Prospective Student Application Materials

Sociocultural Graduate Student Profiles

Recent Graduates and Placements

Sociocultural anthropology at Michigan has long been known for its insistence that rigorous research be combined with careful theoretical and comparative analysis.  Indeed, Michigan faculty have consistently been prominent participants in the development of anthropological thought.

We are also distinguished by two other features.  One is the breadth and vitality of our interdisciplinary ties.  We have strong relations with historians (especially but not exclusively through Michigan’s pathbreaking Interdisciplinary Program in Anthropology and History), important affiliations with the university’s various Area Studies Centers, and we offer practice oriented training in cooperation with the School of Social Work.

The other distinctive feature is our sheer size and the diversity of our research methods and intellectual styles.  Sociocultural anthropologists at Michigan work all over the world, from cities like Berlin, Detroit, Moscow, and Tokyo to the rainforests of New Guinea and the deserts of Jordan.  Because our fieldsites differ so widely, Michigan anthropology is eclectic in theory and method.  This enables students to find support for the methods and modes of analysis most appropriate to their chosen topic.  What we share is an insistence on combining the regional expertise of the area specialist, the deep insights of the local fieldworker, and the intellectual power of our theoretical training.

For more information on these interdisciplinary programs, see: the Ph.D. Program in Anthropology and History, the joint Ph.D. programs in Anthropology and Social Work, the Medical Anthropology M.D./Ph.D. program, as well as with the university’s programs in Science and Technology Studies (STS), and Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG).

Sociocultural and linguistic anthropology students can take advantage of additional intellectual and financial resources from the university’s Area Centers, including the African Studies Center (ASC), The Center for East European, Eurasian & Russian Studies (CREES), Center for European Studies (CES), Latin American & Caribbean Studies (LACS), Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS), Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies (CMENAS), Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), and the centers for Japanese Studies (CJS), Korean Studies (NCKS) and Chinese Studies (LRCCS).