Graduate Student Handbook

Department of Anthropology
Current as of Summer 2008

Introduction

Departmental Offices

Main Office
Graduate Program Coordinator
Graduate Program Assistant
Departmental Administrator
Fiscal Specialist
Program Assistant
Main Office Services
Computer Labs
Student Office Space
Student Lounge
Departmental Electronic Listprocs

Program Requirements

Archaeology
Biocultural Anthropology
Environmental Anthropology
Sociocultural Anthropology

Language Competency

General Steps to Follow
International Students

Master's Degree

How and When to Apply for the Master's

Ph.D. Supervisory Committee

Establishing a Committee

General Exam

Steps for Taking the General Exam

Colloquium

When to Give Your Colloquium

Field Work

Staying in Touch

Final Exam

Dissertation Writing
Reading Committee
Dissertation Defense

Human Subjects

Getting Human Subjects Approval

Teaching Experience

Gaining Teaching Experience
Evaluations of Teaching Performance

Fellowships and Funding for Graduate Students

Evaluation of Ph.D. Students

End-of-Year Review
End-of-Year Letters

Continuous Enrollment Policy

Steps for Going On Leave
Deferment of Loans

Getting Involved

Department Committees
Graduate Student Representative
Graduate & Professional Student Senate

More Helpful Hints

Introduction

Welcome to the University of Washington's Graduate Program in Anthropology!

This handbook is intended as a quick guide for navigating the graduate program in the Department of Anthropology. The information and procedures listed below are subject to change and may vary according to the specific program requirements for each of the three subdisciplines. We recommend that you use this text as a first reference tool and basis for your further inquiry with your advisor, the Graduate Program Assistant (GPA) and the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC).

Other Recommended References:

• University of Washington General Catalog
• Graduate School Memoranda
• GPSS Resources (Graduate and Professional Student Senate issues the guide, and their offices are located in HUB room 300)
• Specific program requirements for your particular subdiscipline: archaeology, biocultural anthropology, or sociocultural anthropology. Subdiscipline requirements may change over time; however, you will only be asked to adhere to the requirements that were in place the year you entered the program.
• Style and Policy Manual for Theses and Dissertations (The Graduate School, G-1 Communications Building, issues the manual. Students should use the most recent edition of the manual, which is updated periodically)

Departmental Offices

Main Office

The Department of Anthropology main office is located on the main mezzanine of Denny Hall in room M-32. The building is unlocked and open to the public from 6:30am - 10:30pm M-Th, 6:30am - 7pm F, 8am - 5:30pm Sat, and noon - 10:30pm on Sun when school is in session. Denny Hall is closed other Sundays and holidays. The Department Chair is located in the main office, along with the Department Administrator, Program Assistant, Graduate Program Assistant, and Fiscal Specialist. The main office functions with the help of work-study students who cover the main desk, answering phones and questions. The department mailboxes (office staff, faculty, and student) are located on the mezzanine just outside room M-32.

Graduate Program Coordinator

The Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) and one Graduate Program Assistant (GPA) administer the Graduate Program in Anthropology. The GPC is a faculty member appointed yearly to the position and whose duty is to coordinate the activities of the sub-faculty appointments committee and to represent the department in the deliberations of the Graduate School. The GPC advises, counsels, and assists graduate students or arranges that another member of the Graduate Faculty render this service. The GPC ensures that special attention is given to newly admitted students and others with particular individual needs.

Graduate Program Assistant

The Graduate Program Assistant (GPA) provides administrative and support services to the Graduate Program Coordinator and all graduate committees. The GPA processes all application materials and communications for anthropology graduate programs. The GPA advises graduate students and faculty regarding departmental and university policies and procedures.

The GPA should be kept informed about a student's plan for completing steps toward the Ph. D. degree. The GPA maintains the official files of all current graduate students. These files include all official letters, transcripts, and correspondence with the graduate student.

The Graduate Program Assistant is a student's liaison with the Graduate School and works in cooperation with committee chairpersons to keep accurate records of students' achievements.

Please contact the GPA in the following situations:

• You are planning to initiate any of the major formal steps of the program (committee formation, Master's degree, general exam, colloquium, final exam)
• You plan to go on leave
• You move and your address or phone number changes
• You have received funding

Departmental Administrator

Works most closely with the Department Chair and handles administrative procedures. Contact the Administrator if you are getting a parking permit, if you are applying for office space, or if you need to get letters or messages to the Chair.

Fiscal Specialist

The Fiscal Specialist handles all financial procedures. If you receive a paycheck for a teaching or research assistantship or if you receive a purchase order (if the department awards you some money for travel expenses, for example), the Fiscal Specialist is the person to see.

Program Assistant

The Program Assistant handles reception for phone, fax, and desk inquiries and is supported by work-study students. Students should direct questions regarding keys and department supplies here.

Main Office Services

Keys: Since Denny Hall is locked during the evening and on the weekends, building keys are available for check-out from the main office. You also will be required to fill out a building use permit to have on you at all times while you are in the building after hours. Keys to labs and student offices are also available to check out from the main office. Please be aware that our supply of keys can be limited. If you no longer need the use of a particular key you have checked out, please return it to the main office.

Mailboxes: Mailboxes for faculty, staff, and students are located on the mezzanine. Graduate student mailbox addresses should appear as follows:
Department of Anthropology
Box 353100
Seattle, WA 98195-3100

If a student goes on leave or changes address, please notify the GPA. Upon request, the GPA will be able to forward first-class mail to a more current address.

Department equipment check-out: Items available for reservation and check-out include a laptop, LCD projector, and TV/VCR. Please check at the main desk to reserve items.

Room reservation: The department also controls the reservation of a few rooms within Denny Hall, and they can be reserved by individuals at the main desk. The rooms available for reservation are Denny 401, Denny 402, Denny M-40, and Denny 449.

Computer Labs

General Computer Lab

The Student Computing Facility is located in Denny Hall, Room 404. It currently houses three scanning stations with flatbed and slide/film scanners and seventeen other computing stations. Printing functionality is provided by the Pharos Printing System and supported by Publication services. Wireless connectivity is available throughout Denny Hall as part of the UW Wireless Initiative. An access code is required to gain entrance. This code may be obtained by contacting the Senior Computer Specialist via email. You _must_ include the following information otherwise your request will not be granted: Full Name, UW NetID, Status (Graduate or Undergraduate), disciplinary involvement (Socio, Bio, Environ, Arch). Your success and operability is reliant upon you. If you have any suggestions for additional software requirements or other suggestions please send these to the Senior Computer Specialist. If nothing is mentioned, nothing can be gained.

Computing Facility Policies and Procedures:

1. This facility is intended to support your research and studies. Users are expected to maintain a library-like atmosphere while in the lab. Please take extended personal conversations and cell phone calls outside.

2. No food or beverages of any type will be allowed in the lab. Should you need a break, the lounge is now conveniently across the hall.

3. You may not password lock a computer and walk away from the lab. If you leave a workstation, you must log off. The one exception is when you are going to retrieve a printed document from the mezzanine RA/TA printer and coming right back.

4. Do not expect to use the lab as you might a private work space or office. If you are concerned about something you are working on being viewed by others, then 404 is not the place to be doing it.

5. You are responsible for your data. Do not save data to any of the local computers. Always remember to save it to your personal storage folder (Z:). Periodically systems are updated and nothing is backed up.

6. Failure to comply with the Computing Facilities policies and procedures will result is suspension or possible quarterly to annual revocation of access rights and privileges.

Computing Facility Printing:

The facility is on a pay-to-print system utilizing the Pharos Printing System from Publication Services. This will require you to have money on your Husky Card; much as if you were in the Library and needing to print. Information about adding value to your card can be found at: http://hfs.washington.edu/husky_card/.

RAs and TAs will have access to print to the Mezzanine Xerox Printing Station. You will be provided an access code in order to print and retrieve your jobs.

GIS Computer Lab

The Department maintains a dedicated GIS computer lab for computer mapping and spatial analysis. Access to this lab is restricted to students who have taken or are currently taking a class in the use of geographic information systems and such access must be approved and requested by Prof. Marcos Llobera. This lab contains a small number of workstations, scanners, and printers, as well as a digitizer.

Student Office Space

Office space is assigned quarterly to students who apply for it according to pre-set priorities. Students who are writing their dissertations, have a T.A. or R.A. appointment, or have fellowships usually receive office space in Denny Hall. Requests for office space should be submitted to the Administrator at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the quarter requested. Office space will be allotted using the priority ranking list below:

1. Teaching Assistants
2. Research Assistants working on projects supervised by department faculty
3. Graduate students back from the field and working on dissertation (first two years only, otherwise priority 4 and 5 as appropriate)
4. Advanced graduate student with fellowship
5. Advanced graduate student without fellowship
6. First-year graduate student with fellowship

Reminders to request office space will be sent out prior to the beginning of each quarter.

Student Lounge

The anthropology graduate student lounge is located in Denny 402B. This room contains a refrigerator, table, and several discipline journals and is available to graduate students at any time. A number code to unlock the door via a keypad can be obtained from the main office.

Please be respectful of others by cleaning up after yourself in the kitchen, making sure you do not leave things in the fridge that should be thrown out, and tidying the lounge area (by organizing the periodicals and wiping down the counter) when you are finished.

Department Electronic Mailing Listprocs

Most departmental or related information is distributed through e-mail via electronic mailing lists. These lists are segregated to cover specific groups of individuals for which the information being sent is applicable. Only University email addresses (@u.washington.edu) will be accepted for membership to these lists. In order to subscribe to these lists, certain criteria must be met:

1. Current departmental program enrollment
2. Valid University of Washington Network Identification (UW NetID)

Typically, you will automatically be subscribed to your associated lists when you enroll in the department's programs. Default subscriptions will include the anthropology department list, graduate student, and your sub disciplinary mail lists. It is your responsibility to keep the posting to these list related to research and departmental issues and questions; sending only to the applicable lists. For example, do not send something specific to SocioCultural Graduate Students to the Anthropology Graduate Students list. These lists are monitored so ensure that you do not send excessive personal mails to these lists. If this is found to be the case, or if complaints are made and verified, you will be removed from the lists.

If you leave the university, change disciplinary programs, or leave the department notify the mail list coordinator informing him/her of the changes needing to be made. If you have questions or receive an error message and need help resolving the problem, you should contact the mail list coordinator.

Mailings attempted to lists for which you are not a member, have too many recipients, or an attachment exceeding the 2MB limit, will result in an automated reply informing you that your email is awaiting approval. The mail list coordinator will receive a request automatically and will attend to the request at the earliest possible convenience.

If you opt to use an email program or service different than that provided by the University (Hotmail, MSN, AOL, etc.) and use email forwarding on your UW Account to have it delivered there, it is your responsibility to maintain your account. If continuous errors are received stating that your mailbox cannot be delivered to or your service cannot be contacted, you will be removed from any lists which you are currently subscribed. This also applies if you don't use forwarding to third party client email services. When the removal occurs, you will not receive any notification that it has transpired. You will have to send an email request to the lisproc coordinator requesting subscription to your respective mailing lists and indicating that the problem has been rectified.

Program Requirements

Archaeology
Biocultural Anthropology
Sociocultural Anthropology

Language Competency

There is a deadline for fulfilling the language proficiency requirement. Check with your advisor/chairperson regarding specific program requirements early in your first year of the program, since criteria may vary according to subdiscipline and/or student circumstances. Also see program requirements for each subdiscipline for specific criteria for language testing/evaluation.

General steps to follow for individual language testing:

• You will be required to arrange with your advisor/chairperson for an evaluation in the language area in which you wish to be evaluated
• Arrange to have your major advisor/chairperson send the results of your language evaluation to you and to the Graduate Program Assistant

Language proficiency for international students:

English is considered a second language for international students. You will be notified by the Graduate Admissions Office, as well as the English as a Second Language Office, as to the steps required to fulfill the ESL requirements. You must also check with your advisor/chairperson regarding specific program requirements early in your first year in the program. Please see Graduate School Memorandum No. 8 "English Language Competence" for specific Graduate School requirements.

Archaeology

Language skills facilitate access to international scholarship and opportunities for international partnership and fieldwork. Whether or not a student’s dissertation research requires the use of a foreign language, students are all required to demonstrate competence in a major scientific or field language (other than English) in order to complete the Ph.D. Ideally, the language selected will be one of direct relevance to the dissertation work or related scholarship. Competence will be assessed through an examination to be administered by the Archaeology Faculty. The examination will require the translation into English of approximately 1,000 words of text in the language in question and in an area relevant to the student’s area of interest and expertise. The student will be given two hours to complete the translation and will be allowed to bring dictionaries to the examination room. The Examination will be arranged and administered by the student’s advisor, and will be graded under the supervision of the Archaeology Faculty. Students whose first language is not English may petition their Supervisory Committee to waive the language requirement. Students may complete the language requirement any time prior to the scheduling of the Dissertation Defense, but are encouraged to complete it as early as possible in their student careers.

Biocultural

A candidate for the Ph.D. must demonstrate competence in one foreign language. This language may be one in which there is a substantial body of scientific literature pertinent to the student's research interests or one that will substantially aid the student in field research. Competence in field languages for which formal instruction is not available at the University of Washington is determined by an examination set by the student's Supervisory Committee. A student is expected to fulfill the language requirement before beginning to write the dissertation.

Environmental

Prior to scheduling of the general exam, native speakers of English must demonstrate reading comprehension in a language. The required level of competence shall be assessed by the student's supervisory committee. If a scholarly language, competence shall be defined as the ability to accurately translate a passage of at least 1,000 words from a scholarly article relevant to the student's interests. If an unwritten field language, the student must demonstrate a working knowledge of its phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary sufficient to transcribe and analyze a short text. Exceptions to this requirement may be granted by the supervisory committee only in cases where meeting it imposes an excessive hardship; the committee chair must file a letter to that effect with the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Sociocultural

Each student must demonstrate basic competence in a language other than her/his native language. By no later than the end of the fifth quarter of full-time work in the department or by two years after the date of entry into the program (whichever is sooner), each sociocultural graduate student, in consultation with her/his committee chair and other members of the supervisory committee, must formulate, justify, and submit to the Graduate Program Coordinator, a plan for meeting this requirement. This plan should indicate (a) what the language is, (b) why it was picked, (c) how the student's competence will be determined, and (d) when the student is to complete this requirement.

Master's Degree

Students admitted to the Graduate Program in Anthropology have the option of obtaining a Master's degree as a step to their ultimate goal, the Ph.D.  Students must meet the requirements of their specific program in order to apply for a Master's degree. There are two instances in which a student may be considered for a Master's only. The first is when the faculty decide to admit a student who, for professional reasons, is only interested in obtaining an M.A. The second is when an admitted Ph.D. student finds that he or she is unable to meet the specified requirements of their degree program. These students may complete the equivalent M.A. course work and write either a non-thesis or thesis paper for a terminal M.A.

The student is responsible for all the paperwork connected with receiving this degree. Please see the GPA for specifics on requirements to fulfill prior to applying for the Master's degree.

How and When to Apply for the Master's

• First determine if you qualify (consult the University of Washington General Catalog or your advisor for requirements). Determine the quarter in which you will qualify to receive the degree.
• Apply for the degree during the first six weeks of the quarter on the Graduate School website: http://www.grad.washington.edu/stsv/mastapp.htm
• The Graduate Program Assistant will print the warrant and notify you when it is ready for pick-up.
• Collect the warrant from the Graduate Program Assistant when two members of your committee are ready to sign it (only the chairperson and one committee member need to sign the warrant).
• Return the signed warrant before the last day of the quarter to the Graduate Program Assistant who will notify the Graduate School.

For a thesis M.A.: submit a copy of your thesis to the Graduate School per the Style and Policy Manual guidelines. They will bind and send your thesis to Suzzallo Library. Additionally, for both a thesis and non-thesis MA, submit an unbound copy of your thesis to the Graduate Program Assistant for your academic file.

Ph.D. Supervisory Committee

Steps to Establish a Supervisory Committee with the Graduate School

The doctoral supervisory committee must be appointed at least four months before the date of the oral portion of a candidate's general examination.

By Graduate School regulations, the minimum size and basic composition of a PhD Supervisory Committee is 4 members: a Chairperson, 2 additional members, and the Graduate School Representative (GSR). The GSR will be a member of the University of Washington Graduate Faculty , and endorsed to chair supervisory committee’s. In addition, the GSR must not be affiliated with the Department of Anthropology.  Students, in consultation with their supervisory committee chairs, choose their own GSR. It is usually helpful if students provide the GSR with a short summary of their academic background and/or research interests. The GSR must be present at all examinations and is a voting member of the Committee. The chairperson, the GSR and at least one other member of the committee must be members of the graduate faculty of the University of Washington at the time of appointment to the committee.

At least four members of the committee (including the chairperson and the GSR) must be present at all examinations. Students are advised to consult the Graduate School Memorandum No. 13 when forming their committee and when preparing for the general examination.

Establish your committee through the following steps:

• Contact and verify with all individuals who you wish to serve on your committee
• Complete "Establishing a Ph.D. Supervisory Committee" form available from the Graduate Program Assistant (GPA), and collect the chairperson's signature
• Give the form to the GPA, who will submit your committee formation request to the Graduate School
• The Graduate School will notify all parties of official committee formation via e-mail

The GSR must attest to the validity of examinations and indicate approval of the process by which examinations were conducted. Changes in the appointment of the GSR can be made at any time.

General Exam

Steps to Taking the General Exam

Consult the Graduate School for specific information concerning the doctoral degree requirements. Passing the general exam advances a graduate student to a new degree status: Ph.C. (Candidate for the Ph.D.):

Steps to follow in organizing your exam are:

• Have your committee members agree on a date for the oral segment of your General Exam either by circulating the "Meeting-Time Sheet" available outside the GPA’s Office, or through e-mail. The written exam for sociocultural students usually takes place two weeks prior to the oral exam. The environmental and biocultural anthropology programs will notify students when their written segments will take place. The archaeology program requires an approved dissertation proposal prior to scheduling the general exam.
• Notify the Graduate Program Assistant as soon as possible (at least three weeks or more before your oral exam). Your entire committee (including GSR) must notify the Graduate Program Assistant, either in writing or by e-mail (e-mail is preferred), indicating that they approve of the date and time of your oral exam and confirming that they will attend. The Graduate Program Assistant will then initiate the request for your exam to the Graduate School.
• The Graduate School will send the "Warrant for the General Exam" to the GPA who will notify you and your committee chair when it is received.
• Your "Warrant for the General Exam" will be given to your chairperson. Your committee members will sign the "Warrant for the General Exam" immediately after the exam. Four members must sign the warrant, including the chairperson and the GSR.
• After the exam, take the warrant to the Graduate Program Assistant, who will make a copy for your file and send the warrant to the Graduate School.
• If a successful general exam, expect to be notified by the Graduate School within three to four months that you have been advanced to candidacy

Colloquium

The colloquium is a presentation of your design for Ph.D. research and is open to departmental students and faculty. All students are required to submit their dissertation proposal to their supervisory committee for approval before they present their colloquium. Colloquia vary in when they should be given—for archaeology, within one quarter, and for sociocultural, no later than two quarters after advancement to candidacy (Ph.C.). The colloquium requires no contact with the Graduate School.

When to Give Your Colloquium

Colloquium requirements for all programs:

• Confirm your committee's availability to attend your colloquium and decide on a mutually agreeable date
• Inform the Graduate Program Assistant at least three weeks in advance of your colloquium to have a room reserved
• The GPA will announce your colloquium through e-mail to the anthro listproc. Announcements will include your name, subdiscipline, date, time, location, and title of your colloquium.

The format of the colloquium presentation will be typical of panels at professional meetings.

Field Work

The bureaucratic aspect of fieldwork (arranging visas, bank accounts, insurance payments, applying for T.A. appointments for when you return from your field research, human subjects' application forms, loan payments, equipment, insurance, lodging, etc.) varies markedly with each student, depending on whether or not fieldwork involves international travel and residence and on which foreign country or countries will be visited. By the time this stage of the graduate program is achieved, you will undoubtedly have established relationships with other students or faculty who can assist you.

Staying in Touch

The school year continues while you are away, and, as e-mail is the major form of communication, it is recommended that you do not remove yourself from the listprocs. However, if you are doing fieldwork in a location where e-mail is unattainable, it may be wise to unsubscribe from the listprocs so that your e-mail does not become overloaded. Please ask the GPA to notify you via snail mail when important deadlines are approaching. If needed, please ask another student or GPA to forward first class mail to you at your fieldwork location.

Final Exam

Dissertation Writing

A student must register for a minimum of 27 credits of dissertation writing (Anth 800) over a period of at least three quarters. At least one quarter must pass after the student passes the general examination and before a warrant is authorized for the final exam.

Some suggestions from previous students about what you should do during the dissertation-writing process have been recorded and are listed below:

• Do it as quickly as possible. While one student emphasized the importance of allowing two months to a year after completing her fieldwork before starting to write, most students looking back remarked that they probably could have finished more quickly than they actually did, and they wished that they had. Several students remarked that it was important to dedicate specific amounts of time and energy to writing the dissertation. Jobs (particularly teaching) otherwise tended to take all "available" time. A schedule drawn up between chairperson and student could be very useful. One student expressed regret that the committee hadn't required a draft the first year. Another claimed that the main reason she finished relatively quickly was that she had made a contract with herself to spend three hours every day at her typewriter/computer (NOT just reviewing her field notes or doing related reading). "If I didn't think of a word to say, that was all right, but I had to at least sit there. It turned out that I always did a lot of writing," she said. Another student remarked that after a year, she began to pace herself and produced a chapter every quarter.
• Read other dissertations. It helps to demystify the whole endeavor.
• Get a style manual from the Graduate School and use it from the start. Changing margins at the last minute is a nuisance!
• Write a synopsis right away after returning from fieldwork.
• Keep a chronological journal of your research experience.
• Think of the dissertation as several papers, not one book. Find reasons to produce a paper (for example, go to a conference, interview for a job, or give an informal talk).
• Show all willing committee members the first draft, chapter by chapter. Waiting until the second draft to show the entire committee your writing can cause unnecessary delays in revisions.
• Don't expect the first draft to be the final one. Many students experience severe disappointment when unexpected revisions are required. This is a nearly unavoidable part of the writing process. One student suggested that a contract be drawn up between the student and the reading committee after the first draft is written. This contract, to be signed by all parties, states all the revisions necessary for the final draft. Incidentally, this is a standard system at some universities.
• Support from students and friends is very valuable and can help keep you on schedule. The Counseling Center has counseling groups for students that find it difficult to get started. The Experimental College has a class—"Overcoming Writer's Block"—that may be helpful. While the reading committee and particularly the chairperson of the dissertation are supposed to provide extensive commentary on a student's writing, several students reported that they found that some of their most valuable critics were fellow students or friends.

Reading Committee

Consult with your Ph.D. supervisory committee concerning the establishment of your reading committee at least 5-6 weeks prior to your final exam. Committee members should be drawn from the voting members of your Ph.D. supervisory committee. The reading committee is responsible for approving or rejecting the dissertation, and, upon committee recommendation, the student can then initiate the request for a final exam. Please consult the GPA when you are ready to form your reading committee with the Graduate School.

Steps to Taking the Final Exam/Dissertation Defense

• Determine, with your Ph.D. supervisory committee, your final exam date and inform the Graduate Program Assistant of your intentions. You may circulate the yellow "Meeting-Time Sheet" amongst your committee members to set up a date for your final exam.
• When you and your entire committee have agreed on a date for your final exam, notify the Graduate Program Assistant as soon as possible (at least three weeks or more before your final exam). Your entire committee (including GSR) must notify the Graduate Program Assistant, either in writing or by e-mail (e-mail is preferred), indicating that they approve of the date and time of your final exam and confirming that they will attend. The Graduate Program Assistant will then send the request for your final exam to the Graduate School.
• The "Warrant for Final Examination" will be given to your chairperson on the day of your final exam. At least four members of your Ph.D. committee (including your chairperson and GSR) will need to sign the warrant after your exam.
• Take the warrant back to the Graduate Program Assistant, who will make a copy and send it to the Graduate School.
• Turn in the required copies of your dissertation to the Graduate School no later than 60 days after your final exam. Students must be registered for the quarter they submit their dissertation to the Graduate School. This means that if the dissertation is not submitted by the end of the quarter, even if the 60-day period falls between quarters, you will need to register for the following quarter in order to graduate. If this is your situation, you may be eligible to petition to pay the Graduate Degree Late Fee in lieu of enrolling. The graduate degree late fee allows a student to submit his/her dissertation to the Graduate School without registering, as long as they have met all the other requirements for the PhD (see the following website for more information: http://www.grad.washington.edu/area/degreelatefee.html).  
• Give an unbound copy of your dissertation to the Graduate Program Assistant for the department. This copy will be bound and made available to faculty and students for viewing.

Human Subjects

Getting Human Subjects Approval

Depending on your field research protocol, it may be required that you seek approval from the Human Subjects Division. If your research involves the use of human subjects (either directly or through records or other data such as specimens or autopsy materials), your research requires human subjects review. The Human Subjects Division website outlines the process for getting this approval prior to the start of your research. There are several faculty within the department who may be willing to review your application prior to submission to the Human Subjects Division.

Teaching Experience

Gaining Teaching Experience

Before receiving the Ph.D. degree, each candidate must gain teaching experience at the post-secondary level. The exact means to meeting this requirement vary and are subject to the approval of the student's supervisory committee. Some possible ways of gaining teaching experience include teaching at a local community college or working as a teaching assistant (T.A.) for the Department of Anthropology (or another department on campus). Additionally, the Department of Anthropology allows students to hold instructorships in the summer, provided that such students already have some T.A. experience.

Evaluation of Teaching Performance

Your chairperson or class instructor, as well as the students enrolled in your class, must evaluate the course(s) and your performance, and the program faculty is to be apprised of the evaluation results. Request forms for the evaluation forms may be obtained through the Educational Assessment Center, 453 Schmitz, and are available in the department main office. Make copies of your results and give them to the Graduate Program Assistant. If no student evaluations are done at the institution where you are teaching, a letter of evaluation should be sought from the appropriate supervisor (Chair, Dean, etc.).

The Graduate School requires (and asks for confirmation) that new T.A.s be evaluated during their first two T.A. assignments. Anthropology has generally gone further, expecting an evaluation every quarter for every T.A. position.

Fellowships and Funding for Graduate Students

Balancing funding can be one of the trickiest things in graduate school. Students are encouraged to obtain funding prior to admittance to the program. Once here, several courses are available in each subdiscipline on grant- and application-writing in order to help students obtain funding while in school. Opportunities for scholarships, fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships may be forwarded to anthropology by other departments on campus. The main avenue of disseminating this information is through e-mail.

Please see the Fellowships and Funding for Graduate Students website for details.

Evaluation of Ph.D. Students

End-of-Year Review

At the end of each academic year, the Graduate School asks each graduate program to review the academic progress of its graduate students. The Department of Anthropology's annual review of graduate student progress is conducted at the last faculty meeting of the academic year.

End-of-Year Letters

At the end of each academic year and following the end-of-year review, faculty write letters to the students they advise. End-of-year letters update the student on the progress they are making in the program. If a student falls behind on their expected milestones, he or she may be encouraged to meet any remaining deficiencies. If a student continues to make what is deemed ‘no progress,' he or she may be warned by the faculty. If steps are not taken by the student to remedy problems, his or her case may be forwarded to the graduate school, and the student may be put on official ‘warn' status. ‘No progress' is grounds for eventual dismissal from the program but is only undertaken in extreme circumstances.

Continuous Enrollment Policy

Many students elect to go "on leave" while doing fieldwork in order to avoid unnecessary tuition payments. Before applying for on-leave status, discuss your plans with your supervisory committee chairperson and receive his or her permission.

It is very important to keep the Graduate Program Assistant and your chairperson informed of your current address while you are doing fieldwork and to let them know about any necessary financial transactions involving the university or the department that may occur while you are away. Unless your mailing address or e-mail address is known, the Graduate Program Assistant can not keep you informed about registration, funding, or deadlines for various applications.

For further information on maintaining graduate standing, please see the Graduate School Memorandum No. 9 on the Graduate School website.

Steps for going on leave

• Obtain the on-leave paperwork well in advance from the Graduate Program Assistant;
• Obtain signature and date from your chairperson on the appropriate form, and return to the Graduate Program Assistant;
• Have the Graduate Program Assistant send your on-leave card to the Registrar for processing. A $35.00 fee is charged for going on leave.

Deferment of Loans

Note also that if you have loans when you go on leave, you begin using up your grace period for repaying them. Even if you return to school, you may not receive a new grace period. It is usually not difficult to get deferrals from loan payments if necessary. It is often possible to convince the loan officers that even though you were not enrolled, you were still doing school-related work and thus should not be penalized. Check with your moneylenders on this issue.

The Graduate School is able to defer loans for each on-leave individual who is doing off-site work related to their education for a total of two years but not beyond. Please see the below memo from the Registrars' Office, and see the Graduate Program Assistant before you go on leave for the Required Off-Site Education (R.O.S.E.) form.

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR

Procedure: LOAN DEFERMENT PROCEDURE FOR ON-LEAVE GRADUATE STUDENTS ENGAGED IN FULL-TIME RESEARCH

Graduate students who are engaged in full-time dissertation work or equivalent [off-campus activities] that are either required or encouraged for their degree but who are not registered for that quarter(s) and are or will be officially on leave should contact the Graduate Program Coordinator for their department to request a letter of verification that they are pursuing these activities on a full-time basis. The letter will be forwarded to the Director of Student Services in the Graduate School and, if approved by that office, it will then be sent to the Office of the Registrar. The Graduate School approval is to ensure that the maximum period in this status has not been exceeded. Note that students will still complete the On-Leave form (otherwise they would no longer be UW graduate students) AND submit the letter of verification. The Registrar will then change the student's status in the national enrollment reporting system (NSLDS) for that quarter. The student will be reported as being enrolled full time. The in-school status will continue for these students. (However, the status will have to be changed in NSLDS each quarter that the student is approved since the electronic report is done quarterly and will continue to report the student as withdrawn for the quarter.) There will be no additional fee for this service, beyond the normal $35 on-leave fee. Students may apply for this status for 1 through 4 quarters at a time for a maximum of 8 quarters.

Students whose loans have come due and are eligible for deferments based on this status will need to submit the deferment request form to the Office of the Registrar (Transcript Orders, 225 Schmitz Hall) along with the certification from the Graduate School. This option will be offered on a case-by-case basis. The departments most likely to interact with students regarding loan repayment and deferment matters will be informed of these procedures. These offices would include GPSS, the Graduate School, Registrar, Student Loans and the Office of Student Financial Aid.

March 14, 2000

Note:
Be aware that anytime you drop below halftime enrollment (5 credits) you begin using your loan grace period.

Getting Involved

There are several ways for graduate students to participate within the workings of the Department of Anthropology and the University of Washington. Students are encouraged to participate on department committees and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS).

Department Committees

Curriculum Committee: The curriculum committee is charged with review and evaluation of all new course applications, all course change proposals, and proposed actions that have a curricular impact. All of these matters are presented to the faculty for action only upon recommendation of the curriculum committee.

Development Committee: Development committee members are to identify funding priorities in the department, propose and plan events that will establish the department's presence more strongly in the community, and link prospective donors with department needs.

Diversity Committee: The Diversity Committee will work with faculty in their respective sub-disciplines to identify scholars who bring diverse perspectives to their scholarship. Following the committee's recommendations, the department will invite select scholars to campus to share their research with faculty and students.

Graduate Activities Fund Committee: The GAFC coordinates events aimed at benefiting the graduate students' academic and professional development and creating an enhanced sense of unity and interaction among the graduate students. The committee also raises, manages, and disburses funds for such events.

Resources Committee: The resources committee reviews applications for funding of graduate student travel, graduate student conference travel, and honoraria for speakers in department-sponsored colloquia and makes recommendations for the chair.

Sub-Faculty Appointments Committee: The sub-faculty appointments committee acts upon recommendations by relevant faculty groups and makes all of the appointments of teaching assistants and other state-funded graduate student appointments, as well as other fellowship awards. As a full committee, it recommends policy on such matters to the faculty.

Teaching Effectiveness Committee: Teaching effectiveness committee members are charged with making recommendations on all matters concerning the quality of instruction in the department.

Graduate Student Representative

The primary purpose of the graduate student representative (GSR) is to act as a representative of the graduate students in the department to the faculty. As part of this position, the GSR serves as the point of contact for graduate students in the department when they have questions, concerns or suggestions about department governance, policies or procedures. The specific duties of the GSR are:

1. To attend the orientation for new graduate students. This allows the new students to meet the GSR, and it serves as an opportunity for the GSR to talk to incoming students about serving on department committees.
2. To lead the effort to recruit graduate students to serve on the various department committees. In the past, this effort has taken the form of emails, a formal letter to the graduate students, and the GSR approaching individual students and asking them to serve. While all final decisions on who will serve on the various committees is up to the department chair, the GSR should ensure, as much as possible, that every graduate student position on the committees is filled by the end of the first month of fall quarter.
3. To attend the monthly faculty meetings. The purpose of this is to ensure that graduate student interests are represented at the faculty meetings. This also allows a means whereby pertinent information from the faculty meetings can be shared with graduate students quickly and efficiently. When such information is presented at the faculty meetings, the GSR should email the graduate student email list with this information.
4. To attend student government meetings, which the graduate student senators from the department cannot attend.
5. To act as the point of contact for graduate students in the department. The GSR is the person that graduate students can approach with questions, concerns or suggestions about departmental governance, policies or procedures, or issues that affect graduate students in the department as a whole. Examples of some of these issues might include getting money for graduate student parties, concerns about a specific decision made by the faculty that effects graduate student funding, suggestions about how to find money for pilot funding, or concerns about printing in the computer lab. The GSR will be able to listen to the graduate students, get additional feedback on the issues from graduate students (if necessary), and then approach the chair or other appropriate department committees.

This does not preclude individual graduate students or groups of graduate students from approaching the chair or the various department committees directly. Instead, it is a means whereby graduate students can have a representative who they can approach to help them get questions, concerns or suggestions addressed by the chair or other faculty members.

Graduate and Professional Student Senate

The Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) is made up of graduate and professional students from across the campus. GPSS is the voice of the graduate and professional students to the state legislature and to the UW administration. The Department of Anthropology has two representatives (senators) on the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, and they are voted in by fellow anthropology graduate students. The GPSS main office, located in HUB 300, is also a resource center for students. Meetings are once a month and are open to all.

More Helpful Hints... for being a successful graduate student!

• Start going to professional meetings in your field early on in your graduate education; take job workshops.
• Start looking at the job advertisements in the Anthropological Association Newsletter in order to get a sense of how to make yourself as employable as possible. Keep jobs in the private sector (medicine, business, etc.) in mind, and tailor your qualifications to them.
• Apply for all grants and scholarships.
• Work with people, not just with programs; find a mentor who is respected both inside and outside the University of Washington.
• Remember that there are opportunities both within and outside the department to hear other people give papers and lectures on things that might interest you. Go to these—they will help to give you perspective on your own work.
• If you get an answer to any problem or question, big or small, that you don't like (about your qualifications for a grant, your right to have a requirement waived, your right to have a deadline postponed, etc.) ask someone else—and keep asking, even if you have to go all the way to the Dean or the national office of the grant, etc. you are applying for.
• Graduate students can often feel adrift. This is partly because faculty members will sometimes treat you as a student and sometimes as a colleague. It is important to note that you are in the driver's seat with regard to how much mentoring you need. Work with your faculty advisor to come up with a plan for your individual needs. For further information on mentoring, please see the following references:

• Mentoring Resources for Graduate Students and Faculty
• Re-envisioning the Ph.D.
• Graduate School Guidelines for Good Practices in Graduate Education
• Key Expectations of Anthropology Advisors for their Advisees
• Anthropology Graduate Student Expectations for Advisors