Below are FSU and Department of Anthropology resources for prospective and current graduate students.
Writing Sample Guidelines
The anthropology faculty use several measures when evaluating applications for the FSU Anthropology Graduate Program. This includes: grade point average and GRE* minimum scores, undergraduate coursework in Anthropology and relevant field and lab experience and/or certifications, three (3) letters of recommendation, TOEFL score, and two pieces of writing. These writing pieces include the writing sample and the statement of purpose. Details of these requirements can be found on our website.
In anthropology, the writing sample is just as crucial as the statement of purpose. Therefore, an applicant should place considerable importance and a great amount of effort into producing a writing sample as part of their application to the FSU Anthropology Graduate Program. In general, admission committees evaluate an applicant's ability to synthesize ideas, concepts, or theories, and logically make a case for their position. Faculty would like to admit potential graduate students whose intellectual abilities and curiosity are highly advanced and are evident in their writing sample. They want to see that the student has mastered a foundation of the discipline, is able to intelligently query new areas of scholarly opportunity, or has contributed to the scholarly foundation with new research. Please consider the following items when contemplating your writing sample:
- must be a piece of academic writing, i.e., a research paper
- should be a topic in anthropology or a closely allied field (i.e., history, classics, museum studies, sociology, etc.)
- should show that the applicant can synthesize ideas, concepts, or theories, and logically make a case for their position
- minimum of five (5) primary sources from the academic literature
- must be written in English
- the format should follow a major style guide (i.e. MLA, Chicago) or discipline-specific (i.e., American Antiquity, current anthropology, AJPA)
- 10 double-spaced pages minimum
- 20 double-spaced pages max
- Please only submit one writing sample
Graduate Student Handbook
The Department of Anthropology's Graduate Student Handbook for 2024-2025 highlights important departmental information and FSU Graduate School policies.
FSU Graduate Student Resource Center
The Graduate Student Resource Center offers information on topics such as travel grants and professional development workshops for graduate students. Visit gsrc.fsu.edu to learn more.