Upon admission to the department, each student is assigned an adviser whose special field corresponds most closely to the interest expressed in the student's application. A new adviser may be appointed on the initiative of either the student or the adviser. The student and the adviser together then work out a plan of study that is reviewed at least twice a year. Upon admission, students are expected to have had undergraduate training in general anthropology, though this need not be equivalent to an undergraduate major. Students deficient in this respect may supplement the graduate program with undergraduate courses.
Exceptional preparation is reflected in a more advanced plan of study.
It is hoped that every graduate student will have an opportunity to assist in teaching as a significant part of their graduate education. The candidate is required to demonstrate competence in one foreign language of anthropological scholarship. Students are expected to fulfill this requirement early in the fall of their first year of study. Satisfaction of the language requirement is a prerequisite for the general examination. The general examination consists of four parts.