Admission requirements set the precedent for the competitive nature of the program. To be strongly considered for admission, applicants must meet the following requirements:
- A bachelor's degree in anthropology, biology, or a closely related field from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States, or the equivalent of a bachelor's degree for students applying from outside the United States.
- Several undergraduate or graduate courses taken in natural sciences and anthropology with grades above a C; Ideally, these should include biological anthropology, anatomy (human or vertebrate), chemistry, physiology, statistics, and physics. (Note: in order to take certain graduate courses, students must have completed prior college-level coursework – for example, to take a genetics course, at least one semester of chemistry is required)
- A cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 grade scale)
- Official results from the GRE are optional for applicants that possess a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.2 or higher. For those submitting scores, a minimum combined score of 300 (Verbal & Quantitative Reasoning) and a Writing score of 4.0 or higher is preferred.
- Official scores from the GRE are required for all international applicants. The TOEFL or IELTS cannot substitute for the GRE.
- International students for whom English is not their first language, and/or who did not attend an English-speaking university must provide one of the following as proof of English proficiency:
- TOEFL: a minimum score of 79
- IELTS: a minimum score of 6.5
- Provide a course-by-course credential evaluation to show that you have completed the U.S. equivalent of a bachelor's degree. To view a list of agencies that offer this service, see the international student admissions page.
- Provide certification of finances (for students who are applying for a visa), showing that you have adequate funds to support yourself during your time of study.
- Copy of passport identity page (student applying for F-1 Student Visas only)
We are looking for highly-motivated students who have already had a hand in some aspect of skeletal analysis, archaeological fieldwork, or scientific laboratory work. The experience can be paid or volunteer, for credit or not-for-credit, for short durations or for extensive periods of time. Please be detailed in your application materials about any prior experience you have had. Specific examples that will make your application competitive include:
- Being a teaching assistant for a science or anthropology course
- Taking an archaeological, paleontological or geological field school class
- Assisting with forensic or archaeological human remains casework
- Volunteering in a professor's lab and assisting in scholarly research projects
- Taking courses or training workshops in forensics
- Completing an internship at a laboratory, museum, or other scientific facility
- Taking advanced independent study courses in which you have conducted in-depth research
- Attending or giving papers at student conferences of professional scientific meetings
- Publishing articles in student or scholarly journals, or other significant writing experiences
- Completing an undergraduate honors degree and finishing an honors project or thesis