What to know how long it will take you to get a Anthropology or Archaeology PhD in the United States? Looking at the data from the National Academies (82 Anthropology PhD programs in the US) we get two sets of data (the data is from a questionnaire which asked 2 questions relevant to completion of PhDs) . One question asked was what % of students that completed PhD in under six years (from start of PhD program- all dates are from the start of a PhD program). Taking the completion rate of different schools (ranges from 0% to 55.6%) and multiplying it by the number of students they have we find that %14.9 of anthropology PhDs are completed in under 6 years.
YES, less than 15% of Anthropology PhDs are completed in under six years. That is a brutal attrition rate.
The other set of data provided was the median point, by schools, of those who do obtain their PhDs. Median being the half way point- half the students graduate before and half after. The table below shows the percent of schools that have certain median points e.g. 2.6% of anthropology programs graduate at least half of their students in under six years (schools with medians of 6 or higher still will have a percent of their students graduate in under six years, see above, it just won’t be higher then 49%) . This data is limited in what it can tell us as it only gives a halfway point and not much else.
Median time for an Anthropology PhD in the US
The median range was from 5.3 to 12.41 years. The majority of programs only graduate half of their students in under 8-8.99 years. Can you imagine that the majority of Anthropology/Archaeology programs can not even graduate more then half of their students in 8 years? If you are completing a PhD be in it for the long hall.
Jeran
October 8, 2011
Where do these measurements start? Freshmen year of undergrad? or is it the start of gradschool?
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 8, 2011
from the start of the PhD program. thanks for asking. I have changed the post to make it more clear.
oldmainartifacts
October 13, 2011
Does this also include the earning of a Master’s degree, or does this start after the master’s degree is earned?
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 13, 2011
Both- if a person does straight into a PhD program but earns a masters along the way that is counted as part of the PhD time. If a person earned a masters before then joined a PhD program that is the start point. It is just entry into a PhD track program.
Griffin
October 10, 2011
Which schools were included?
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 10, 2011
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
BROWN UNIVERSITY
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK GRAD. CENTER
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
DUKE UNIVERSITY
DUKE UNIVERSITY
EMORY UNIVERSITY
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
INDIANA UNIVERSITY AT BLOOMINGTON
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS
PENN STATE UNIVERSITY
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
RICE UNIVERSITY
RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY NEW BRUNSWICK CAMPUS
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BINGHAMTON
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY
TULANE UNIVERSITY
UC BERKELEY/UC SAN FRANCISCO
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-RIVERSIDE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SANTA BARBARA
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SANTA CRUZ
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-ANN ARBOR
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-ANN ARBOR
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-TWIN CITIES
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO MAIN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA NORMAN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
YALE UNIVERSITY
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 10, 2011
the double of Duke and Standford is when standfords department split in two and the two different departments of Duke.
Ronald Hicks
October 10, 2011
One has to bear in mind that most students will have completed their coursework well before they finish the PhD. Accumulating the data for the dissertation typically takes months, perhaps with field seasons spread over two or more years, and often doesn’t start until coursework is completed. Then comes the writing. A great many students reach a point during analysis of their data when they become convinced they will never make sense of it. Some give up. Others step away for a while, then try again. And of course some just plow right on through. However, multiple drafts are likely to be required before all members of the dissertation committee are satisfied. During much of this time, the student may be employed, which slows the process down even further. If he or she has started a family, that also slows down the process. I haven’t seen recent figures, but for many years these factors led to the average new PhD in anthropology being around age 40 at the time of completion.
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 10, 2011
The numbers I have put roughly between the 32-33 to about 36-38 at least for archaeologists. There is definitely a lot of factors that go into how long it takes. None of which can be considered bad but it does put quite a few people in a holding pattern for a portion of their lives. Again some may like this (the professional student) but others may not.