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1. The Calendar of the School of Graduate Studies  at McMaster University outlines the minimum requirements for graduate degrees at McMaster University.  Here we outline the requirements and expectations of the Department of Anthropology.  Students are responsible for following the guidelines and regulations of the University and the Department.
2. The anthropology graduate program as a whole is administered by a Graduate Committee of four members, three from the faculty and one from the graduate students.  The Graduate Committee operates with powers delegated to it from the department and its exact role may vary over the years.
3. Most of a graduate student's training must be obtained in courses offered in anthropology.  With permission of their advisor, students may normally take up to two graduate half-courses outside of the department.  The Graduate Committee, in consultation with the supervisor, assesses exceptions to this requirement.
4. All students must participate in the departmental Graduate Workshop and attend the departmental Speakers Series.  Where major gaps exist in the student's background, the department may require that the student take additional courses.
5. Each graduate student is assigned a faculty advisor when admitted to the program, and by January of their first year they select a supervisor, to carry them through the rest of their program.  Students are urged to consult with their advisor before registration.  Graduate students select or change courses only after consultation with and approval of their advisor or supervisor.
6. The candidate's supervisory committee reviews their program at all stages.  Students must organize bi-annual meetings of their committee (usually September/October and February/March -- for exact dates each year see “Important Dates”), to discuss progress and goals.  In preparation for these meetings, students submit a student progress report to the supervisory committee (forms available from the Graduate Secretary and at http://www.mcmaster.ca/graduate/deptforms.html).  The student report and the meeting inform the bi-annual formal progress reports signed by the supervisory committee and student.  If progress is unsatisfactory, the committee works with the student to deal with problems, and in some circumstances may provide criteria for continued enrollment, or may suggest that the student withdraw from the program.  The meeting reports must be filed by specific dates each year (see “Important Dates”) and may be reviewed by the Graduate Committee before they are forwarded to Graduate Studies.
7. Students must obtain permission from the School of Graduate Studies to be off-campus for more than one month.   Permission is usually granted only when students are engaged in activities directly related to their studies.  Requests for permission to retain full-time status while off campus should be made through the Graduate Committee (http://www.mcmaster.ca/graduate/deptforms.html).  Leaves of absence not related to the program of study must be processed as outlined in the Graduate Calendar.  For rules and regulations about being off-campus, see the Calendar of Graduate Studies, Section 2.4.

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1. PhD students who enter from an MA program are required to take a minimum of four half-courses.  Most of a student’s training must be obtained in courses offered in anthropology. With permission of their advisor, students may take up to two graduate half-courses outside of the department. All students must also complete the department Graduate Workshop and maintain a minimum average of B+ standing in graduate courses.
2. PhD students who are promoted from the Masters Program in Anthropology at McMaster, without obtaining a Master's degree, are required to take a total of eight half-courses at the graduate level.  Previous graduate courses completed in the MA are counted in the 8 courses.  Students admitted to the PhD program directly from an Honours BA are required to take a minimum of 4 half-courses.

NOTE: the above are minimum requirements and the supervisory committee and/or the Graduate Committee may require additional courses. 

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1. To assist students to get an early start on dissertation planning, PhD candidates submit a three page Research Statement (see description below) to their supervisor by the second week of Winter Term in the first year of the program.  This statement  provides a framework for forming a supervisory committee, writing the thesis proposal, and defining comprehensive examination topics  (for details see below).
2. Students must have arranged a properly constituted supervisory committee, in consultation with their advisor, no later than the end of January of their first year.  The committee, normally a total of three members, may include one member from a department other than Anthropology at McMaster, or from another University, upon approval by the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.   If a student decides to have four faculty members on their committee, the Supervisor will decide which three out of four members will make up the official examining committee for the oral thesis defense.
3. As stated above, students must organize a bi-annual meeting of their committee (see “Information and Regulations For All Anthropology Graduate Students” number 5. )  All changes of membership in the supervisory committee must be approved by the  Graduate Committee.

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1. Ph.D. students write Comprehensive Examinations in order to assess the breadth of their knowledge of their sub discipline The exam demonstrate a student's ability to integrate ideas that reflect the state of current knowledge in the sub discipline.  Answers must demonstrate relational thinking and expertise at specific general, and abstract levels.
2. The Comprehensive Examination has both a written and an oral component.  First, students are required to write three critical review papers of between 15 and 25 double-spaced pages.  Students discuss with their supervisory committee the topics and critical foci of the three papers, as well as specifics about the writing format and style.  In the past we have suggested “The Annual Review of Anthropology” as an appropriate style guide.The first paper must be submitted no later than the first week of September of the student’s second year.  The second and third papers must be submitted at six week intervals (see “Important Dates” each year).
3. Members of the supervisory committee normally evaluate a Comprehensive paper within three weeks of its submission to the Graduate Secretary.  Papers will be graded as "Accepted for Oral Defense" or "Fail.”
4. If a student receives a failing grade from two or more committee members, he or she must re-write the paper.  Only one re-write per paper is allowed.  A maximum of two papers may be re-written.
5. The writing and evaluation process for all comprehensive papers must be completed by the beginning of Winter Term of a student's second year; However, candidates are urged to finish well before this date.
6. An oral examination will be held soon after all three papers are assessed as “Accepted for Oral Defense,” normally in December or early January of the student’s second year.  The oral examination is normally chaired (without vote) by a delegate of the Department Chair.  Defenses are tape-recorded, and a copy will be made available to the student in case of an appeal.
7. At the beginning of the defense, the chair asks the student to leave so that the committee may establish ground rules for procedure. When the student returns, a maximum of one hour is devoted to discussing each paper, usually with a short break between papers.  If any participant queries the appropriateness of a question posed by a member of the examining committee, the Chair may disallow the question.
8. When the questioning ends, the student is asked to leave again, and the examining committee decides whether the candidate has passed or failed.  The committee votes separately on each written paper and each paper’s oral defense.  It decides whether each response, in both the written and oral portions of the examination, should be given the grade of Pass with Distinction, Pass, Low Pass, or (on oral portion) Fail.
9. If a student fails any part of the oral examination, a second oral will be scheduled within four weeks.  If the student has failed only one section of the examination, then the second oral will re-examine only that section.  If the student failed two or more of the papers in the first oral defense, the second oral will examine all three parts.  Should a student fail any part of this second oral examination, he or she is withdrawn from the program.

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Doctoral candidates will be required to submit a scholarly thesis on a topic approved by the candidate's supervisory committee.  The procedure for approval of a thesis topic and proposal is as follows:

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1. We conceptualize the development of the student’s research proposal as a three-stage process to benefit the student’s formulation of the research problem, to facilitate communication with their committee, and to develop professional skills.  The stages of the proposal (Research Statement, Draft Research Proposal, and Formal Research Proposal) are not three separate “hoops” but the ongoing development and articulation of the student’s research program.

Stage 1: Research Statement

1. In mid-January of year 1 the student submits a 3-5 page Research Statement.  It is a relatively informal statement of the student’s research interests and plans.  It should demonstrate theoretical and methodological development of their admission proposal.
2. The Research Statement is intended to provide a basis on which to plan comprehensive papers,  to aid the student in recruiting supervisory committee members, and to reflect changes and development of research ideas

Stage 2: Draft Research Proposal

1. The student submits a Draft Research Proposal of 8-10 pages at a specific deadline to be agreed on with their Supervisory Committee.  However, it must be within two months of the February/March semi-annual committee meeting (first meeting of full committee) in Year One.  The Draft research proposal is a more detailed version of the earlier statement, revised to reflect and communicate changes in and development of the research agenda.  It should demonstrate expansion and development of the research statement and be arranged in a draft structure of a formal proposal.  Specific requirements will be worked out with supervisory committee.
2. The rationale for the Draft Research proposal is that it 1) Provides a record of the student’s developing ideas and changes in the first year of their program, and communicates those changes to their committee 2) It provides a basis for planning comprehensive exams, and 3) It helps the student prepare early for grant applications for field funding, since many deadlines occur in the Fall of the second year, when the student is writing the comprehensive exams.

Stage 3: Formal Research Proposal

1. The student prepares a Formal Research Proposal of 10-20 pages after they complete their comprehensive exams (no later than the end of April of year two).  It should be a formal research proposal in the style of a major funding agency, including abstract, theoretical concerns, background, research contributions, key research questions, methodology and methods, budget and schedule.  An excellent model is the Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grants application, available at http://www.wennergren.org/programs/programs_list.htm?attrib_id=13232
2. The rationale for the Formal Research Proposal is that it should 1) propel the student into their research with a specific and detailed plan, 2) demonstrate clear intellectual and methodological rationales for research – and show clear ability to locate research within an intellectual trajectory/debate 3) enable the student to gain experience preparing a full and detailed formal proposal (an essential professional skill).

2. A candidate's formal thesis proposal must be approved by their supervisory committee before the student engages in fieldwork.
3. A version of the proposal must be presented at the Graduate Workshop or a departmental symposium for open discussion before the student undertakes research.
4. 4. Students are expected to seek outside funding for field research.

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Within two months of completion of their research or fieldwork, students must submit to their Supervisory Committee and the Graduate Committee (1) a report on their fieldwork and (2) a plan for thesis writing.  Students will meet with their committee to discuss the reports and to set goals for thesis writing.  The student and supervisory committee will agree on a deadline for submission of a first thesis chapter, normally within three months of the meeting.  Close collaboration between students who have completed fieldwork and their supervisory committees is intended to help structure the difficult transition from fieldwork to dissertation writing.

A guide for the preparation of theses may be obtained from the School of Graduate Studies, and further procedural information is provided by the graduate calendar.

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The candidate's thesis must be defended in an oral examination.  The composition of the defense examining committee and the conduct of the oral examination are outlined in detail by the School of Graduate Studies.

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