UNB Department of Anthropology
MASTER OF ARTS
STUDENT HANDBOOK
2007/2008

Overview of the Program
           The Anthropology Department at UNB offers a Master of Arts (MA) program in socio-cultural anthropology, biological anthropology and archaeology. In socio-cultural anthropology, students can pick one of several geographical areas, including Atlantic Canada, northeastern North America, South and Southeast Asia and Latin America. In biological anthropology, the focus is on medical anthropology, while in archaeology, the focus is the Maritime Provinces and adjacent areas of Canada and the United States. Students benefit from a small-group learning environment that facilitates intensive study of contemporary issues in anthropology. However, students should also be aware that given the small size of the department, graduate topics generally must be selected to fit with existing faculty research interests and research programs.

The Calendar Year
           At UNB, graduate degree programs run throughout the year and are divided, for administrative purposes, into three consecutive terms: Fall Term (September-December); Winter Term (January-April); and Summer Term (May-August). The normal length of the MA program is two calendar years (6 terms).            However, maximum funding available is for 5 terms. If students enter the program without funding, they will be encouraged to apply for external funding for the second year of their program.
The maximum time allotted for completion of all degree requirements for a Master’s Degree in Anthropology is four years.
           In most cases, students in the MA program in Anthropology will be full-time, and will enter the program in September, at the beginning of the Fall Term. Provisions for students wishing to complete the program part-time, or to enter the program in January, at the beginning of the Winter Term, can be made on a case-by-case basis.

Entrance Requirements
           Minimum requirements are an Honours degree in Anthropology with at least a B (3.0 GPA) standing. However, funding for the program is competitive, and a student with a cumulative GPA of less than A- (3.7) is unlikely to be funded.
           Promising students without an Honours degree in Anthropology may be admitted for a qualifying period. Consult with the Regulations of the UNB School of Graduate Studies (SGS), and with the Director of Graduate Studies (DoGS) in Anthropology for more information about the qualifying period. Completion of a qualifying period does not mean automatic acceptance into the graduate program. Acceptance will be conditional upon cumulative GPA and completion of the required Honours seminars.
           Students are responsible for meeting the application requirements of the SGS as well as the requirements of the Department of Anthropology (note that among these is included a written piece of original work by the student to be submitted with the application). Please consult the website at: www.unb.ca/gradschl/apply/index.html

Outline of the Program
           To earn an MA degree in Anthropology, a student must read six Reading Modules, present four Graduate Seminars and one Thesis Proposal Seminar, and write and defend a thesis. The Reading Modules, Graduate Seminars and the Thesis Proposal Seminar will be completed during the first year of the program; the thesis will be researched, written and defended during the second year.

YEAR 1: READING TOWARD A DEGREE
           Students will register in a total of 18 credit hours of Graduate Seminars in the first year. Four of these Graduate Seminars (ANTH 6001, 6002, 6003 and 6004) are awarded three credit hours each, while the Thesis Proposal Seminar (ANTH 6005) is worth six credit hours. The student can select from a number of reading modules offered in each term by the Anthropology Graduate Academic Unit (GAU) in order to build their individual programs of study. Based on these readings, students are required to write papers for, and make presentations in regularly scheduled Graduate Seminars: ANTH 6001, and 6002 in the Fall term; ANTH 6003, and 6004 in the Winter term; and ANTH 6005 (Thesis Proposal) by the third Friday in May. These seminar presentations must cover the material from five Reading Modules, selected from those offered, and a sixth Thesis Reading Module developed by the student in consultation with his/her Supervisor (see further details below).

FALL TERM
ANTH 6001 and ANTH 6002
           The student will select three Reading Modules from those modules offered by the GAU (see below), read the materials included in the selected modules, and prepare and present two papers based on these readings in the regularly scheduled Graduate Seminars. Written versions of the papers must be distributed in advance of the oral presentation (see deadlines below and Important Dates, Appendix I).
           During the Fall Term, if the student has not already done so, she/he must choose a subject area for her/his thesis research and arrange for an appropriate member of the Anthropology GAU to supervise his/her academic work. As soon as a student has selected a supervisor, the faculty member and student should (where student grades permit) arrange to apply to the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarships Program: Master’s Scholarship for funding for Year Two. Students and faculty should report agreements to supervise thesis research to the DoGS as soon as these are known, as well as any plans to apply for research funds.
           In addition, students will be expected to attend the monthly seminar presentations of other students and of faculty members of the GAU, as well as any thesis defense scheduled in the department (see Learning Objectives section below).

Reading Modules and Consulting with Tutors
           Each student chooses three from among those Reading Modules offered in the Fall Term. Each Reading Module has a member of the Anthropology GAU assigned to it as a tutor. The student is responsible for consulting her/his Supervisor and the Reading Module tutors before making final selections of modules to include for each seminar presentation. The Anthropology DoGS must approve the student’s selections (see Appendix II).
           Students must meet regularly with tutors and come prepared with written précis of the selected readings to discuss with tutors. They must also consult with tutors in preparing their written papers and verbal presentations for each seminar. Failure to do so will compromise student grades. Students are responsible for making regular appointments with tutors for such consultations. Tutors will make mutually agreeable times available during the week for such meetings.

Reading Modules offered during Fall Term 2007:

           1) Time and Change (D. Black)
           2) Space and Place (M. Wiber)
           3) Managing Minds (E. Plaice)
           4) Power (C. Paponnet-Cantat)
           5) Material Culture (S. Blair)

Seminar Papers
           Students are expected to prepare seminar papers based on their own original work, reading and interpretation of important anthropological material. The papers must be of strong scholarly merit. See below for the learning outcomes expected of students in this program.
           Students must submit a draft of their seminar papers to the tutors of the selected Reading Modules (and, where known, to the student’s Supervisor) in advance of a general distribution of the paper (see deadlines below and Important Dates, Appendix I). After incorporating any recommended changes, the student then circulates a final written version of each Graduate Seminar paper to members of the Anthropology GAU, and to other graduate students, at least five working days prior to the Seminar presentation. The title page of the final draft must specify the relevant seminar (6001 or 6002) and reading blocks that are being addressed in the paper (see Appendix IV).
           Please note that Faculty require hard copies of the Seminar papers, and students are responsible for the costs of making copies. The Graduate Papers must be 10–15 manuscript pages of text, must include a list of references cited, and must follow the bibliographic and referencing style specified by the journal American Anthropologist.

Graduate Seminars
           Each student will prepare and present two seminars over the Fall term, based on their seminar papers. These will be oral presentations, in which they explore specific topics relating to the contents of the selected Reading Modules. Each Graduate Seminar must be based on readings from at least two of the selected Reading Modules, and during the course of the Fall Term, readings from three Reading Modules must be addressed in student seminar presentations. Relevant sources from outside the Reading Modules may be incorporated into the seminar presentations, but this is not required.
           In Graduate Seminars, students should present the information in their papers, rather than reading directly from those papers. Students are encouraged to make use of such presentation aids as are common to their sub-discipline, including: posters, Power Point presentations or other audiovisual devices. Arrangements for using department equipment must be made in advance and equipment must be prepared in time for the start of the seminar; such arrangements are the responsibility of the student. Tutors will provide guidance on presentations as well as on paper preparation.
           Graduate Seminar presentations are organized as follows: Each student must present a 20–minute seminar on the topic selected for the seminar. Students will present sequentially. Immediately following their presentation, members of the Anthropology GAU will question the student for about 20 minutes. Questions must be relevant to the topic of the seminar.
           After all of the students have presented their seminars, the Anthropology GAU will meet (as a committee of the whole) to grade the students. Students will be provided with written feedback on their seminar as well as with a grade (see Measuring Student Performance below and Seminar Evaluation Form, Appendix V).

Learning Objectives
           The learning objectives of the paper and seminar format are as follows:

•           the student demonstrates his/her ability to select and explore topics in anthropology relevant to her/his interests and thesis research;
•           the student demonstrates her/his ability to make theoretical connections among readings from different Reading Modules and to synthesize across these;
•           the student acquires and demonstrates familiarity with theoretical, methodological and substantive issues relevant to the topics selected;
•           the student learns to prepare and present conference-style presentations;
•           the student demonstrates her/his ability to answer questions on the topic selected, and to defend his/her views in a scholarly discussion.

Students should focus on these objectives when preparing précis of readings and in discussing material with tutors.

Both papers and seminars should:
•            begin with a statement of argument;
•            include a critical appraisal of the argument and the theory associated with it;
•            include a defense or rejection of the argument based on an examination of its logical consistency and premises; and
•            conclude with general statements summarizing the presentation and a set of conclusions.

Measuring Student Performance
           Grading of student performance in the graduate program is based on the following:
           • quality of the written work;
           • content, clarity and polish of presentations (see Seminar Evaluation Form, Appendix V)
           • quality of the participation in the scholarly debate provided by seminars, department organized events and university events (such as the annual Graduate Student Research forum organized by the UNB Graduate Student Association).

           The grading system includes A+, A, A-, B+, B, B- and Fail. In cases where students are receiving UNB financial assistance, they should be aware that any grade lower than A constitutes a threat to continued funding. If a student fails a Graduate Seminar, he/she must present a Make-up Seminar later in the term. If a student fails both Graduate Seminars, she/he will be required to withdraw from the graduate program. If a student fails a Graduate Seminar and the Make-up Seminar, he/she will be required to withdraw from the graduate program.
           Students should be aware that the department expects their participation in scheduled department and appropriate university scholarly events, including faculty talks and presentations or those arranged by appropriate scholarly organizations such as the local chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America. Failure to take part regularly in the scholarly life of the department will negatively impact on student evaluations for funding and for future recommendations.
           Students should also be aware that the SGS requires an Annual Progress Report (see Appendix VI), which includes space for student comments, supervisory comments and DoGS comments. Failure to complete the student portion and discuss these forms with the supervisor could affect disbursement of student scholarship funds and/or progress through the degree program.

Important Dates for Fall Term 2007
           All Graduate Seminars will be held on the third Friday of the month, beginning on September 21, and ending on December 21. Seminars will begin promptly at 2:00 pm. (Dates and times for seminars may occasionally be changed to accommodate department and university events; on such occasions, students will be given at least seven days notice of changes. Students please take note of deadlines for distribution of drafts and finished papers:

Important Dates for Fall Term 2007:

WINTER TERM (2008)
ANTH 6003 and ANTH 6004
           The student will select two Reading Modules from among those offered (see below) and will in addition develop a third module based on their thesis research. The Thesis Research Module must be developed in collaboration with their thesis supervisor. The student must read the materials included in all three modules and prepare and present two Graduate Seminar papers based on the readings, with all the same criteria applied as in the Fall term. By this point in the first year, the student should have determined the specific topic to be addressed by her/his thesis research.

Reading Modules
           Each student must choose two of those Reading Modules offered and develop a third (see below). In other respects, the requirements and instructions are as for the Fall Term.

Reading Modules offered during Winter Term 2008:
           1) Anthropology as Sciencing (D. Black)
           2) Society (M. Wiber)
           3) Measurement and Units of Analysis (S. Blair)
           4) Local/Global –Applying Medical Anthropology (K. Mitra)
           5) Critical & Qualitative Anthropology (C. Paponnet-Cantat)
           6) Creation (E. Plaice)

Thesis Reading Module
           In consultation with his/her Supervisor, the student will construct a Thesis Reading Module composed of readings relevant to his/her proposed thesis research. The length and composition of the Thesis Reading Module is restricted to 10 or fewer items (books, chapters, articles, etc.), no more than five of which are book-length. It must be circulated to the Anthropology GAU by the date listed below. The Thesis Reading Module should serve as a precursor to the “References Cited” section of the Thesis Proposal. Subsequent to seminars based in part on the Thesis Reading Module (ANTH 6003 and/or ANTH 6004), GAU members may suggest additional readings to be addressed in the Thesis Proposal.

Graduate Papers
           The requirements and instructions are as for the Fall Term. Please see list below for distribution dates.

Graduate Seminars
           Each student must prepare and present two Graduate Seminars (ANTH 6003 and ANTH 6004) exploring specific topics relating to the contents of the selected Reading Modules and the Thesis Reading Module. Each Graduate Seminar must be based on readings from at least two of the Reading Modules. In the Winter Term, readings from the selected Reading Modules, and from the Thesis Reading Module, must be addressed in the course of the two Graduate Seminars. Relevant sources from outside the Reading Modules may be introduced in the seminars, but this is not required.
           The objectives of the Graduate Seminars, their organization, and the manner in which they are graded, are as for the Fall Term.

Important Dates for Winter Term 2008:

Thesis Proposal Seminar
The student must prepare a Thesis Proposal and be prepared to defend it in a Thesis Proposal Seminar (ANTH 6005) according to the following schedule. Once the Anthropology GAU has accepted the proposal, the student will begin researching and writing the thesis.

Thesis Proposal
           The student must prepare a Thesis Proposal outlining the research work to be undertaken in the preparation of the thesis, summarizing the theoretical and substantive backgrounds to the proposed work, and indicating the methods to be used to accomplish the work. The proposal must discuss the possible significance of the proposed research to the discipline of anthropology, and demonstrate that the student has a critical awareness of the pertinent literature. The Thesis Proposal must be 15–20 manuscript pages of text, must include a list of references cited, and must follow the style guide of the journal American Anthropologist. It is expected that references cited in the Thesis Proposal will be an expanded version of the Thesis Reading Module.

Thesis Proposal Seminar
           In the Thesis Proposal Seminar (ANTH 6005), the student must present a 20-minute summary of the Thesis Proposal, and answer questions posed by members of the Anthropology GAU and others present. Other interested faculty and students may attend and participate in the seminar.
           The Anthropology GAU (as a committee of the whole) grades the Thesis Proposal Seminar on an Pass/Fail basis, deciding:
           •            whether the student has successfully completed the Thesis Proposal Seminar; and
           •            whether the Thesis Proposal is acceptable.

           In the event of a failure, the student must revise the Thesis Proposal, re-submit it to the Anthropology GAU, and defend it in a Make-up Thesis Proposal Seminar. If a student fails both Thesis Proposal Seminars, he/she will be required to withdraw from the graduate program.

Field Research and Analysis
           Once the Anthropology GAU approves the Thesis Proposal, the student conducts research and analyses and writes the thesis under the supervision of the graduate supervisor. Field research, if undertaken, should be conducted during the Summer Term of the first year in the program. If no field work is undertaken, this period should be devoted to library research, analytical work, and planning the thesis.

YEAR 2: THESIS RESEARCH, WRITING AND DEFENSE
           During the second year of the program, the student will register in ANTH 6997, in order to research, write and defend a thesis based on the proposal approved during the Summer Term of the first year.
           Where students are involved in the research of their thesis supervisor, the department strongly recommends a research agreement be signed between the two parties (see template in Appendix VIII). A copy of any agreement must be sent to the DoGS. The Anthropology Department also strongly recommends that graduate students consider presenting the results of their thesis research at the student conference that is organized annually by the Graduate Student Association.

THESIS RESEARCH AND WRITING
Thesis Supervision
           A supervisor, approved by the DoGS, will oversee the student’s thesis research and writing (ANTH 6997). The Supervisor must be a member of the Anthropology GAU; in most cases, this will be the same person who supervised the student during the first year of the program. Co-supervision can be arranged in cases where the department deems it appropriate, so long as the proposed co-supervisor is a member of a UNB GAU. A supervisory committee can be formed in cases where the research topic makes this advisable.

Thesis Topic
           While students are free to pick research questions that interest them, they should be aware that in a small department, each faculty member has many demands on their time. The most efficient approach is to select a topic with which the proposed supervisor is already conversant. The Anthropology GAU is not obligated neither to admit nor to retain students who choose research topics outside existing theoretical/methodological strengths of department members.
           The thesis that the student submits for evaluation must be based on the proposal approved by the Anthropology GAU. Any substantive change in topic must be approved by the GAU. The supervisor(s) or supervisory committee can approve minor changes to topic or to methodology to be employed in the research. When in doubt, the student or supervisor should discuss proposed changes with the DoGS.

Thesis Learning Outcomes
           A thesis or dissertation is a written document that presents the student’s research and findings and is submitted as part of the requirements for a degree or professional qualification. In researching and writing a Master’s thesis in anthropology, the primary learning objectives are to carry out an original piece of research and to learn the accepted scholarly standards for so doing. A secondary outcome is to make an original contribution to anthropological knowledge.

Towards this objective, the student’s thesis should demonstrate two things:
           •         that a worthwhile problem or question has been identified that has not been                                  previously addressed (this can be methodological or theoretical)
           •         that a contribution has been made to better understanding of the problem or                       question.

Achieving these learning outcomes requires that the student do a thorough review of the existing literature to demonstrate that the problem is worthwhile and that it has not been previously or adequately addressed. Identifying the proper methodological procedure for addressing the problem, carrying out the research, analyzing the data and coming to some conclusions, plus adequately describing how the student has done these things are important outcomes to demonstrate in the thesis.

Thesis Production and Submission
           The thesis must be free of typographical and other mechanical errors, must be written in a satisfactory scholarly style, and must, in all respects, conform to the regulations governing the preparation and submission of theses approved by the SGS. For details, students should consult the Graduate Calendar and “Regulations and Guidelines for the Preparation and Submission of Graduate Theses and Reports” (available at: http://www.unb.ca/gradschl/guidelines/index.html).
           While the SGS requires only two final copies of the thesis for hard-cover binding (one for the University Library, and one for the Department), the Anthropology GAU requires, in addition, a third hard-cover bound copy for the Supervisor. Students may distribute additional hard- or paper-bound or digital copies at their discretion, once the requirements for the degree have been completed.
           SGS regulations specify that the bibliographic and referencing format of the thesis “will be defined by the conventions of the particular research field and described in the recommended style manual.” The Anthropology GAU requires that students follow the current style manual of one of three journals in the discipline, including: American Antiquity, Yearbook of Physical Anthropology or American Anthropologist.
           All costs involved in the production, copying and binding of the thesis, at each stage of submission and evaluation, are the sole responsibility of the student.

THESIS EVALUATION AND DEFENCE
           The Anthropology GAU specifies the following procedure for evaluation and examination of MA theses, and for measuring the performance of the student against accepted standards for learning outcomes (see Thesis Learning Outcomes above):

Examining Board
           The thesis must be evaluated and accepted first by the student’s Supervisor(s). Then, an Examining Board, composed of at least three persons, including the student’s Supervisor(s), an Internal Examiner and an External Examiner, evaluates the thesis. The DoGS, in consultation with the student and the Supervisor, will determine the membership of this Board. Members who were involved in the supervision of the thesis must constitute a minority of the Examining Board, and at least one non-supervisory member of the Board must be from another GAU. Finally, the student must defend the thesis before the Examining Board in an Oral Examination organized and chaired by the DoGS.
           Once the Supervisor has approved the thesis, the DoGS will deliver a draft copy to the Internal Examiner, who reads the thesis and recommends revisions. The Internal Examiner is a member of the Anthropology GAU who has not been directly involved in the supervision of the thesis.
           When the student has addressed the revisions recommended by the Internal Examiner to the Supervisor’s satisfaction, the DoGS will deliver the revised draft to the External Examiner. The External Examiner cannot be a member of the Anthropology GAU but must be a member of another UNB GAU. The External Examiner reads the thesis, makes recommendations, and completes the department assessment form confirming that the thesis is ready to be defended (see Appendix IX).            It is the Supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that the student has satisfactorily addressed the recommendations of the Internal and External examiners. No thesis will come to defense with revisions pending.

Oral Examination
           When the student has revised the thesis to the satisfaction of the Examining Board, the DoGS will organize the Oral Examination. The student is required to provide four copies of the final draft of the thesis (one copy for each Examining Board member and one copy for the Anthropology Department). No thesis may come to defense with revisions pending or with parts missing. Students must consult the SGS regulations. The defense copy of the thesis should be prepared to the submission standards of the SGS.
           The DoGS must send a notice advertising the Oral Examination, including a copy of the thesis abstract to the SGS by noon on Wednesday of the week before the week in which the Oral Examination is scheduled. Two copies of the thesis must be available in the Anthropology office for at least seven working days prior to the examination; these copies may be borrowed by Anthropology faculty and by other interested faculty and students. If any member of the Examining Board is to be represented at the Oral Examination by proxy, this must be arranged when the date for the Oral Examination is set.
           At the Oral Examination, the student is required to present a 20-minute summary of the thesis research and conclusions, and to answer questions posed by the Examining Board with respect to the research question, related theoretical or methodological approaches and thesis conclusions. Members of other UNB GAUs, Anthropology students, other students, and members of the public may be present and may pose questions of a general nature.
           The Examining Board then excludes all participants and collectively grades the Oral Examination on a Pass/Fail basis, deciding: i) whether the student has passed or failed the Oral Examination (and, in the event of a failure, whether another examination should be set); and ii) whether the thesis is acceptable (the thesis may be accepted as is, accepted subject to further revision, or rejected). The DoGS reports the results of the Oral Examination to the Dean of the SGS.
           In the event that the thesis is accepted subject to further revision, the student will be informed of the revisions required at the end of the Oral Examination. It is the Supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that the student makes these revisions. Once these revisions have been made, the Supervisor submits the finished copies of the thesis to the DoGS. The DoGS will check the copies to ensure that they are complete and that they conform to the SGS regulations. Then the student submits the respective copies of the thesis to the SGS for binding.
           Students should not plan to leave campus immediately after the oral examination. At least seven working days residence on campus after the examination date is recommended to complete all thesis requirements. If students are required to be away from campus during this period, the Supervisor must make arrangements with them as to how these requirements are to be met in their absence, and have these arrangements approved by the DoGS.

YEAR 2 SCHEDULE
           Following is a recommended schedule for the timely completion of MA theses and for an orderly, unhurried organization of Oral Examinations.
           Students should note that fieldwork, if undertaken, should be conducted during the latter half of the Summer Term of the first year of the program. If no fieldwork is undertaken, this period should be devoted to library research, analytical work, and planning the thesis. The first draft of the thesis should be written during the Fall Term of the second year of the program.

           For evaluation and examination, the following are important dates to keep in mind.

Important Dates for Year Two:

DURATION OF PROGRAM
           Graduate students in MA degree programs must complete the requirements for the degree within four years of the date of their first registration in the program. It is anticipated that students will be able to complete the requirements for a MA degree in Anthropology within two calendar years of entering the program. Note that Fall Term graduation is problematic if degree requirements have not been completed by the end of June. During the summer months, faculty members are frequently away from campus conducting research and attending conferences, or on vacation. The first two weeks of the Fall Term are an extremely busy period, and faculty may not have an adequate opportunity to read the thesis.  

          Therefore, the Anthropology GAU discourages scheduling of Oral Examinations during July, August and the first half of September.

FURTHER INFORMATION
           Students requiring further clarification about the MA program in Anthropology, or clarification of any of the regulations and requirements of the School of Graduate studies as outlined above, should first consult the materials available on the UNB School of Graduate Studies website and then contact Anthropology’s Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Susan Blair (506-458-7994; sblair@unb.ca).

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