The Department of Anthropology offers programs of study and research leading to a doctorate in anthropology. Students admitted to the doctoral program may elect to earn a Master of Arts degree en route to their terminal degree. Additionally, a Master of Science degree in Maritime Archaeology and Conservation is offered as a separate track. Students enrolled within these programs receive training preparing them for professional research and/or teaching careers in academic institutions, governmental agencies, museums or private industry. The department has a well-rounded program in anthropology with offerings in archaeology, biological anthropology and cultural anthropology. The department is particularly noted for its strength and emphasis in the fields of nautical archaeology, the archaeology of the first Americans, archaeological conservation, palynology and paleoethnobotany, behavioral ecology, economic anthropology, globalization, biological anthropology and zooarchaeology.
Once admitted to the graduate program, students concentrate their academic and research efforts in one or more areas within the Department of Anthropology. The degree plan is prepared by the individual student with the assistance of a faculty advisory committee and the department's academic advisor, and the coursework is kept flexible (within the guidelines of graduate studies) in order to allow students to pursue their individual professional goals. In addition, whenever possible graduate students are encouraged to gain teaching and/or research experience as assistants within the department.