MA/MS in Anthropology is a master's degree in Social & Cultural Studies programme taught at University of Calgary in Calgary, Canada. The programme runs for 2 years. Tuition for international students is CAD 2,859 per semester (CAD 1,225 per semester for local students).
This is a Master of Arts in Anthropology, offered as a thesis-based program at the University of Calgary and completed on campus. Students choose between a socio-cultural stream, covering topics such as anthropology and militarization, medical anthropology, sustainability and urban anthropology, and a biological anthropology stream, covering conservation, human osteology, population genetics, primatology and paleoanthropology. Core requirements include a course on thesis development and a professional skills seminar for anthropologists, alongside further methods and theory coursework chosen with a supervisor. The program culminates in an original thesis that students defend in an open oral examination. A faculty supervisor is required to guide the research, though students are not required to have one arranged before applying. The degree sits at the master's level and functions as training in anthropological research methods and theory rather than coursework alone. It suits students with an undergraduate background in anthropology or a related discipline who want hands-on research experience in either cultural or biological anthropology, whether as preparation for doctoral study or for work in research, cultural resource management, or related fields requiring anthropological training.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:3.30 / 4.0
Admission Requirements: Admission requires a four-year baccalaureate degree or equivalent from a recognised institution, with a minimum GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale over the past two years of full-time study (at least 10 full-course equivalents or 60 units); a thesis supervisor is not required before the programme starts. Applicants submit a curriculum vitae, a sample of their written academic work, two reference letters, and a statement outlining their research interests and reasons for graduate study, with a clearly identified thesis area. The programme page defers language testing to the Faculty of Graduate Studies' general standard: IELTS Academic 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0), TOEFL iBT 86 overall (no section below 20), PTE Academic 59, or Duolingo English Test 125 (no sub-score below 105). The application deadline is December 15 for September admission.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:For Fall 2027 entry, the University of Calgary opens undergraduate applications for domestic applicants on 1 October 2026 and for international applicants on 15 August 2026, both closing on the same firm application deadline of 1 March 2027, with supporting documents due by 15 March 2027 and offers accepted by 1 May 2027. International applicants follow the identical March 1 deadline; the university publishes no separate, later international closing date. Applications are not accepted on a rolling basis after the deadline for most direct-entry programmes, though a small number of programmes (e.g. Nursing) run further selection rounds into the summer while space remains. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
