Graduate Resources

General Advice for Applying to Graduate School

Before applying, get in touch with the person you would like to serve as your advisor. You can find information about each of the faculty who are accepting graduate students here. You can find further information about each of their research interests by searching for their published work at scholar.google.com.

FAQ

When are applications due?

Applications are due Dec. 1, 2025, for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Can I apply for both the Master’s program and the PhD program?

Yes, you can apply for both programs, but you must submit independent applications for each.

My undergraduate degree is from a US institution. When must I submit official transcript?

You can submit unofficial transcripts before the deadline. If you are admitted to the program, you will have until 1 August of your admission year to submit official transcripts.

My undergraduate degree is from a non-US institution. Must I submit my transcripts that have been processed by an NACES approved evaluator with my application?

Yes, your transcripts must be evaluated by an NACES approved evaluator (e.g. SpanTrans) before the application deadline. If they are not included by the deadline, your application will not be considered.

Can I apply for a waiver of the application fee?

No, unfortunately we do not have any resources to help pay these costs and cannot provide waivers.

My finances are limited. Are there funds I can access to pay for the independent evaluation of my undergraduate transcripts?

No, unfortunately we do not have any resources to help pay these costs.

Do you require GRE scores for application?

No. You may include your scores if you wish, but they are not required.

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

The Department of Anthropology's Graduate Student Handbook for 2024-2025 highlights important departmental information and FSU Graduate School policies.

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.