College of Public Health Guidebooks

Concurrent Degree - Public Health and Anthropology

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Last updated: Mar 14, 2024 by Rebecca WoodVersion comment
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There are three degree options with Public Health and Anthropology. 

  • MA/MPH - Master of Arts in Anthropology and Master of Public Health

  • MA/PHD - Master of Arts in Anthropology and Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health

  • PHD/MPH - Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology and Master of Public Health

Concurrent Masters Program

The concurrent Masters degree program allows students to pursue a concurrent program of study leading to both the Master of Arts (MA) degree in Applied Anthropology and the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. Students choose a concentration area and degree program when they apply to the program, but this can be changed once the student has been admitted, provided they qualify.

Doctoral/Masters Program

Students interested in combining a program of study leading to a doctorate plus master's degree have two options: they may obtain a PhD in Applied Anthropology with an MPH in a public health concentration; or they may obtain a PhD in Public Health with an MA in Applied Anthropology. For the doctoral/masters combination, students develop individual programs of study in consultation with an interdisciplinary academic advisory committee. The committee must approve the plan of study as well as the proposal to fulfill the thesis and dissertation requirements or dissertation and special project requirements through a single project. Students choose a concentration area when they apply to the program, but this can be changed once the student has been admitted to the program, provided they qualify.

For students who have previously earned an MPH, alone or as part of another concurrent degree program (e.g., Nursing and Public Health), the previous education at the Master's level will fulfill the PhD external specialization requirement in Anthropology. In this case, the student will take electives in Anthropology to complete the required number of credit hours in their program of study.

Program of Study

If you have questions on your MPH program, please contact your Academic Advisor.

Current students may access their Degree Works planner (Degree Works may also be accessed from my.usf.edu or OASIS). Students may view their current progress in Archivum at usf.appiancloud.com/. (See Archivum instructions.). If you are not a current student, or want to view program requirements from a different catalog year please use these sources: 

MA Anthropology/MPH Concurrent Degree

PhD Anthropology/MPH Concurrent Degree

MA Anthropology/PhD Public Health Concurrent Degree

There may be circumstances in which a student may need to change their catalog year. This must be initiated through a discussion with your academic advisor. Details regarding USF policy on changing catalog year can be found at https://usf.edu/grad-catalog-academic-policies.

Current Competencies (beginning fall 2017)

MPH Competencies
Concentration competencies - please see your selected concentration for the associated competencies

2011 - 2016 Competencies



Contact Information

For more information about these programs please contact

Heide Castaneda, Ph.D.
Professor and Graduate Director Department of Anthropology
hcastaneda@usf.edu
813-974-0786

Karen (Kay) Perrin, Ph.D., M.P.H., CPH
Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs USF College of Public Health
kperrin@health.usf.edu
813-974-6505

University of South Florida College of Public Health -
Guidebooks