Introduction
This guide is intended to provide graduate students of the University of Alaska
Fairbanks (UAF) with an understanding of the structure of the existing graduate
program in anthropology, and to assist students in completing their work as
expeditiously and as meaningfully as possible, while still complying with
general UAF regulations. Students
are to be guided by the rules in existence at the time they enter the M.A. or
Ph.D. program. When changes in
program rules or requirements occur, the student has the option of completing
the program under the new set of rules rather than remaining with the rules of
entry. In this case, the student
must obtain approval from 1) each member of the Advisory Committee, 2) the
Department Chair, 3) the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and these
approvals must be recorded with the Dean of the Graduate School.
To some extent, this guide replicates information for
graduate students available in the most current General Catalog of the
University of Alaska Fairbanks, which sets forth the official Board of Regents’
Policies and University Regulations on admission procedures, completion of
requirements, etc. Additional and
specific information relevant to the Department of Anthropology is provided in
this manual.
Any additional requirements or means of meeting requirements for a particular student's program, not specified in this Manual or the UAF General Catalog, are to be set by the student's committee.
Students themselves are ultimately responsible for
ensuring that they meet the requirements for their degree as set forth in this
Graduate Student Manual, that the completion of each formal requirement is
properly recorded, and that their departmental and Graduate School files are
complete and up-to-date. Departmental
faculty, however, are ready to assist whenever the student feels that there is
some uncertainty or problem.
The objectives of this guide are to:
• delineate
the department’s expectations of students, which in the judgment of the faculty
assure high standards of anthropological/archaeological training; and
• assure fairness in the treatment of students by applying common and
unambiguous standards to all.
Financial
Assistance
The department offers a limited number of teaching assistantships, and
occasional research assistantships associated with faculty grants. Teaching assistant duties vary widely
and may involve assisting a faculty member in a course or lecturing in an
introductory course. Normally, the
Department endeavors to give four (4) semesters of support to those M.A. and
Ph.D. students who have, on admission, been awarded a teaching
assistantship. Renewal of TAships is subject to their remaining in good standing and
making satisfactory progress toward their degree. Renewal of funding is not automatic; students desiring a
second year of funding should apply to the Chair of the Department in the Spring semester.
The deadline for applications for departmental funding is February
15. Application forms are
available from the Administrative Assistant in the Department office.
Information on competitive scholarships open to all
graduate students at UAF is available on the web at the Graduate School web
page or through the Anthropology Department’s Financial Aid links. Students are encouraged to apply for
those scholarships and stipends, and should work closely with Advisory
Committee members to develop proposals and applications.
All students, but especially those who are in the Ph.D.
program, are encouraged to apply for funds outside UAF. Information on funding opportunities is
posted on the departmental bulletin board, disseminated by e-mail, available
from the UAF Proposal Office and through the department web site. Faculty will assist students in
developing funding proposals.
Ph.D. students are expected to apply to national funding agencies to
fund their dissertation research.
Obtaining such funding for the write-up phase is also encouraged.
Major Advisor (Committee Chair)
Students will be assigned an interim advisor with whom they will meet during
the first semester. A permanent advisor should be chosen as soon as possible,
but no later than the end of the second semester. This person will serve as the
Chair of the Advisory Committee.
Advisory
Committee
Advisory Committees set requirements and guide students through their programs
of study and research. Students are responsible for arranging meetings and
consultations with their Advisory Chair and other committee members, and for
arranging periodic meetings of the Advisory Committee The student should set a meeting with the committee by the
end of the second semester at the latest.
Students may wish to change their Advisory Committee Chair or a member of their
committee during the course of their studies. To do so a student must first notify his/her Chair and then
file a Graduate Advisory Committee form,
showing the change with required signatures (see UAF Graduate School Forms
Pamphlet).
Graduate
Study Plan
The Advisory Committee must meet with the student during the first year to
develop a Graduate Study Plan. At
this time, the committee determines if any deficiencies exist and provides
direction to the student for carrying out remedial work. Later meetings are held to update the
study plan. The student must file
the Graduate Study Plan in the Graduate School (by the end of the first
academic year), with, at the same time, a copy placed in the student’s file in
the Department of Anthropology.
Students should consult sections of the General Catalog on Graduate
Advisory Committees and Graduate Study Plans for further details.
Student’s File
The UAF Graduate School website (http://www.uaf.edu/gradsch/forms)
contains the forms which constitute the body of official documents for the
student’s file. Two copies of the
student’s file are maintained, one in the office of the Dean of the Graduate
School and one in the Department of Anthropology office. The student is responsible for ensuring
that copies of all documents are provided in order to keep the file
up-to-date. The Graduate Studies
Coordinator and the Chair of the Advisory Committee will assist students in
this matter.
According to federal law, students have a right to see any
materials maintained in their file.
The file may be examined and a copy made in the department office. Nothing may be
removed from the file by the student.
Annual Evaluation
Graduate School regulations
require that a student’s performance be evaluated by the
faculty at the end of each academic year. Such evaluations are completed by the
Advisory Committee Chair in consultation with the faculty. The evaluation (Annual Report of
Graduate Advisory Committee) is signed by all members of the Advisory Committee
and by the student. The original
is filed with the Office of the Graduate School, with a copy in the student’s
departmental file. The evaluation
is based on the student’s overall performance in coursework, research, and as a
teaching or research assistant (when this consideration applies). It may read “satisfactory,”
“conditional,” or “unsatisfactory.”
It is the responsibility of the chair of a student’s Advisory Committee
promptly to inform the student of the results of this annual evaluation.
Upon receipt of the completed evaluation form from the Advisory Committee Chair, the student must sign and return it to the department office. If a student receives a “conditional” evaluation, the Advisory Committee will specify the conditions to be met and a timeline for completion. Failure to meet the specified conditions will result in an unsatisfactory rating on the next evaluation. Two consecutive unsatisfactory reports will result in dismissal from the program.
The M.A. degree in anthropology is an advanced degree that
may either lead to further study in a Ph.D. program or to work in a
professional career. The
department expects that most applicants for the M.A. degree either hold a B.A. or
B.S. degree in anthropology or have had an equivalent of at least fifteen
semester credit hours in anthropology along with an undergraduate degree in
another field. In the latter case,
the normal expectation is that the applicant has successfully completed lower
division courses in three of the four subfields of anthropology (archaeology,
physical/biological anthropology, social/cultural anthropology, and
linguistics), two of which are at an advanced undergraduate level.
Exceptions may be granted under certain
circumstances. If the faculty are uncertain about the student’s academic
background, they may require the student to take several undergraduate courses
without graduate credit or additional graduate courses beyond those normally
required for the M.A. degree to remedy deficiencies in his/her background. The precise requirements will be
developed by the student’s Advisory Committee and recorded in the student’s
file. Whenever remedial work is
indicated, the student should be prepared to spend an extra semester or two in
earning the degree.
M.A. Program Duration and Readmission Policy
Official degree requirements for the M.A. degree are stipulated in the University
General Catalog. The UAF Regulations state (see General Catalog) that all
requirements for the M.A. degree must be completed within a seven-year time
period. The faculty expect that, in the normal course
of events, a student with an adequate background in anthropology at the
undergraduate level will complete all the requirements for an M.A. degree in
two to three academic years.
Readmission is possible only under exceptional circumstances and only
with the concurrence of the student’s Advisory Committee and the Dean of the
College of Liberal Arts. All applications for extensions or readmission must also be
approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.
M.A. Committee Composition
UAF Regulations specify that an M.A. student’s Advisory Committee is to be
composed of a minimum of three members.
The Advisory Committee Chair must be a tenured or tenure-track member of
the UAF Department of Anthropology. The Advisory Committee of an M.A. student
must be composed of at least two members from the department. All three faculty
members must be employed primarily by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Additionally, a fourth member may be
appointed from either within or without the University system.
M.A. Course Work Requirements
M.A. students must complete a minimum of 30 credits as outlined in the General
Catalog (24 credits of course work – 21 credits at 600 level – and 6 credits of ANTH-699 Thesis). M.A. students who choose to produce a
museum project in lieu of a thesis must complete at least 36 credits (24 credits of
regular course work and 6 credits of ANTH-698 Research).
Required Courses: All M.A.
students must successfully complete the following (included as part of the 24
credits):
• Anth 629 Structures
of Anthropological Argument
• Anth 652 Research Design
and Professional Development Seminar
Language or Research Tool
M.A. students are required to demonstrate competency in one language relevant
to their academic interests, or in a research tool (such as statistics or field
methods). Each student consults
with his/her Advisory Committee Chair to determine how s/he will satisfy this
requirement. This information
forms part of the Graduate Study Plan (see above). Completion of this requirement should be registered with the
form “Report on Completion of Language or Research Tool Requirement” (http://www.uaf.edu/gradsch/forms).
M.A.
Research Proposal For advancement to candidacy, each student will be
expected to prepare a written research proposal in his/her subfield. The research proposal should be a clear
statement of the research problem and its significance. In conjunction with this, the proposal
should include a literature review that addresses the general area of the
research problem. The student
should explain the methodology or research strategy that will be employed in
researching the topic, and this should also be substantiated with reference to
relevant literature. The written
proposal will be reviewed and approved by the student’s advisory
committee. The Proposal Approval Form (available in Word doc format),
with a project title and abstract of the research proposal must be submitted to
the Department office after the project has been approved by
the student’s committee.
The title and abstract will be placed on the Department’s web site.
M.A. Comprehensive Examination
Students will make arrangements for the comprehensive exam (required for
advancement to candidacy) individually with their committees. After consultation with the student,
the committee will draw up the questions for the exam. The student will answer three
questions; the committee will determine out of how many choices. The total exam will require 24 hours to
complete--three questions, 8 hours each, given on separate days. The exam may be
given at any time of the year as long as all committee members can agree to
evaluate it within two weeks of the exam date.
If the student fails to pass the exam, the committee has the option to create a new exam. This new exam should be taken not earlier than six weeks and not later than one year after the original. If the student fails to pass a second time, the committee will decide whether the student is to continue in the program.
A “Report on Examination” form will be
signed by the student’s advisory committee after the comprehensive
examination is approved (GS forms).
After a passing Report on Examination has been submitted and the
Research Proposal has been approved, the student will be eligible to apply for
advancement to candidacy.
Advancement to Candidacy
With advancement to candidacy, the department certifies that the
student’s thesis topic has been approved, that the research proposal has been
approved (Comprehensive Exam Passed), that the language or research tool
requirement has been completed, that all course deficiencies have been
remedied, and that all further course requirements have been spelled out in the
Graduate Study Plan. Each student must have completed at least 9 UAF credit
hours and be in good standing. The
Application for Advancement to Candidacy form (GS forms) must be completed and turned in no later than the semester before a student plans to graduate.
M.A. Thesis
and Defense
It is expected that by the end of his/her first year in the program the student
will have defined a thesis topic. The student will be guided
in completion of the thesis by his/her Advisory Committee, with primary
responsibility resting with the Advisory Committee Chair.
The thesis must be at least 14,000 words in length and not
more than 50,000 words (excluding bibliography, figures, tables and
appendices). Upon approval of the written draft by the committee, the thesis
will be defended in a session open to the public. UAF Regulations pertaining to
defenses are set out in the UAF General Catalog.
1) Three weeks
before the planned thesis defense:
the final draft of the thesis should be submitted to the committee
for approval.
2)
Once the thesis has been approved, the student may then schedule the defense,
which is to be an oral public presentation (possibly as part of the colloquium
series). Students are required to
post flyers to advertise the event.
The student should see the department administrative assistant for
available time slots for the defense and for help in producing the flyers. Defenses
must occur during the regular academic year. Exceptions to this rule can only be approved by a vote of
the faculty.
3) At least one week before the planned defense:
A copy of the approved thesis must be
submitted to the department office.
The Defense Approval Form,
with a project title and abstract of the thesis must be submitted to the
Department office (available in Word doc or rtf format). The title and abstract will be placed
on the Department’s web site.
4) As specified in the General Catalog, the defense will
consist of a presentation by the candidate. The length of the presentation will be
determined by the Advisory Committee. Following the presentation there will be a question
period. Normally, the Advisory
Committee Chair will conduct the defense meeting and the Chair and members of
the Advisory Committee (which may be augmented by other faculty members at the
discretion of the Dean of the College, Dean of the Graduate School or both)
will conduct the questioning. If
the Chair cannot fulfill this duty, the Dean of the College or the Dean of the
Graduate School will appoint a substitute. At the conclusion of the public portion of the defense, the
Chair, as a rule, will open the questioning to the public.
5) Afterwards, the Advisory Committee will meet in closed
session to pass or fail the student on the defense. The student may be advised on revisions the committee deems
necessary. The student will then
submit the revised thesis for the committee’s final approval in accordance with
UAF Regulations. These regulations
are set out in the General Catalog, and a Thesis Format Workbook should be
obtained from the Graduate School.
Students must conform to thesis format requirements and to thesis
submission deadlines as specified in the workbook. Students should also refer to the American
Anthropological Association guidelines for formatting of publications (e.g., in
the journals American Anthropologist,
American Ethnologist, Current
Anthropology, etc) in order to conform to disciplinary conventions.
Final Thesis
The thesis must be prepared in accordance with the Graduate School’s thesis
requirements. Once the final
draft has been approved in the proper format a pdf version must be submitted to
the department office
Progress With Good Standing
To remain in good standing in the department, the student must maintain a 3.0
GPA or better, must meet with the interim advisor at least once per semester
until the Advisory Committee Chair is designated, must designate an Advisory
Committee Chair no later than the end of the second semester, and must assemble
a full committee and select a research topic no later than the end of the third
semester. Receiving departmental funding (T.A., R.A.) is contingent upon
remaining in good standing. Students who fail to remain in good standing will
be placed on probation for one semester, and asked to correct the problems.
Students who do not correct the problems after one semester will be dropped
from the program.
1. 24 credits course work (21 credits at 600
level), including Anth 629 & Anth
652
2. Six credits ANTH 699 thesis
3. 30 credits total
4. One language or one research tool
5. Written comprehensive exam
6. Approved thesis proposal
7. Advancement to Candidacy (at least semester
before graduation)
8. Written thesis with public oral defense
9. Maintain good standing with 3.0 GPA or better
10. Time limit: 7 years to degree
The Ph.D. degree in
anthropology is a research degree, and the department offers highly
individualized training in areas in which the graduate faculty
specialize. The department expects applicants to the Ph.D. program to
hold an M.A. or M.S. degree in anthropology (other disciplines are occasionally
accepted), and to have chosen UAF because they are fully aware of the
specializations offered by and the strength of the faculty. In some cases, an incoming student may
be expected by his/her Advisory Committee to take specific courses to address
weaknesses or to acquire further expertise in some area essential for
dissertation research or career development.
Ph.D. Program Duration, Leaves and Readmission
Official degree requirements for the Ph.D. are stipulated in the University General Catalog. UAF Regulations state (see General
Catalog) that all requirements for the Ph.D. degree must be completed within a
ten-year time period. Ph.D. programs vary widely in length of time devoted to
coursework, research and dissertation writing. However, students are generally
expected to complete their degrees many years before the Graduate School's
maximum time limit of 10 years. Extension and readmission are possible only
under exceptional circumstances and only with the concurrence of the student's
Advisory Committee and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. All applications for
extensions or readmission must also be approved by the Dean of the Graduate
School.
Ph.D. Committee Composition
UAF Regulations specify that an Advisory Committee for Ph.D. students is to be
composed of a
minimum of four members, one of whom may be from outside the
department (see below). The
Advisory Committee Chair must be a tenured or tenure-track member of the UAF
Department of Anthropology.
The Advisory Committee
for a Ph.D. student must consist of a minimum of four faculty
whose primary employment is with UAF.
The Ph.D. students should carefully consult the General Catalog on
regulations pertaining to the composition of their committees regarding faculty
outside the department.
(Note: this regulation does
not preclude faculty other than those of UAF serving on a Ph.D. committee. Such members, however, serve in
addition to the four members specified above.) Please note that any exceptions to the
composition of the Advisory Committees as prescribed in the General Catalog
must be explicitly approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. Exceptions are extremely rare and only
occur on an individual basis."
Ph.D. Course Work Requirements
There are no general coursework requirements for the Ph.D.; all
specific coursework requirements are set by the student's committee. The Graduate School requires a minimum
of 18 graduate UAF credits and at least three full years of study, including
transfer credits.
Language(s) and/or Research Tool
Ph.D. students are required to demonstrate competency in two languages relevant to the student's work, or one
language plus a research tool (such as statistics or field methods). Specifics are to be determined by the
student in consultation with the Advisory Committee, but language proficiency
should be the equivalent of two academic years of study with a grade of
"B" or better. Completion of these requirements should be registered
with the form "Report on Completion of Language or Research Tool
Requirement"
(http://www.uaf.edu/gradsch/students/current/forms/LangResearchTool.pdf).
Language proficiency will be determined by an examination
in a form agreed to by the Advisory Committee. Normally, a Ph.D. student is expected to translate an
article in the language and area of specialization appropriate to his/her
field. The student may choose,
however, to take the language proficiency exam of the Educational Testing
Service.
Synthesizing
Papers (Comprehensive Examination)
To qualify for advancement to candidacy, Ph.D. students must write three
synthesizing papers (approximately 40 pages each), reviewing the state of
knowledge in a specified area of anthropological research. (These are sometimes referred to as
"comp papers" or "field statements"). The areas to be synthesized will be
established in advance by the student's Advisory Committee, and students will
be responsible for preparing an extensive bibliography of sources for
each. The bibliography will be
submitted along with each paper.
After approval by the student's committee, a copy of each paper, signed by
the committee chair, should be submitted to the department office for the
student's file.
Ph.D. Research Proposal (Prospectus)
Ph.D. students will present a written research proposal (prospectus) prior to
beginning their dissertation research.
The research proposal should detail the research topic, with particular
attention to the theoretical framework, research methodology, relevant
literature, and development of a pertinent database. The written research proposal must be
approved by the Advisory Committee. Students must make a public oral presentation and defense of
the research proposal
Ph.D. Research Proposal (Prospectus) Timeline
1) Three weeks
before the planned proposal defense:
the final proposal should be submitted to the committee for approval.
2) Once the proposal has been approved, the student may then
schedule the defense, which is to be an oral public presentation (possibly as
part of the colloquium series).
Students are required post flyers to advertise the event. The student should see the department
administrative assistant for available time slots for the defense and for help
in producing the flyers.
3) At least one
week before the planned defense:
A copy of the approved research proposal must be submitted
to the department office.
The Defense Approval Form, with a project title and
abstract of the research proposal must be submitted to the Department office
(available online in Word doc or rtf
format). The title and abstract
will be placed on the Department's web site.
4) Proposal presentations should be approximately one half
hour in length and will conclude with the opportunity for the public to ask
questions. At the end of this
question/answer session, the public will be asked to leave. Departmental faculty will then have the
opportunity to ask further questions.
The committee then determines the pass/fail status of the defense. The Report on Examination form should
be completed and the category "Other" checked, filling in
"Research Prospectus Defense."
Advancement to Candidacy
With advancement to candidacy the department certifies that the
student has successfully completed the comprehensive examination (synthesizing
papers), that his/her dissertation topic has been approved, that the research
proposal has been successfully presented, that the language research tool
requirements have been completed, that all course deficiencies have been
remedied, and that all further course requirements have been spelled out (in
the Graduate Study Plan). The
student must have completed at least 9 UAF credits and be in good
standing. The Application for
Advancement to Candidacy form (GS forms) must be completed and turned in no later than the
semester before a student plans to graduate. It is expected that Ph.D. students will advance to candidacy
before beginning their primary dissertation research.
Dissertation and Defense
It is expected that by the end of his/her first year in the program the student
will have defined a dissertation topic. The student will be
guided in completion of the dissertation by his/her Advisory Committee,
with primary responsibility resting with the Advisory Committee Chair.
The dissertation, upon approval of the written draft by
the committee, will be defended in a session open to the public. UAF Regulations pertaining to defenses
are set out in the UAF General Catalog.
1) The final
dissertation draft should be submitted to the committee for approval at least
three weeks in advance of the planned proposal defense.
2) A copy of the approved dissertation must be submitted to the department office one week before the dissertation
defense.
3) At the same time, at least one week before the defense, the student must submit the Defense Approval Form (available online
in Word doc
or rtf
format), with a project title and abstract of the dissertation. The title and abstract will be placed
on the Department's web site.
4) The date of the defense is set by the
student and the Advisory Committee (along with an alternate date). The student will need to arrange a room
for the defense. Since this is a
public defense, the student will be required to post notices specifying the
date, hour, place and event. When
the date for the defense is confirmed, the student can contact the department
secretary about producing a flyer for this purpose. Defenses must occur during the regular academic year. Exceptions to this rule can only be
approved by a vote of the faculty.
5) It is the responsibility of the Ph.D. student to
request that the Office of the Graduate School assign an outside examiner for their defense (see http://www.uaf.edu/gradsch/forms.html
for the necessary form). The
request must be made a minimum of two
weeks in advance of the defense, and the students must supply a copy of the
dissertation to the examiner at least one
week prior to the defense. There is an online form for requesting the
outside examiner at
http://www.uaf.edu/gradsch/facstaff/OutsideExamForm.html.
6) As specified in the General Catalog, the defense will
consist of a presentation by the candidate. The length of the
presentation will be determined by the Advisory Committee. Following the presentation there will
be a question period. Normally,
the Advisory Committee Chair will conduct the defense meeting and the Chair and
members of the Advisory Committee (which may be augmented by other faculty
members at the discretion of the Dean of the College, Dean of the Graduate
School or both) will conduct the questioning. If the Chair cannot fulfill this duty, the Dean of the
College or the Dean of the Graduate School will appoint a substitute. At the conclusion of the public portion
of the defense, the Chair, as a rule, will open the questioning to the public.
7) Afterwards, the Advisory Committee will meet in closed
session to pass or fail the student on the defense. The student may be advised on revisions the committee deems
necessary. The student will then
submit the revised dissertation for the committee's final approval in
accordance with UAF Regulations.
These regulations are set out in the General Catalog, and a Thesis
Format Workbook should be obtained from the Graduate School. Students must conform to thesis format
requirements and to thesis submission deadlines as specified in the workbook. Students should also refer to the
American Anthropological Association guidelines for formatting publications
(e.g., in the journals American
Anthropologist, American Ethnologist,
Current Anthropology, etc) in order to conform to disciplinary conventions.
Progress With Good Standing
To remain in good standing in the department, the student must maintain a 3.0
GPA or better, must meet with the interim advisor at least twice per semester
until the Advisory Committee Chair is designated, must designate an Advisory
Committee Chair no later than the end of the second semester, and must assemble
a full committee and select a research topic no later than the end of the third
semester. Receiving departmental
funding (T.A., R.A.) is contingent upon remaining in good standing. Students
who fail to remain in good standing will be placed on probation for one
semester, and asked to correct the problems. Students who do not correct the
problems after one semester will be dropped from the program.
Ph.D.
Program Quick Reference Sheet
1. 18 credits minimum total
2. Three years of full-time study
3. Two languages, or one language and one research tool
(advanced statistics, field methods or equivalent)
4. Three Synthesizing Papers
5. Written dissertation proposal with public oral defense
6. Advancement to Ph.D. Candidacy
7. Written dissertation with public oral defense
8. Maintain good standing with 3.0 GPA or better
9. Time limit 10 years to degree
GENERAL POLICIES
Grievance
Procedures
Students may feel, as individuals or as a group, that they have a grievance
against another student, a faculty member, the department, or the school. If such circumstances arise, it is
suggested that the matter be openly and frankly discussed in consultations with
faculty members, the Graduate Student Representative, and the Department
Head. Depending on the nature of
the problem, one or the other may be able to mediate the matter and resolve the
grievance. If the matter is not
resolved, the student has a right to bring up the matter officially in a
faculty meeting, before the faculty as a whole. Students may also request a meeting with individual faculty
members, or faculty members and other students. If departmental policy is implicated, the faculty as a whole
may need to arrive at a decision.
If a grievance is not satisfactorily resolved within the department,
students are referred to the Office of the Graduate School.
Student-Faculty Interaction
In our department, faculty work closely with graduate students and most faculty
members maintain an "open door" policy. From time to time students request individual faculty
members to write recommendations either for study elsewhere or in applying for
a job, research or training grant, summer institute, language school, and so
on. Normally the faculty respond promptly to such requests. However, to facilitate the process, it
is desirable that the student provide the faculty member with curriculum vitae,
a stamped and addressed envelope, information about the institution or job for
which the recommendation is needed, and any required forms well in advance of
deadlines. Faculty who provide
students with recommendations would appreciate hearing the results of the
student's applications. Copies of
letters of recommendation are placed in the student's departmental file.
Ethics in Research
Students are encouraged to conduct field research. It is especially important for anthropology students to
remember that research on human subjects is regulated by federal law and agency
regulations, and is subject to review by the UAF Institutional Review Board (http://www.uaf.edu/irb/index.html). All proposals,
including those for summer research, are reviewed by the faculty with
this in mind. IRB Approval in all
cases must be secured before research commences. This applies to even seemingly innocuous situations. A statement on the use of human
subjects is required in which potential harm is discussed, as well as means to
avoid or minimize any such potential harm. This statement must be signed by the
proposed investigator. The
student should specify the proposed methods, such as participant observation,
questionnaire, interview schedules, and so forth. A consent form for study participants is also typically
required. Informal consultations
with the faculty on this aspect of anthropological research are encouraged.
Students must adhere to professional ethics guidelines
(copies of the guidelines are appended to this manual.) Students are also responsible for
obtaining the appropriate permits and permissions from communities, agencies
and others who may be involved in or affected by their research.
Graduate Student Office Space
Office space in the department is limited, and priority is given to
teaching assistants and Ph.D. students.
Space will be allocated on a year-by-year basis with no automatic
renewals. Students must see the
department administrative assistant for a space assignment. Library carrels are
also available and can be applied for at the Rasmuson
Library Circulation Desk. Students
who are not in residence on campus should not expect to be assigned space in
the department.
Graduate
Student Organization
UAF abides by the Students' Rights Document of 1967. On a more formal level, graduate students elect a Graduate
Student Representative who reports to the faculty, usually through the
Department Head and/or in faculty meetings, the students' concerns, plans and
interests. From time to time, a departmental
student/faculty meeting may be called by the Department Head to address common
concerns.
The Graduate Student Representative is also responsible
for calling meetings of the graduate students to organize educational or social
activities. There are
opportunities to invite guest speakers (periodically funded by the Graduate
School) and to hold special events (such as a film screening, a holiday
potluck, or a joint graduate/undergraduate social gathering). Graduate students also typically assist
with the Alaska Anthropological Association Meetings, which are hosted in
Fairbanks on a rotating basis.
Forms
There are numerous forms that students are required to submit or that need to
be submitted on their behalf during the course of their studies. The most common and important forms are
available on the Graduate
School web page. Hard copies of most forms can be obtained from the Administrative Assistant in
the Anthropology Main Office.
Additional
Information
More information about the UAF Department of Anthropology can be found online
at http://www.uaf.edu/anthro. This website includes links to other
UAF online sources, including the General Catalog, Admissions, and Financial
Aid.
The UAF Graduate School forms and Thesis Format Workbook can be found online at http://www.uaf.edu/gradsch/forms.html.