Princeton University

• Graduate Program Procedures and Regulations
  • Advisor and Plan of Study
  • Language Requirement
  • Course Requirements
  • First-Year General Examination
  • Evaluation of First-Year Students
  • Second-Year General Examination
  • Presentation of Proposed Dissertation Research
  • Dissertation
  • Final Public Oral
  • Master's Degree – incidental award
  • Teaching Assistance
• Financial Support
  • Graduate Work-Study
• Library Carrels

Each student has a specified faculty advisor. The advisor may be (and normally is) changed from time to time, but there should always be one faculty member who is responsible for keeping track of the student's academic development. Designation of the faculty advisor is made in consultation with the student, the faculty member, and the Director of Graduate Studies. At the beginning of a student's first year, the advisor should supervise his/her choices of courses and preparation of a plan of study. This plan is to include participation in Anthropology 501-502, the Proseminar in Anthropology, which provides preparation for the first-year segment of the general examination. Upon admission, students are expected to have had undergraduate training in general anthropology, though this need not be equivalent to an undergraduate major. Students deficient in this respect may supplement the graduate program with undergraduate courses. Exceptional preparation will be reflected in a more advanced plan of study. By the spring term students should formally identify the three advisors they will work with in the second year. In the second year, one of the designated advisors serves as chairman of the student's General Examination Committee. Subsequently, the advisor may serve as chairman of the student's Dissertation Committee.

It is hoped that every graduate student will have an opportunity to assist in teaching as a significant part of the graduate education.

Students are required to demonstrate competence in one foreign language of anthropological scholarship. Students are expected to fulfill this requirement early in the fall of their first year of study. Satisfaction of the language requirement is a prerequisite for the Second-Year General Examination. The language examination lasts about two hours and consists of a written translation (foreign language into English of one or more anthropologically relevant texts); a dictionary may be used.

During the first two years each student is expected to take three (as minimum) to four (as maximum) courses each semester. These may be (a) graduate seminars at the 400 or 500 level, (b) specially constructed reading courses (not more than one per semester), or (c) undergraduate courses which are registered for as reading courses and for which additional requirements are agreed upon (extra meetings, additional readings, and papers). The Proseminar in Anthropology and "Co-Seminar," a designated first- and second-year course (to be changed each year), are two of the courses that must be taken the first year. In the second year only the Co-Seminar is a required course. Reading courses must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and the Dean of the Graduate School. To help evaluate the progress of students, it is customary in some courses for the instructor to give a detailed, written evaluation of the student's work. Copies of these evaluations will be given to the advisor and to the Director of Graduate Studies, but will not be retained in the student's files after completion of the Ph.D. The Graduate School allows four kinds of recorded grades: alphabetic, pass/D/fail, pass/fail, and "Incomplete." "Incompletes" may be removed upon fulfillment of course requirements, usually within one semester. An "Incomplete" which is not replaced with a grade by one year from the end of the course will stand permanently in the student's record. A student may not take the Second-Year General Examination until all "Incompletes" are removed.

The examination covers various issues and readings that are basic to an understanding of central concerns in social and cultural anthropology. It is based primarily on the readings of the Proseminar (Anthropology 501-502). The examination is taken early in May and consists of a take-home examination of three questions to be answered from a choice of six. Five days are allowed for completing it. The answer to each question should be approximately 2,000 words, and students may use any books or materials they wish in preparing their answers, but, of course, students must follow standard scholarly practices with respect to the citation of sources. Any student who fails the examination will have an opportunity to take it again at the beginning of the fall semester of the second year.

This examination is graded in the following categories: Fail, Pass, and Pass with Distinction.

After the First-Year General Examinations, which are read by all members of the faculty in residence, a meeting of the faculty is held to evaluate the work of the first-year students in the examination, the Proseminar and other courses, and at least two papers from these other courses. A letter is then sent to each student evaluating his/her work thus far and making suggestions for broadening and improving his/her work during the second year.

A meeting with each first-year student will take place following the exam to discuss the letter of evaluation and the requirements for the second year.

This examination consists of the following:

1. A combination of two major research papers (the first of which can be completed by the end of the fall term), a single integrated paper of equivalent length and substance or an exam written by the student and his/her committee members.
   • If the two-papers option is exercised, each student will select, with the guidance of his/her three examination committee members, an ethnographic area focus for one paper and a theoretical/subfield specialty focus for the other.
   • If the equivalent single-paper option is exercised, each student will select, with the guidance of his/her three examination committee members, the ethnographic area focus and theoretical/subfield specialty focus that will be integrated into a major research paper.
2. In October each student will present for approval by the three committee members a preliminary bibliography on both of the areas selected. A final bibliography will be presented in the spring.
3. By the Monday of the 11th week of the semester all final drafts of the General's paper(s) will be due.
4. In the spring term, within a few days after the faculty read the completed paper(s), an oral examination (lasting one and one-half hours) covering the bibliography and the same areas researched in the paper(s) or general exam will be held.

This examination is graded in the following categories: Fail; Pass at the M.A. level only, with no permission to continue on to doctoral research; Pass; and Pass with Distinction.

A written proposal for dissertation field research is presented by each student to his/her dissertation committee in the spring of the second year. This proposal is presented orally to the department.

The student who has qualified in the Second-Year General Examination will submit a dissertation normally based on original field research. This research is supervised by a committee of three advisors, one of whom will serve as chairman and principal advisor. After the dissertation has been formally presented, the Department takes action on the positive recommendation of at least two principal readers. At least one of the principal readers must be a member of the Princeton faculty at the rank of assistant professor or higher. Each principal reader submits a written and signed Dissertation Reader's Report to the Department. After the dissertation has been provisionally recommended for acceptance by the Department to the Dean of the Graduate School, two bound copies of the text have been deposited with the Department for transmission to the University Archives, and the degree application and accompanying payment for graduation and publication fees have been submitted by the student to the Graduate School, the Dean's office will authorize the candidate to take the Final Public Oral Examination. Final acceptance of the dissertation is conditional on the passing of the Final Public Oral Examination.

When a dissertation which has already been passed by the two principal readers is presented in complete form later than May 1, the Department is not under obligation to take action on it in time to enable the student to receive the degree at Commencement. Early submission of a first draft of the dissertation, by February 1, is therefore recommended. Degrees are awarded at three times during the academic year, at meetings of the Board of Trustees of the University. The deadline dates for submitting all materials to the Graduate School Office are: the end of September for an October degree award, the end of December for a January award, and mid-May for a June award. All degrees are awarded at the June Commencement ceremonies

This examination is not only a defense of the dissertation but also a final examination of matters of the discipline as a whole. There are four principal examiners—normally members of the Princeton faculty at the rank of assistant professor or higher, at least two of whom have not been principal readers of the dissertation. The Department determines whether or not the candidate has passed the examination. In cases where an appearance for the examination would constitute a substantial hardship for the candidate, the Director of Graduate Studies may recommend to the Dean of the Graduate School that the examination be waived.

The Master of Arts degree is awarded as an incidental degree for which doctoral students may apply after passing the Second-Year General Examination. A $15 fee is required with the application for the Master's degree.

All graduate students are expected to assist in teaching an undergraduate course at some point during their residence at Princeton, unless there is no opportunity to do so.

The Graduate School normally offers to readmitted students who are recommended for continuation on University Fellowship support, at least the same level of support that they have held (tuition increases are covered in the award) if the student has continued to do satisfactory work and is expected to complete the degree in the normal length of time. Because of the year spent doing fieldwork, Anthropology students can expect to receive an extra fifth year of support. In any year, a student who has performed extremely well academically and who has serious financial need may be recommended for an increase in aid by a special memo to the Dean accompanying the readmission materials. The Department may also recommend a reduction in the amount of University support if the circumstances warrant (lack of sufficient academic progress, or improvement in a previously serious financial situation). Students are reminded that an offer of support, assuming satisfactory progress, may be renewed for up to four years; however, outside funding will normally not extend the time of the University support beyond the five years.

To be eligible for participation in this program during the academic year or during the summer, a student must show financial need as measured by a need analysis form, be a U.S. citizen, and maintain satisfactory academic progress while employed. Payment is calculated on an hourly basis and the employment must be approved by the student's Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate School Financial Aid Office. Application forms are available from the Associate Dean for Student Life, Joy Montero, 109 Clio Hall. The student has a better chance of getting a job if his/her name is cited by a faculty member on his/her application for an assistant.

Study carrels in Firestone Library are assigned to graduate students in their second year and beyond in April each year. The Carrel Office is in Room B-14-D, Firestone Library.