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Graduate Programs

Departmental Certificate in Applied Anthropology

A Master’s Degree in Anthropology with a Departmental Certificate in Applied Anthropology is designed to attract and train graduate students to prepare them for advanced study in anthropology and/or to ready them for work outside academia. The Applied Anthropology Certificate builds on the Department’s existing strengths in four-field Anthropology. If offers students the opportunity to combine applied-oriented course work and fieldwork/internship experiences with a premier education in four-field anthropology. Students completing the necessary requirements in Applied Anthropology as part of completing their Master’s degree, will receive a Certificate from the Department of Anthropology. Applied Certificate students are also encouraged to explore anthropological linkages with NIU's Environmental Studies program, as well as the NGO Studies program.

The goal of the Departmental Certificate is to provide students a solid foundation in applied anthropological methods, exposure to the universe of applied anthropological topics, and an understanding of the relationship between theory and practice. Interests in applied anthropology can be combined with the following areas of faculty expertise:

  • Business
  • Conversation
  • Cultural Resource Management (Archaeology)
  • Development
  • Environment Gender
  • Food & Agriculture
  • Heritage Management
  • Language, Space, and Cognition
  • Maritime Anthropology
  • Medical Anthropology & Public Health
  • Non-Governmental Organizations
  • North America Historic Preservation
  • Public Policy
  • Social Services
  • Southeast Asia

Course Requirements

Students are required to complete 18 hours via courses approved for the Departmental Certificate in Applied Anthropology, including a core course in Applied Anthropology (ANTH 567). Students are also required to complete fieldwork and/or an internship experience (ANTH 593 or 690).

Courses approved to fulfill the Applied Anthropology Emphasis Area include the following:

  • Applied Archaeology (ANTH 518)
  • Globalization and Corporate Culture (ANTH 790)
  • Cultural Models: The Language of Culture (ANTH 438)
  • Economic Anthropology (ANTH 527)
  • Environmental Anthropology (ANTH 525)
  • Ethics and Research Design in Anthropology (ANTH 550)
  • History and Theory of Anthropology (ANTH 551)
  • The Human Skeleton (ANTH 546)
  • Illinois Archaeology (ANTH 513)
  • Medical Anthropology (ANTH 565)
  • Methods in Ethnography (ANTH 560)
  • Methods in Archaeology (ANTH 561)
  • Museum Methods (ANTH 562)
  • North American Archaeology (ANTH 512)
  • Space in Language and Culture (ANTH 535)

Other courses may be approved for credit by request to Professor Thu.