Sociocultural Anthropology Graduate Program

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The Ph.D. program in sociocultural anthropology at Arizona State University provides students with broad theoretical and methodological training while enabling them to pursue an individualized curriculum focused on their specific areas of interest in anthropology and related fields. Because of the relatively small size of the program, students receive specialized attention and mentoring in a supportive and dynamic environment.

Because the sociocultural anthropology program is part of the highly acclaimed School of Human Evolution and Social Change, students have opportunities to conduct research that transects anthropology’s traditional subdisciplines. The program also links students to more than 30 sociocultural anthropologists across campus, as well as a variety of interdisciplinary schools and departments, including Sustainability; Social and Family Dynamics; Justice and Social Inquiry; Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies; Asian and Pacific American Studies; and Transborder Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies.

Students will receive extensive training in qualitative and quantitative methods and are expected to conduct in-depth fieldwork for their dissertation projects. The rich ethnic diversity, indigenous traditions and expanding metropolitan populations of the American Southwest provide a dynamic and inspirational desert environment in which to undertake globally relevant research in local communities. 

Topical Strengths: Environmental and Economic Anthropology, Health and Medical Anthropology, Ethnic and Indigenous Minorities, Museums, Cultural Representation and Identity, Global Migration, Political Economy, Ethnohistory, Linguistics, Hunter-Gatherers

Current Regional Strengths: the Southwestern United States; Central and South America; and East and Southeast Asia. 

Faculty

Elizabeth Brandt | Alexandra Brewis | John Chance | James Eder | Kim Hill | Daniel Hruschka | Thomas Hudak | Ana Magdalena Hurtado | Gwyneira Isaac | Hjorleifur Jonsson | Jonathan Maupin | Takeyuki Tsuda | Amber Wutich  

See also

Applying to the Anthropology Graduate Program
Archaeological Research Institute
The Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity
Deer Valley Rock Art Center
Field Schools
The Institute of Human Origins
The Museum of Anthropology