Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD)

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Overview

The Department of Anthropology advances the study and constructive understanding of human diversity and commonality, across the globe and throughout the long span of human existence. We pursue this aim through excellence in research, teaching, and community collaboration, grounded in multiple analytical and interpretive methods that share a commitment to field-based inquiry. Interdisciplinary contacts are encouraged, and links are maintained with departments and programs such as Asian Studies, the Institute of Asian Research, Linguistics, History, Geography, Sociology, and the Centre for Women's and Gender Studies.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

We are the second oldest anthropology program in Canada, with more than six decades of research and teaching to our name. Our students are supported by a dedicated staff and faculty and access to outstanding research resources, such as the Museum of Anthropology and Laboratory of Archaeology. Today, UBC anthropology faculty and students conduct original research throughout BC and around the world.

Quick Facts

Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Subject
Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities
Mode of delivery
On campus
Registration options
Full-time
Specialization
Anthropology
Program Components
Dissertation
Faculty
Faculty of Arts

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Program Enquiries

If you have reviewed the information on this program page and understand the requirements for this program, you may send an enquiry

Admission Information & Requirements

In order to apply to this program, the following components may be required.

Online Application

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Transcripts

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Minimum Academic Requirements

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitve process.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications. 

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest, sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

English Language Proficiency

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

100
25
25
22
22
7.5
6.5
6.5
6.5
6.5

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

This program has not specified whether applicants should reach out to faculty members. Please review the program website for additional details.

Test Scores (GRE / GMAT or similar)

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is not required.

Prior degree requirements

Applicants should have completed a MA in Anthropology, although the program may in special circumstances admit students with a Masters degree in a related subject.

Citizenship Verification

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

Research Information

Research Focus

UBC offers graduate study in the fields of socio-cultural anthropology (including legal, medical, and ecological anthropology, oral and expressive culture, religion, globalization, and applied anthropology), linguistic anthropology, anthropological archaeology, biological anthropology, and museum studies. Faculty research interests include North America, Asia (Russia, India, Japan, and Korea), Mesoamerica, South America, Oceania, Europe, and Africa. The program provides training in quantitative, qualitative, archaeological and museum methods.

Research Facilities

Extensive research facilities are available in the Museum of Anthropology, and in the Laboratory of Archaeology. The UBC Library has excellent collections to support program interests, as well as a large collection of microform theses and dissertations, and the Human Relations Area files. Anthropology has a dedicated graduate computer lab with a wide range of software to support quantitative and qualitative research.

Deadline Details

Application Deadline

Deadline to submit online application. No changes can be made to the application after submission.

Transcript Deadline

Deadline to upload scans of official transcripts through the applicant portal in support of a submitted application. Information for accessing the applicant portal will be provided after submitting an online application for admission.

Referee Deadline

Deadline for the referees identified in the application for admission to submit references. See Letters of Reference for more information.

September 2021 Intake
Application Open Date
01 September 2020
Canadian Applicants
Application Deadline: 01 December 2020
Transcript Deadline: 09 December 2020
Referee Deadline: 09 December 2020
International Applicants
Application Deadline: 01 December 2020
Transcript Deadline: 09 December 2020
Referee Deadline: 09 December 2020

Funding Sources

All full-time students who begin a UBC-Vancouver PhD program in September 2018 or later will be provided with a funding package of at least $18,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. Please note that many graduate programs provide funding packages that are substantially greater than $18,000 per year. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

We encourage all applicants to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund your graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

In addition to scholarships and awards, applicants may be eligible to apply for financial aid or other benefits in the form of loans, bursaries, tax credits, or similar.

Career Outcomes

18 students graduated between 2005 and 2013. Of these, career information was obtained for 17 alumni (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016):


RI (Research-Intensive) Faculty: typically tenure-track faculty positions (equivalent of the North American Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor positions) in PhD-granting institutions
TI (Teaching-Intensive) Faculty: typically full-time faculty positions in colleges or in institutions not granting PhDs, and teaching faculty at PhD-granting institutions
Term Faculty: faculty in term appointments (e.g. sessional lecturers, visiting assistant professors, etc.)
Sample Employers in Higher Education
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (2)
University of Dhaka
Universite de Montreal
Douglas College
Sungkyunkwan University
Simon Fraser University
University of Tsukuba
University of British Columbia
Carleton University
University of Alberta
Sample Employers Outside Higher Education
Gitxaala First Nation
Sto:lo Research and Resource Management Centre
Canadian Science and Technology Museums Corporation
Alaska Marine Conservation Council
Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education
Researcher
Research Director
Heritage Research Coordinator
Director, Senior Archaeologist
Consultant
Program Director
PhD Career Outcome Survey
You may view the full report on career outcomes of UBC PhD graduates on outcomes.grad.ubc.ca.
Disclaimer
These data represent historical employment information and do not guarantee future employment prospects for graduates of this program. They are for informational purposes only. Data were collected through either alumni surveys or internet research.

Alumni on Success

Sharon Fortney

Job Title
Curator of Indigenous Collections and Engagement
Employer
Museum of Vancouver
All Alumni Profiles

Tuition / Program Costs

FeesCanadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / DiplomatInternational
Application Fee$106.00$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year33
Tuition per installment$1,698.56$2,984.09
Tuition per year
(plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)		$5,095.68$8,952.27
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible) $3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)$944.51 (approx.)
Costs of living (yearly)starting at $16,954.00 (check cost calculator)
* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Statistical Data

These statistics show data for the Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

Enrolment Data

 20182017201620152014
Applications4541392826
Offers11101076
New registrations96945
Total enrolment4743434645

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 80% based on 20 students admitted between 2006 - 2009. Based on 18 graduations between 2015 - 2018 the minimum time to completion is 2.33 years and the maximum time is 9.00 years with an average of 6.02 years of study. All calculations exclude leave times.
Disclaimer
Admissions data refer to all UBC Vancouver applications, offers, new registrants for each year, May to April [data updated: 22 March 2019]. Enrolment data are based on March 1 snapshots. Program completion data are only provided for datasets comprised of more than 4 individuals. Rates and times of completion depend on a number of variables (e.g. curriculum requirements, student funding), some of which may have changed in recent years for some programs [data updated: 27 October 2019].

Research Supervisors

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

  • Barker, John (Local and global religion, history of Canadian anthropology, ethno-history, the anthropology of art and the impact of international environmental organizations upon indigenous peoples)
  • Blackburn, Carole (relationship between Indigenous peoples and settler states; how Indigenous nations assert their rights and sovereignty in struggles over land and political recognition, and the consequences for Indigenous people of engaging states in legal and political arenas.)
  • Blake, Thomas Michael (Archaeological research, origins and spread of maize agriculture in the Americas, exploration of Coast Salish identities as expressed in house structures and village settlement layouts extending from about 3000 years ago)
  • Bloch, Alexia (Migration and Transnationalism, Anthropology of Gender, Statelessness, Ethnographic Methods and Writing, Socialist Cultures and Projects of Modernity, Eurasia, Peoples of Siberia)
  • Creighton, Millie (Japan, Japanese descent communities (Nikkei or Nikkeijin), Korea, Inter-Asian Relations, Identity, Consumerism, Popular and Mass Culture, Gender, Minorities, Work and Leisure)
  • Davis, Wade (Latin America, passionate defender of all of life)
  • Gordillo, Gaston (Space and violence, affect, ruins and ruination, critical theory and continental philosophy, object-oriented ontologies, resistance to agribusiness, Latin America, Argentina, the Gran Chaco)
  • Jing, Zhichun (Archaeology of Early China Archaeology Geoarchaeology Ancient Civilizations, Archaeology of early China, geoarchaeology, human impact on ancient environments, archaic states and early complex societies, systematic regional survey and analysis, quantitative analysis, environmental archaeology, provenance of archaic jades)
  • Kamat, Vinay Ramnath (Global Health and Emerging Diseases, Medical Anthropology, Global Health, ethnography, India, Outsourcing of Clinical Trials, Tanzania, Malaria, East Africa, marine conservation, Dispossession, Extractive Industry, political ecology)
  • Kramer, Jennifer (Visual culture and art of the First Nations)
  • Levell, Nicola (interdisciplinary folds of anthropology, theoretical museology, material culture and critical curatorial studies)
  • Martindale, Andrew (Archeological Data Analysis, Archeological Excavation Methods and Techniques, Prehistory, History of Major Eras, Great Civilisations or Geographical Corpuses, Indigenous Archaeology, Northwest Coast, Oral Traditions, Spatial Analyses, Archaeology and the Law, Political economy, Radiocarbon Dating, Indian Residential Schools)
  • McKellin, William (Medical, linguistic and cultural anthropology; socio-linguistics and discourse analysis; clinical medical anthropology; genetics and society; international health; cognitive anthropology; kinship and social organization; Papua New Guinea; Canada.)
  • Menzies, Charles (Local Cultures and Dynamics, Resources Management, Dynamics of Social Transformations, Social Movements, Indigenous studies, Natural Resource Management, Maritime Anthropology, Western Europe, Ethnographic Film)
  • Miller, Bruce (Anthropology of Law, ethnography, ethnohistory of Coast Salish of BC and Washington, Indigenes worldwide, state-Indigenous relations)
  • Moore, Patrick (Anthropological linguistics, languages of North America, sub-Arctic ethnography, ethno-history, gender, First Nations Languages, Literacy and Orality, Oral Traditions, Dene (Athbaskan Languages and Cultures), Codeswitching, Gender, Indigenous Activism, and the Anthropology of Media)
  • Muehlmann, Shaylih (Environmental politics, linguistic anthropology, drug trafficking, indigeneity, water scarcity, the anthropology of the awkward, US-Mexico borderlands, Mexico)
  • Robertson, Leslie (Indigenous and settler historiographies, colonial regimes of difference, spectacle and narrative, and political histories of resistance in settler nations, afterlife of historical colonialism, forms of power and representation in the context of urban marginalization (drug use, sex work, health, and violence) )
  • Rosenblum, Daisy (multi-modal documentation and description of indigenous languages of North America, with an emphasis on methods, partnerships, and products that contribute to community-based language revitalization)
  • Rowley, Susan (Archaeology, Arctic, Museums, Public archaeology, oral history, ethnohistory, material culture)
  • Shaw, Patricia (First Nations languages; endangered languages, First Nations Languages)
  • Shelton, Anthony (Mexican and Andean visual culture, critical museology, development of folk art, aesthetics)
  • Shneiderman, Sara (Intercultural and Ethnic Relationships, Political Culture, Society and Ideology, Local Cultures and Dynamics, Religion, Culture and Space, Ideological, Political, Economical and Social Environments of Social Transformations, Social Organization and Political Systems, International Development, Indigenous issues, Disaster response and preparedness)
  • Speller, Camilla (Archeological Data Analysis, Molecular Genetics, Bioarchaeology, Ancient DNA Analysis (paleogenetics), Ancient proteins (paleoproteomics), Environmental Archaeology, Marine Ecosystems, Animal Domestication)
  • Turin, Mark (Cultural Institutions (Museums, Libraries, etc.), Lexicography and Dictionaries, Language Contact and Linguistic Changes, Language Rights and Policies, Language Interactions, Political Culture, Society and Ideology, Nepal, Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan, First Nations, Bella Bella, Heiltsuk, Indigeneity)

Pages

Recent Doctoral Citations

  • Dr. Alejandra Lydia Macdonald-Miller Diaz
    "Dr. Diaz studied the prehistoric diet of dogs and other animals over the last 3,000 years in British Columbia. She identified regionally specific patterns in diet that generally don't change through time. This research provides some of the first data of its kind to B.C. archaeology and highlights the importance of understanding locally-oriented past relationships between humans and animals." (May 2019)
  • Dr. Vishala Amita Parmasad
    "Dr. Parmasad studied Type 2 diabetes among Indian Trinidadians in Debe, Trinidad and Tobago. She examined reasons people did not follow medical advice. These included structural inequities in healthcare access and incompatibilities with local sociocultural contexts. Her findings highlight the importance of tailoring standardized treatment regimens." (May 2019)
  • Dr. Gregory Gan
    "Dr. Gan conducted multi-sited anthropological research amongst educated Russian migrants in Moscow, Paris, Berlin, and New York, showing that Russian state strategies have historically relied, and continue to rely on migrant discourses in defining Russian national identity." (May 2019)
  • Dr. Dada Brina Docot
    "Dr. Docot studied the effects of migration in her hometown in the Philippines. She investigated dimensions of everyday life including ritual and the family. By studying lives in labor-exporting communities, headed to migrant-recipient countries like Canada, she argues for the need to push against the deepening inequalities felt in the Global South." (November 2018)
  • Dr. Adam Arthur Solomonian
    "Dr. Solomonian explored the relationship between culture and photography amongst the shishalh Nation, showing how photography is connected to, and shaped by, place, history, memory, as well as politics and power. This research highlights the importance of family photograph collections to communities, as an often-overlooked aspect of Indigenous visual-material culture." (November 2018)

Sample Thesis Submissions

Further Program Information

 
 

September 2021 Intake
Application Open Date
01 September 2020
Canadian Applicant Deadline
01 December 2020
International Applicant Deadline
01 December 2020

Program Enquiries

If you have reviewed the information on this program page and understand the requirements for this program, you may send an enquiry
 

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