who can attest to the applicant’s abilities to succeed in graduate school; and
Submission of a separate letter of intent providing detailed information about the applicant’s training, interests, and experiences, as well as an overview of the applicant’s career goals and specific reasons why graduate training in sociology at Utah State University is important to the applicant.

All parts of the application can be done online at gradschool.usu.edu.

The department offers financial assistance to most graduate students enrolled in departmental programs. These funds are distributed through a competitive process, based on student qualifications, performance, and interests. Graduate assistants typically earn enough to cover basic costs of tuition and living expenses. In order to be considered for financial assistance for the following academic year, complete applications must be received by USU no later than December 20. Decisions on graduate student funding are usually based on an overall evaluation of all five components of the application.

Applications are screened throughout the year by the Graduate Program Executive Committee. No applications will be considered until all required information arrives in the School of Graduate Studies or a formal petition to review a nearly-complete file is made and approved.

Students with or without an undergraduate degree in sociology may enter the master’s degree program. However, before matriculating, basic competencies in sociology that have not been acquired through prior courses or experience must be satisfied. Students entering the doctoral program must complete master’s level prerequisites in sociological theory and research methods and statistics.

Research

The graduate program’s research agenda is focused within the framework of the department’s specialty areas. Since the areas are integrative, research tends to involve collaborative participation by several faculty members. Several active research projects are supported by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. Research is conducted at various levels, including international, national, regional, and state. The department has two active research units: (1) the Institute for Social Science Research on Natural Resources and (2) the Yun Kim Population Research Laboratory. Departmental research is supported by grants from federal and state agencies, local governments, private foundations, and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. Faculty members participate in many cross-campus research efforts, including the Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research, the USU Water Initiative, the Utah Water Research Laboratory, the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies, and the Ecology Center.

Financial Assistance

Both departmental support and formal research grant support are available to graduate students and are awarded on a competitive basis. Some highly qualified departmental graduate students are also nominated to compete for university fellowships. Students who wish to be considered for financial aid must submit applications by December 20 for the coming academic year. Late applications are considered only if additional funds are still available.

Teaching assistantships are available through the department. Research assistantships are available through faculty members who have ongoing projects with the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station or who have research grants from the university, private companies, and federal or state agencies. University fellowships are available for exceptionally qualified students.

Career Opportunities

Traditionally, persons with advanced degrees in sociology have been employed in government, private industry, and college and university settings. Recent evidence has shown a greater variety of career paths. A survey conducted by the American Sociological Association showed that 21 percent of sociologists holding the doctoral degree were employed in the private sector; 31 percent were working in the nonprofit sector; 46 percent were working in federal, state, or local government agencies; and 12 percent were self-employed. USU sociology graduates have followed this pattern of diversity. They have secured appointments in a variety of academic, governmental, and private settings, both domestic and abroad. A sizeable number have achieved key leadership positions and high visibility in the profession.

Anthropology Graduate Program

Graduate Program Director: Judson Finley
Program Office: Main 216B, judson.finley@usu.edu

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology offers graduate work leading to graduate certificates, a Master of Science degree in Anthropology with a Specialization in Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management, or a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Archaeology.

Master of Science Degree

Cultural Resource Management (CRM) archaeology provides industry and government agencies with an evaluation of heritage resources that by law must be “taken into account” prior to the alteration of our public landscapes. CRM is now an institutionalized element of the environmental management industry in the United States and in many other countries. Archaeologists identify and record all prehistoric and historic cultural resources, from ancient villages and camps, to pioneer cabins, 19th century gold mines, and human skeletal remains. Archaeologists help industry and agencies to find ways to protect what is of value by avoidance and occasionally by mitigation, and they facilitate land management. Federal and state laws and regulations govern the practice of archaeology by issuing permits, and a national Register of Professional Archaeologists certifies professional standards. The minimum degree requirement for the permits and the professional registry is a master’s degree.

Senior archaeologists working in CRM realize the need for graduate training to be more than applied archaeology. In order to produce career-path archaeologists, graduate training needs to include adequate knowledge of the scientific research contexts of archaeology, as well as experience in the conduct of research, to prepare students for careers, and not just as technicians in a transient labor force. The graduate program in Anthropology at Utah State University responds to the changing needs of archaeology and to recommendations of archaeologists in the CRM industry. The master’s degree will also prepare students intending to pursue a PhD degree at another institution.

The Master’s degree has been designed around the following performance goals:

The curricula should recognize the much broader scope of CRM and should incorporate business, ecology, and the legal/regulatory environment in which CRM archaeology exists.
Written and verbal communication skills should be gained.
Students should gain experience in the preparation of proposals and research design.
Basic applied field techniques, including survey, mapping, GPS, and sampling, should be taught.
Students should master basic applied techniques in data analysis, collections processing, and collections management.
Experience should be given in report preparation.
The graduate curricula should provide structured mentorships or internships with CRM companies and/or government agencies.

The Graduate Program in Anthropology has developed an MS Anthropology Program Handbook providing more details about the application process, financial assistance decisions, and graduation requirements.

Further information about Graduate Studies in Anthropology at USU can be found at c hass.usu.edu/anthropology/tracks/anthropology-masters.

Application Requirements

The MS Program in Anthropology application has six main components:

A formal application form, available online at gradschool.usu.edu.
Transcripts from the applicant’s undergraduate and graduate studies
Letters of reference from faculty or scholars who can attest to the applicant’s abilities to succeed in graduate school
A resume
A letter of intent providing background about the applicant’s training, interests, and experiences, as well as an overview of the applicant’s career goals and specific reasons why graduate training in archaeology and cultural resource management is important to the applicant
Test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) for all applicants, and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE) examinations for international students whose native language is not English

TOEFL scores are required for international candidates, with a minimum score of 600 (paper test) or 250 (computer-based test) deemed acceptable. The TSE examination is also strongly recommended, with a minimum score of 50 deemed acceptable. International applicants who are admitted without having taken the TSE will be required to take a test of spoken English fluency administered by the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI) at Utah State University prior to beginning their first semester in the MS program. Dependent upon the test results, the student may be required to complete a program of English language training during the first semester of residence in the MS Degree Program in Anthropology.

Students requesting financial support, including continuing students, should apply no later than February 1. Applications to the program will be accepted through June 15. No application will be considered until all required information arrives in the School of Graduate Studies or until a formal petition to review a nearly complete file is made and approved.

All application materials should be sent directly to the School of Graduate Studies, 0900 Old Main Hill, Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-0900.

Financial Assistance

Some financial assistance is available, primarily in the form of graduate assistantships. These funds are distributed through a competitive process, based on student qualifications, performance, and interests. The program sometimes offers scholarships to exceptional incoming and continuing students, and all students are strongly encouraged to fill out a FAFSA form and to explicitly request, among other forms of aid, a work-study award. In order to be considered for financial assistance for the next academic year, complete applications must be received no later than February 1. Decisions on graduate student funding are usually based on an overall evaluation of all six components of the application.

Career Opportunities

Nationwide the CRM industry is valued at several billion dollars per year. By the late 1990s, “60-70 percent of the membership of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA), and the Society for Historical Archaeology are engaged in cultural resources management” (SAA Bulletin 1997:20). An inventory of job listings on the SAA website during summer 2007 reveals that 82 percent of the advertised positions are in private or government sector CRM. In Utah, there are more than 50 private companies holding archaeological permits, with 18 firms maintaining offices in the state. The Utah Division of State History reports that more than 1,700 archaeological field projects are conducted in the state each year. CRM is a thriving industry looking for qualified individuals, and the MS program in Anthropology at USU is specifically designed to provide the training and degree qualifications sought after by employers in both the public and private sectors.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The PhD program in Anthropology and Cultural Resource Management trains a new generation of scholars to engage with and manage cultural resources and their derivative data in a time of rapidly changing political and biophysical environments. The program design meets the logistical, intellectual, and economic needs of century students by providing access to a blended post-graduate education built around skill-based certifications and the advanced degrees required by academia and for professional practice in government and private-sector cultural resource management (CRM). Students who complete a doctoral program in Anthropology and Cultural Resource Management will have the skills necessary to identify, interpret, and conserve cultural resources; analyze the interplay between humans and their environment; and communicate the importance of cultural resources and long-term population data to various stakeholders. The program leverages USU faculty strengths in social-ecological and evolutionary theory, data analytics, cultural resource management, and museum studies to create student-centered outcomes focused on transferable skills and competencies in theory, data analytics, and communication.

1. Social-Ecological Theory

Students will demonstrate a competency in basic theories to interpret anthropological and ecological data and navigate and build functioning organizations tasked with the management of resources.
Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by evaluating the merits of competing theories and/or developing their own theories for social-ecological and/or organizational change.

2. Data Management and Analysis

Students will demonstrate competency in data collection, communication, and archiving.
Students will learn the basic analytical methods and programming skills necessary to effectively analyze anthropological and ecological data sets.

3. Resource Law and Economics

Students will demonstrate competency and critical analysis of the major federal and state laws and statues that structure the management of resources in the United States.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of creating and managing budgets and designing project workflow.
Students will demonstrate a critical understanding of models of resource conservation and the costs and benefits of conservation to the public.

4. Communication, Advocacy, and Ethics

Students will demonstrate the ability to present knowledge to diverse stakeholders via multiple media.
Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for resources to diverse communities.
Students will demonstrate cultural competency and community-based participatory approaches to resource management.
Students will demonstrate competency in proposal writing for an academic or agency audience.

5. Capstone Thesis/Dissertation

Students will demonstrate the ability to independently conceptualize, perform, and interpret research that contributes to the discipline of anthropology.

Application Requirements

The PhD Program in Anthropology application has six main components:

A formal application form, available online at gradschool.usu.edu.
Transcripts from the applicant’s undergraduate and graduate studies
Letters of reference from faculty or scholars who can attest to the applicant’s abilities to succeed in graduate school
A resume
A letter of intent providing background about the applicant’s training, interests, and experiences, as well as an overview of the applicant’s career goals and specific reasons why graduate training in archaeology and cultural resource management is important to the applicant
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE) examinations for international students whose native language is not English

All application materials should be sent directly to the School of Graduate Studies, 0900 Old Main Hill, Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-0900 or graduateadmisions@usu.edu

Financial Assistance

Career Opportunities

Federal and, in some cases, state laws require the identification and documentation of cultural resources at risk of destruction by development of public lands. Cultural Resource Management archaeology provides industry and government agencies with private sector specialists trained to identify and assess the impact of undertakings on cultural resources. Given the pace of energy development in the American West, especially the current and future creation of vast solar and wind farms, CRM has become an important part of the environmental consulting industry in the United States. Within this context, resource managers identify and record the full range of cultural resources from prehistoric Fremont villages to historic Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) homesteads.

Cultural Resource Management grew from beginnings in the early 1970s into the largest employment sector in archaeology. Nationwide the CRM industry is valued at several billion dollars per year. The experience of the USU archaeology faculty suggests that the private sector continues to enjoy much higher levels of funding than academia.

As of fall 2020, 237 principal investigators hold archaeological permits to work in Utah, with 95 of these archaeologists maintaining offices in the state. The Utah Division of State History reports that over 1,700 archaeological field projects are conducted in the state each year. Field projects vary widely in size with small projects requiring crews of 3-5 employees, while most projects employ over a dozen people, and a smaller number of large projects each year employ many dozens at a time. Work extends well beyond field projects because for each person-hour spent in the field, an additional 10 hours of time is spent in the laboratory, writing reports, and performing administrative tasks to manage the business and regulatory environment in which CRM occurs. Full-time jobs in this market also often come with full benefit packages, a consideration of importance in today’s world. The proposed PhD program will train students to run these businesses.

Graduate Certificates:

The Anthropology graduate program offers three graduate certificates that focus building professional skills in archaeology and the cultural resource management industry.

The Graduate Certificate in Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Policy, Advocacy, and Administration is designed to prepare both fully matriculated graduate students as well as current professionals in the field wishing to enhance their portfolios to understand and implement CRM policy and business skills within the context of cultural resource management activities. The certificate combines graduate-level anthropology courses with courses offered in the School of Business. This certificate may be earned as a stand-alone certification or as part of the USU Anthropology Graduate Program.
The Graduate Certificate in Archaeological Data Analytics is designed to prepare both fully matriculated graduate students as well as current professionals in the field wishing to enhance their portfolios to understand and implement data analytics within the context of cultural resource management activities. The certificate combines graduate-level anthropology courses with courses offered as part of the Masters in Data Analytics program. This certificate may be earned as a stand-alone certification or as part of the USU Anthropology Graduate Program.
The Graduate Certificate in Museum Administration and Collections Management Policy is designed to prepare both fully matriculated graduate students as well as current professionals in the field wishing to enhance their portfolios in Museum Administration and Collections Management. The certificate combines graduate-level anthropology courses as well as courses offered from the School of Business and the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. This certificate may be earned as a stand-alone certification or as part of the USU Anthropology Graduate Program.

Application Requirements

To apply for admittance to the program, a person must complete and submit an application to the School of Graduate Studies . Academic credits obtained from the program may be applied toward a graduate degree.

To apply, the School of Graduate Studies requires:

A bachelor’s degree (or, for some doctoral programs, a master’s degree) that is or will be completed before the student matriculates in the degree program.
A 3.0 or higher grade-point average for terms that include the student’s last 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits.
Resume/CV

International applicants are required to submit proof of proficiency in English.

FACULTY - College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programs

Associate of Science (AS)

Criminal Justice - AS

Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science (BA, BS)

Certificate

Certificate of Proficiency (CP)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Institutional Certificate of Proficiency (ICP)

Master of Science (MS)

Minor