Ethnography Certificate

Return to: 3100 Department of Anthropology  

The Department of Anthropology offers a Graduate Certificate in Ethnography. Current anthropology MA students, graduate students in other departments, and other interested individuals holding at least a bachelor’s degree may apply to the certificate program. This program provides specialized knowledge and skills training in ethnographic research, focusing on research design, data collection and analysis, communication of results for diverse audiences, and policy analysis and writing. Ethnography is a fieldbased research methodology for the study of social and cultural patterns and practices. Ethnographers utilize participant-observation, direct observation and interaction, focus group interviews, and other qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques to uncover detailed patterns of human behavior in their cultural context. Ethnographic data are also relevant and useful in assessing community needs, addressing concerns of personnel, and enhancing cross-cultural communication. Ethnographic data analysis is especially productive in clarifying complex issues, informing policy, and designing data-driven innovative and effective solutions to organizational problems. As such, this signature methodology of cultural anthropology has broad application in a variety of academic disciplines, creative industries, professional fields, and employment settings. Ethnographic interviewing is a core skill that attorneys, therapists, social workers, administrators, and journalists adopt to understand and to serve an increasingly diverse population of colleagues, clients, interlocutors, and stakeholders. Ethnography encompasses basic and applied research, informs project planning and implementation, and illuminates assessment and impact analysis in areas that range from public health, education, and the arts to product design, user experience and marketing. The Certificate in Ethnography is ideal for MA and Ph.D. students in such fields as sociology, community psychology, education, nursing, linguistics, communication, business, and area studies who pursue qualitative research. For students who wish to pursue careers in academia, private business or the public sector, the Certificate offers applied and marketable skills in culture- and people-focused knowledge production and communication.

Applicants may obtain additional information about the Graduate Certificate in Ethnography by contacting the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Anthropology.

Additional Admission Requirements

Students must apply to the certificate program during either Fall or Spring semester. In addition to the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Anthropology has the following requirements for application for the Graduate Certificate in Ethnography program:

1. Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can evaluate the applicant’s potential to do graduate work in anthropology
2. Curriculum vitae or resume
3. Writing sample