Graduate Studies

Program Overview

Our graduate program offers courses and research opportunities leading to the M.A. degree. We offer courses in all four subfields of anthropology: archaeology, biological, cultural, and linguistic. In addition, you can also pursue an interdisciplinary graduate certificate in museum studies.

Graduate work in anthropology is designed to prepare you for teaching, conducting research in anthropology, practicing in applied anthropology, and continuing to doctoral study. You may choose either a coursework-based curriculum ending with comprehensive exams in all four subfields or a more focused track with research experience leading to a thesis. If you choose to pursue the thesis option, you are strongly encouraged to contact potential graduate advisors well in advance of the application deadline to discuss available options for research projects.

We are able to offer financial support to many of our graduate students through research and teaching assistantships. Applying for these types of financial support must be done separately from the admission application.

For more information on our program, refer to the graduate catalog.

Faculty Accepting Graduate Students

Name Specialty
Dana Bardolph Archaeology, Midwestern U.S., Latin America, paleoethnobotany, foodways, gender equity, ethics
Giovanni Bennardo Linguistic anthropology (code switching, conversation analysis, linguistic ideology
Cognitive anthropology (cultural models)
Mitchell Irwin Primatology/primate ecology. Professor Irwin is able to accept graduate students interested in pursuing independent research in primatology. Usually, this involves fieldwork in Madagascar and/or nutritional ecology lab work on the NIU campus. However, it is also possible to pursue other fieldwork sites or research with captive primate populations.
Emily McKee Nationalism, environment, farming, regional food systems, Middle East, United States
Micah Morton Cultural anthropology; transnationalism, state-minority relations, social movements, religion and politics, spiritual ecology, ethnicity and nationalism and global Indigeneities in and beyond Southeast Asia and Southwest China
Leila Porter primate behavior/primate ecology
Mark Schuller NGO - Caribbean/Latin America

Graduate 
Advising

Leila Porter, Ph.D.
815-753-5669
lmporter@niu.edu 

Contact Us

Department of Anthropology
Stevens Building Rm 190
815-753-0246
askAnthro@niu.edu