ADMISSIONS UPDATE: The Department of Cultural Anthropology will be accepting applications to its PhD program for the 2027-2028 academic year. The application portal will open August 2026, and applications are due Thursday, December 3, 2026.
NEW PHD CURRICULUM: Starting in the 2027-2028 Academic Year, all newly enrolled PhD students will be studying under a new curriculum. See below for more.
Our doctoral program offers students solid training in theory, contemporary research methods, and proposal writing with the aim of enabling students to develop an anthropology sensitive to the challenges and complexities of human experience and of our times.
New PhD Curriculum
Starting in the 2027-2028 Academic Year, all newly enrolled PhD students will be studying under a new curriculum, designed to emphasize fieldwork and allow maximal time for dissertation writing.
In the new curriculum students will spend two years in coursework, and leave for the field at the end of Fall semester of their third year.
In their second year of study, students will complete two reading lists, one on geographical area, the other on a theoretical or thematic subfield specialization (minimum of 30 items each). For each list, the student will write a critical review essay based on the contents of each list, completing the first by the end of Fall semester, and the second by the end of Spring. At the end of Spring semester, students will convene their committees for an oral examination based on areas of expertise identified in their reading lists. Upon successful completion of this exam, students will progress to PhD candidacy and become eligible for an en passant M.A. degree.
Fall semester of the third year is dedicated to preparing for fieldwork, developing a dissertation prospectus, and applying for grants, supported by our Grant Writing course. While all required coursework (excepting Grant Writing) is completed by this time, students may optionally enroll in elective seminars or courses that fulfill certificate requirements. By the end of Fall semester students will submit their dissertation prospectus and convene their committees for a Dissertation Proposal Workshop. Following successful completion of this workshop, students will begin fieldwork by the start of Spring semester.
Students will spend 1 - 1.5 years conducting fieldwork before returning Spring of the fourth year or Fall of the fifth year to write their dissertation. See Dissertation Fieldwork Policies in the "Current Students" section of our website for more information on time in the field.
Coursework
Core Courses (required)
- Theories I & II: The two-semester Theories course (CULANTH 801-802), taken in Fall and Spring of the first year, focuses on core debates and themes within the history of socio-cultural anthropology and related fields.
- Ethnography: The Ethnography seminar (CULANTH 803), taken Spring of the second year, focuses on ethnographic methods and the development of a dissertation proposal.
- Grant Writing: The Grant Writing seminar (CULANTH 804), taken in the Fall of the third year (the fifth semester), focuses on the development of grant proposals for dissertation research support.
Additional Coursework
Students on the new curriculum are required to take 13 graded courses.
- 4 Core Courses — the program’s required courses (listed above) comprise four of these 15.
- 5 CulAnth Seminars — an additional five courses must be graduate-level seminars (500 and above) with primary faculty in Cultural Anthropology.
- 2 Seminars in Another Department — two must be graduate-level seminars in a discipline other than Cultural Anthropology.
These requirements total 11 courses. We recommend that the remaining 2 courses be used for independent studies taken in the second year to assist with reading lists and preparing the critical review essays. However, they may be additional graduate-level seminars in Cultural Anthropology or in another department or courses that fulfill certificate requirements. Note the following provisions:
- 2 Maximum Independent Studies — students are encouraged to take Independent Studies to complete reading lists (one Independent Study per list, with the supervising faculty for the list overseeing the Independent Study)
- 2 Maximum UNC Seminars — students may take up to two graduate-level seminars in Anthropology at UNC-Chapel Hill. These may be counted towards the required courses with primary faculty in Cultural Anthropology.
Milestones:
Year One - Theories Exam
At the end of Spring semester of the first year, students will sit for a comprehensive examination of material covered in the two semester Theories sequence (CULANTH 801, CULANTH 802), or an equivalent synthetic review exercise.
The instructors of the Fall and Spring Theories courses will determine the format and content of the exam and notify students towards the end of Spring semester.
Year 2 - List Examination
At the end of Spring semester of the second year, students will convene their 4-member committees for an oral examination based on the areas identified in their two reading lists and accompanying critical review essays. The list examination serves as the department's milestone preliminary examination advancing students to PhD candidacy.
Year 3 - Dissertation Proposal Workshop
By the end of Fall semester students will submit their dissertation prospectus and convene their committees for a Dissertation Proposal Workshop. At the workshop, committee members will evaluate the dissertation prospectus and discuss with the student their plans for research. Students must successfully complete this workshop before continuing on to dissertation fieldwork.
Dissertation Defense
See "Dissertation and Dissertation Defense" under Milestones in the "Current Students" section of our website.
Other Requirements
- Research and Teaching Service
- Foreign Language Requirement
- Summer Field Research and Funding
- Plan of Study
- Department Colloquia and Interest Groups
See our New Curriculum Pathway page for a detailed, year-by-year breakdown of program requirements under the new curriculum.
Certificate Programs
Cultural Anthropology PhD students have the option of applying for a graduate-level certificate in another department or field. Our students have acquired certificates in: College Teaching, Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies; African and African American Studies; Latin American and Caribbean Studies; Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; Documentary Studies; International Development Policy. Once you have been admitted into a Ph.D. program and wish to add a Certificate in another department or field, you must identify a faculty mentor in that field to assist you in developing a plan of study.