University of Colorado Denver College of Liberal Arts and SciencesUniversity of Colorado Denver

GRADUATE PROGRAMS ::Applying for Admission

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

February 15 for admission the following Fall semester.

TO APPLY

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

You must apply ELECTRONICALLY through the Office of Admission Website. After filling out the application (you can save the application and come back to it; it need not be filled out all at one time). Download the recommendation form, print out THREE copies, and forward one to each individual writing a letter of reference in your behalf.

The letters of reference, GRE scores, and application fees should be sent directly to the Department at the following address:

University of Colorado Denver
Department of Anthropology, CB 103
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364

International students

You must apply through the UCD Office of International Admission. Click here for Application and additional information.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Application is open to holders of a B.A., B.S., or higher degree in any field. We welcome applications from individuals pursuing particular interests and careers, especially those related to one of the department's areas of concentration. Acceptance to the program is competitive and based on the following:

  • An undergraduate record of good quality (minimum 3.0 GPA or higher for all undergraduate studies) Two copies of transcripts from all undergraduate/graduate institutions attended are required.
  • Prior training in anthropology (see below for details)
  • GRE scores (verbal, analytic, and quantitative)
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • A statement of the applicant’s purpose in pursuing the degree.

No Prior Training in Anthropology?

If you have no prior anthropology training, we encourage you to gain the necessary background as a non-degree student before applying to the graduate program. Prior training required in anthropology corresponds to that required for the undergraduate minor, consisting of approximately 18 semester hours and including introductory courses in biological/physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, and archaeology. Students with exceptional qualifications may be admitted without prior anthropology training but will be required to make up deficiencies without graduate credit during the course of their graduate study.

FINANCIAL AID

The department offers limited teaching and research assistantship for graduate students on a semester-by-semester basis. These assistantships are competitive and typically based on a student’s academic credentials, GRE scores, and preparation in anthropology. Contact the department for details. For information on grants, federal work-study programs, scholarships, and loans, contact the financial aid office:

Office of Financial Aid
University of Colorado at Denver
Campus Box 125
p.0. Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364
303.556.2886
www.cudenver.edu/finaid

HINTS FOR PREPARING A COMPETITIVE APPLICATION

It is important to put some thought into preparing your application for admission. Minimally, this requires that you do three things: 1) make sure that all of your documents reach us by the February 15 deadline; 2) prepare a statement of purpose (Part II of application, Item #6) in which you give us some idea about why you wish to study anthropology at UC Denver and what your long-term career aspirations might be; and 3) identify individuals to write recommendations for you who can comment specifically on your academic preparation for graduate school.

Note, the statement of purpose is now completed electronically. Although the text box provided for your entry appears small, you can actually paste many pages of text into it. Our advice is to prepare your statement using a word processing program. When completed to your satisfaction, you can paste the entire statement into the space provided in the electronic application.

The statement of purpose is particularly important. It is a good idea to spend some time looking through our materials, reviewing the vitae and websites of faculty, and thinking about the curriculum. If you can identify faculty to work with or areas of interest which we can clearly support, your application will receive a more favorable review. Finally, if there is some issue evident from your transcript -- a poor performance one semester, etc., -- don't be afraid to tell us openly and honestly about the reasons for it.

The applications are reviewed as follows:

  • Shortly after the February 15 deadline, applications are circulated to ALL departmental faculty for their consideration. Faculty provide a ranking of the application, and any comments they feel necessary to explain their rankings, and submit these to the Graduate Director.
  • At the first faculty meeting following the application deadline, the Graduate Director presents a summary of rankings for each applicant. Where there is disagreement or uncertainty, the application may be discussed in detail at the faculty meeting. Ultimately the faculty will vote on acceptances and rejections.
  • There are cases in which an applicant may be considered suitable for admission, but where there is some uncertainty with regard to academic preparation. Under such circumstances an applicant may be admitted on a "provisional" or probationary basis, which means that they must meet certain standards of academic performance their first year.
  • Students lacking sufficient training in anthropology may be admitted on a "conditional" basis. A conditional student must complete some number of undergraduate hours in anthropology before they can enroll in the required core curriculum courses.
  • The department does not maintain a waiting list for admission. All decisions of the faculty are considered to be final.

CAREER EXPERIENCE OF GRADUATES

Recent graduates are employed by sate and county health departments; museums and historical societies; national park and forest services; private research and consulting organizations in cultural resource management, education, business and industry; community development and relief services here and abroad; counseling and social service agencies; and universities or colleges. Employment often follows internships and/or research experiences in the same organization or agency.

For more detailed career information, consult the links provided on the careers page.

For students interested in going on for the doctorate degree, the Department has a distinguished record of placing students in top-tier universities.