Becoming an IDPAS Student

The majority of the students admitted to the IDPAS graduated from a baccalaureate program with majors in anthropology. While at least some exposure to the field - and especially to the field of research that is the applicant's expressed interest - is common and desirable, it is not a prerequisite for admission to the program. Rather, the faculty believes that the expected level of performance in graduate courses in anthropology and related fields can be predicted from the applicant's overall undergraduate record, with emphasis given to grades obtained in courses related to the student's area of interest.

Graduate students are admitted to the program after careful scrutiny by the IDPAS Admissions Committee. The Admissions Committee includes members from all the subfields, and admission to the program is only made after full consultation with all committee members and any relevant faculty not on the committee. Considerable weight is given to letters of recommendation, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, and Grade Point Average. The Admissions Committee has established a cumulative GRE score of 1500 as representing the minimum for admission to the program, but most students have above 1800. Special consideration is given to foreign students who apply for admission.

At the national level, IDPAS students typically win one or more of the student prizes for best paper and/or poster at the American Association of Physical Anthropologist meetings. The IDPAS has an excellent record in attaining NSF predoctoral fellowships. Students have had great success at attaining NSF Dissertation Improvement Grants, Leakey Foundation Grants, Wenner Gren Foundation Grants, and many other sources of external funding. Students publish widely in peer-review journals. Finally, placement of graduated students in postdoctoral and faculty positions has been excellent. The IDPAS is an elite group of faculty and students with an international reputation for excellence.