SOP for MA in Anthropology
I am applying for admission to the graduate program in anthropology for the Fall semester of 1985. An application has already been submitted to the Graduate School, together with transcripts and other pertinent materials. The following is a description of my background and interests in Anthropology, goals for graduate study, and career goals. My academic training, in anthropology comprises courses in archaeology and cultural anthropology, but physical anthropology has been emphasized. I have also tried to obtain a background in geology, biology, advanced math, and statistics by taking courses in those departments. As for practical experience, I have been Dr. R. Dale McCall's paid laboratory assistant since the 1982/83 academic year. My duties have been to assist him in the osteological analysis of several pre-Columbian Algonquin ossuary samples (from eastern North Carolina) comprising more than 100 individuals. I have also worked with Dr. David S. Phelps (East Carolina University) for two field seasons in the excavation of several sites along the Chowan River. My duties were to aid in the survey, excavation, processing, cataloging and general project logistics and maintenance in the testing and large scale excavations at these sites. In addition to these projects, I have worked with Dr. Phelps in the salvage of the Burial 7 ossuary at the Baum Site, worked for Dr. Thomas Loftfield (University of North Carolina at Wilmington) on several contract test excavations and have worked as a volunteer for the North Carolina Division of Archives and History on excavations at the Flynt Site in coastal North Carolina. As a graduate student, I would like to pursue the study of the manifestation and prevalence of disease in Amerindian skeletal populations of the southeastern United States. Also I would like to study the role that diet plays in dental attrition and disease in these populations. I am intensely interested in both of these areas and have some background in them, but would very much like to have the opportunity to study other skeletal populations from different geographical areas and time periods. In keeping with my interests, my goals as a graduate student include gaining familiarity with the skeletal biology of Amerindians other than the Algonquians of eastern North Carolina, thereby strengthening my ability to identify pathological conditions in bone and increasing my knowledge of the use of multivariate and other statistical methods in the study of skeletal populations. With these goals in mind, my career objectives at present are to prepare myself for a career in research and teaching in Physical Anthropology, particularly in human osteology. Understanding that anthropology is a diverse field, I have tried to make my experience in anthropology as diverse as possible, preparing myself through academic, field and laboratory experiences for advanced study. I would be pleased to receive consideration for admission as a graduate student at the University of Tennessee.
