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Philosophy (PhD)

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General Admission Contact The New School for Social Research Office of Admission 72 Fifth Avenue, 1st floor New York, NY 10011 212.229.5600 or 800.523.5411 [email protected]

Admission Liaison Mariam Matar

Department of Philosophy 6 East 16th Street, room 1015A New York, NY 10003 212.229.5707 x3078

Mailing Address 79 Fifth Ave, room 1015A New York, NY 10003

Chair James Dodd

Senior Secretary Despina Dontas

Student Advisors MA: Miranda Young PhD: Ben Olson

Philosophy Student Handbook

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The PhD in Philosophy is designed for students who have completed the Philosophy MA at The New School for Social Research or a comparable master's degree from another university.

The PhD provides maximum flexibility, enabling graduates to develop the highest level of competence in their chosen field of scholarly specialization.

• Degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Credits 48 credits
• Format Full-time or part-time, on campus
• Start Term Fall

View current tuition and fees View fellowship and funding opportunities

A full account of degree requirements and procedures is contained in the Philosophy student handbook .

PhD candidates must earn 18 credits in addition to the 30 credits taken in the Philosophy MA program, for a total of 48 credits. Transfer students who already have an MA in philosophy (or its equivalent) from another institution may be assigned credit for all or part of their previous graduate studies up to a maximum of 30 credits.

• Of the 48 total credits required to earn the PhD in Philosophy, a student must complete 42 credits in philosophy courses, and up to 6 credits in fields other than philosophy.
• Of the 42 philosophy credits, the student must earn at least 15 credits in philosophy seminars.

The Philosophy department does not require a specific program of courses. However, students who do not satisfy the core course requirements before receiving the MA must satisfy these requirements, including the required course in logic, subsequently.

A grade point average of at least 3.0 must be maintained both in philosophy courses and overall.  Foreign Language Requirement The candidate for the PhD must demonstrate a reading knowledge of a second language in addition to that required for the MA. The second language will be chosen from French, German, Greek, Latin, or (by petition) another language relevant to the student's dissertation.

Graduate Minors Students can use elective courses toward completing one of the university’s  graduate minors . These structured pathways of study immerse master's and doctoral students in disciplines outside their primary field and expose them to alternative modes of research and practice. Completed graduate minors are officially recorded on students' transcript.

Prospectus Seminar During their final year of course work, PhD students typically complete the year-long Prospectus Seminar.

PhD Qualifying Examinations Upon completion of all course requirements, PhD students proceed to PhD candidate status by passing the PhD qualifying examinations: the PhD Area Exam and two PhD Qualifying Papers.

The PhD Area Exam is a comprehensive exam completed after Prospectus that is designed to help students begin writing the dissertation. Students prepare for the exam by studying a list of texts that their supervisor and a second reader believe are necessary for the student to begin writing, which forms the basis of the exam questions.

The PhD Qualifying Papers are article-length essays that two faculty members have certified as publishable in form. The purpose of the Qualifying Papers is to give students experience with writing professionally in the discipline of philosophy.

Dissertation The written dissertation and its defense in front of a committee of four faculty members constitute the remaining requirements for the PhD.

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Anthro & Design

The New School and New York are ideal places to think anthropology and design together — not only because students and faculty from across these fields have lots of opportunities to meet and collaborate in the classroom and around campus, but also because they’re both honored as creative and intellectual practices that have much to learn from each other. Anthropology offers critical concepts and methods that are extremely valuable for the politically- and ethically-informed practice and analysis of design. Design, likewise, empowers anthropologists to think more expansively about the subjects, methods, and modes of their practice — attuning them to the material and aesthetic qualities of objects, spaces, landscapes, and systems they might encounter in the field; and inviting them to manifest their research in creatively mediated forms.

More Information

You’re welcome to casually take Anthropology + Design courses as electives toward your Master’s degree, or you can declare the Anthropology + Design minor , a 9-credit program.

In this “Scratching the Surface” design newsletter interview , Shannon Mattern describes the Anthropology + Design minor and its potential appeal and utility to anthropologists, designers, and students in various other fields. You’ll find courses within the subject area and local resources below, and you’re welcome to reach out to Faculty advisor, Barbara Adams for more information.

Call for Projects: Anthropology & Design Exhibition 2021 (Read Extracurricular Programs below)

Data Artifacts, Infrastructures & Landscapes students mapping out a “data assemblage”

Data, Artifacts, Infrastructures, Landscapes 2020 website

Anthropology & Design students concept-mapping one of our texts

Anthropology and Design 2019 website

Anthropology & Design students on an architect-guided tour of the new Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center

COURSES WITHIN THE MINOR

Anthropology & Design: Objects Sites, and Systems is the foundational course for the minor. In this class, we explore the various ways the two fields can inform one another: anthropology of design, ethnography for design, ethnography as design, and so forth. We then examine a variety of conceptual case studies, taking up various anthropological concepts and concerns and observing how they’re designed — made material, experiential, affective; given form — through a range of design practices, and how anthropological concepts and methods inform those practices. We host guest lectures, take field trips, and invite students to apply our course material in a final research/design projects. Past students have written research papers and exhibition reviews, produced podcasts and videos, created zines and design methods kits.

You can read more about our Spring 2020 Data Artifacts, Infrastructures, and Landscapes class  here , and about our Spring 2021 Mapping the Field class  here . In Fall 2021 we launched a new  Design Ethnography Workshop  in collaboration with external design partners.

You’ll find a list of dozens of related electives, both within the Department of Anthropology and across the university, here .

LOCAL RESOURCES

Students can take advantage of courses, faculty, facilities, and programming at the Parsons School of Design, as well as events at other nearby institutions, including the Cooper Union, Pratt, and NYU. The New School’s Graduate Institute for Design Ethnography, and Social Thought ; the Urban Systems Lab ; the Healthy Materials Lab ; the Tishman Environment and Design Center ; and the Making Center , which features a wide array of workshops and fabrication facilities, are among the many local resources available to you.

Design is always on display at the city’s museums and galleries and exhibition halls, and it’s always under discussion in its professional associations (from the American Institute of Graphic Artists, to the Architectural League and the Urban Design Forum), cultural organizations, activist collectives, and community groups. Each of these resources could serve as a repository of research material, as well as a potential site for fieldwork.

Students in Anthropology & Design frequently engage with these local resources through field trips, guest speakers, and other programmed events.

Extracurricular Programs

In the 2020-21 academic year, Anthropology students secured funding to support an Anthropology and Design (ADX) students working group, which hosted a reading group and regular workshops, and worked with The New School’s XReality Center to organize a  virtual exhibition and symposium . Visit the  ADX website  to learn more about their current activity and to sign up for the mailing list!

We are actively looking for more students (both social science and design) to participate in organizing the upcoming exhibition. Please contact us at [email protected]  if you are interested!

Anthropology Graduate Programs in New York

1-17 of 17 results

Cornell University College of Arts & Sciences

Ithaca, NY •

Cornell University •

Graduate School

Cornell University ,

Graduate School ,

ITHACA, NY ,

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences - New York University

New York, NY •

New York University •

• • Rating 4.8 out of 5   10 reviews

Master's Student: I am enrolled specifically in the Magazine concentration. My professors have all been helpful with helping me succeed and are willing to stay back to go over something I don't understand. There are multiple points of resources at this program. A director is your main academic advisor. Aside from that, there is a pitch specialist to assist with freelancing and two wonderful career advisors. They help with setting up mingle sessions, job fairs, and internship talks. As of now, I haven't had bad experiences, however, I will say that the program is expensive and is an awkward three semesters. Those two things aren't ideal, however, its not too much of a dealbreaker. ... Read 10 reviews

New York University ,

NEW YORK, NY ,

10 Niche users give it an average review of 4.8 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I am enrolled specifically in the Magazine concentration. My professors have all been helpful with helping me succeed and are willing to stay back to go over something I don't understand. There are... .

Read 10 reviews.

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

Syracuse, NY •

Syracuse University •

• • Rating 4.33 out of 5   6 reviews

Master's Student: Syracuse was my first choice for their Master's of Social Work program. I have yet to start the program, but I liked that they offered different types of internship options to finish the degree. ... Read 6 reviews

Syracuse University ,

SYRACUSE, NY ,

6 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Syracuse was my first choice for their Master's of Social Work program. I have yet to start the program, but I liked that they offered different types of internship options to finish the degree. .

Read 6 reviews.

American University

Graduate School •

WASHINGTON, DC

• • Rating 4.55 out of 5   149

SUNY Plattsburgh School of Arts and Sciences

SUNY Plattsburgh •

PLATTSBURGH, NY

Mississippi State University

MISSISSIPPI STATE, MS

• • Rating 4.51 out of 5   49

College of Arts and Sciences - University at Buffalo, SUNY

Buffalo, NY •

University at Buffalo, SUNY •

• • Rating 3 out of 5   2 reviews

Doctoral Student: All of the professors are very accommodating and want to help you succeed. They help you in any way they can and make sure you understand different topics before moving on to something different! ... Read 2 reviews

University at Buffalo, SUNY ,

BUFFALO, NY ,

2 Niche users give it an average review of 3 stars.

Featured Review: Doctoral Student says All of the professors are very accommodating and want to help you succeed. They help you in any way they can and make sure you understand different topics before moving on to something different! .

Read 2 reviews.

Harpur College of Arts and Sciences

Binghamton, NY •

Binghamton University, SUNY •

• • Rating 4.25 out of 5   4 reviews

Master's Student: The coursework was fun. I learned things I had never heard about. The professors are very knowledgeable and also ready and willing to help the younger generation type of student. THis is a new breed that want to show the professor and class how much they know as much as they want to learn new things. ... Read 4 reviews

Binghamton University, SUNY ,

BINGHAMTON, NY ,

4 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says The coursework was fun. I learned things I had never heard about. The professors are very knowledgeable and also ready and willing to help the younger generation type of student. THis is a new... .

Read 4 reviews.

The New School for Social Research

The New School •

• • Rating 2.5 out of 5   2 reviews

Blue checkmark.

The New School ,

2 Niche users give it an average review of 2.5 stars.

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College of Arts and Sciences - Stony Brook University, SUNY

Stony Brook, NY •

Stony Brook University, SUNY •

• • Rating 3 out of 5   3 reviews

Doctoral Student: In the Physics Department, the classes are wide-ranging and generally well taught. They are challenging and require the amount of effort expected of a very good graduate education. However, the department is also somewhat behind the times in the assessment that is required for a PhD. You will spend two years jumping through hoops before beginning any real work for very little money. Many students wish to do research in String Theory, but there is little funding available and many students are admitted. Funding in most other areas of the department are adequate enough that most students are in the research area they wish to pursue. ... Read 3 reviews

Stony Brook University, SUNY ,

STONY BROOK, NY ,

3 Niche users give it an average review of 3 stars.

Featured Review: Doctoral Student says In the Physics Department, the classes are wide-ranging and generally well taught. They are challenging and require the amount of effort expected of a very good graduate education. However, the... Many students wish to do research in String Theory, but there is little funding available and many students are admitted. Funding in most other areas of the department are adequate enough that most... .

Read 3 reviews.

College of Arts and Sciences - University at Albany, SUNY

Albany, NY •

University at Albany, SUNY •

• • Rating 5 out of 5   2 reviews

Doctoral Student: At University at Albany, I've received excellent support from my mentors and the freedom to explore my own interests within the scope of my lab's overall goals. In areas where I'm weakest, I've been pushed to reach new limits. My advisors recognize my strengths and interests and guide me to use them as the "ore" to "smith fine weapon." There's not much I can say about the graduate community (COVID-19). I am delighted to be a grad student at UAlbany. ... Read 2 reviews

University at Albany, SUNY ,

ALBANY, NY ,

2 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Doctoral Student says At University at Albany, I've received excellent support from my mentors and the freedom to explore my own interests within the scope of my lab's overall goals. In areas where I'm weakest, I've been... There's not much I can say about the graduate community (COVID-19). I am delighted to be a grad student at UAlbany. .

CUNY Queens College School of Social Science

Queens, NY •

CUNY Queens College •

• • Rating 5 out of 5   3 reviews

Other: The major is very interesting and all the professors are very warm hearted, and knowledgeable about their areas of expertise. ... Read 3 reviews

CUNY Queens College ,

QUEENS, NY ,

3 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Other says The major is very interesting and all the professors are very warm hearted, and knowledgeable about their areas of expertise. .

School of Arts and Sciences - CUNY Hunter College

CUNY Hunter College •

• • Rating 5 out of 5   5 reviews

Master's Student: The teachers are highly engaged with student development but are working filmmakers themselves which is not only inspiring but so helpful for the quality of our education. ... Read 5 reviews

CUNY Hunter College ,

5 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says The teachers are highly engaged with student development but are working filmmakers themselves which is not only inspiring but so helpful for the quality of our education. .

Read 5 reviews.

Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Columbia University •

Master's Student: It was a really great and flexible program that allowed me to explore my own interests without the restricting requirements getting in my way too much. Honestly a great major ... Read 3 reviews

Columbia University ,

Featured Review: Master's Student says It was a really great and flexible program that allowed me to explore my own interests without the restricting requirements getting in my way too much. Honestly a great major .

Teachers College at Columbia University

• • Rating 4.48 out of 5   100 reviews

Master's Student: Regarding my academic experience, I have been deeply engaged in my field, exploring various facets of education, both through rigorous coursework and hands-on research projects. Throughout my academic journey, I've had the opportunity to collaborate with esteemed professors, delve into thought-provoking discussions with peers, and immerse myself in cutting-edge research that pushes the boundaries of knowledge in my field. As for my program, it offers a comprehensive curriculum that combines theoretical foundations with practical applications, preparing students like me to tackle real-world challenges with confidence and expertise. The program fosters a dynamic learning environment where intellectual curiosity is encouraged, and innovative thinking is celebrated. Additionally, the program provides ample opportunities for professional development, networking, and experiential learning, ensuring that graduates are well-equipped for success in their careers. ... Read 100 reviews

100 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Regarding my academic experience, I have been deeply engaged in my field, exploring various facets of education, both through rigorous coursework and hands-on research projects. Throughout my... As for my program, it offers a comprehensive curriculum that combines theoretical foundations with practical applications, preparing students like me to tackle real-world challenges with confidence... .

Read 100 reviews.

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The CUNY School of Professional Studies

CUNY Graduate School & University Center •

• • Rating 4.5 out of 5   18 reviews

Master's Student: This program is notable for its rigorous curriculum and practical application of data science. It combines theoretical knowledge with real-world application, preparing students to face complex data challenges. Participating in hands-on projects with a tangible impact has been one of my most memorable experiences (machine learning to predict urban traffic patterns, demonstrating the power of data science to influence public policy). The faculty's commitment has provided me with invaluable mentorship, guiding me through the program's rigorous demands. However, the journey has not been without challenges. The coursework's intensity necessitated a steep learning curve, as well as changes in my study habits and time management strategies. While the program provides a solid foundation in data science, expanding its industry connections could provide students with more opportunities to participate in real-world projects and internships, enriching their academic experience. ... Read 18 reviews

CUNY Graduate School & University Center ,

18 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says This program is notable for its rigorous curriculum and practical application of data science. It combines theoretical knowledge with real-world application, preparing students to face complex data... .

Read 18 reviews.

CUNY Queens College Aaron Copland School of Music

• • Rating 5 out of 5   1 review

Other: Aaron Copland School of music has the best faculty and program. The quality of the education is extraordinarily high and you can experience virtually all areas of music field in one school. ... Read 1 review

1 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Other says Aaron Copland School of music has the best faculty and program. The quality of the education is extraordinarily high and you can experience virtually all areas of music field in one school. .

Read 1 reviews.

CUNY Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies

• • Rating 4.5 out of 5   2 reviews

Master's Student: I really enjoyed the dual degree program I was in at Queens College. The professors were engaging and truly cared about the students. I appreciated the swift switch to online courses in the midst of the pandemic. There was some learning curves due to the online format but it wasn't terrible. The main concerns that I had with the program was the lack of communication between students and faculty. Students concerns were dealt with but not in an appropriate and reasonable timeframe. ... Read 2 reviews

2 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I really enjoyed the dual degree program I was in at Queens College. The professors were engaging and truly cared about the students. I appreciated the swift switch to online courses in the midst of... The main concerns that I had with the program was the lack of communication between students and faculty. Students concerns were dealt with but not in an appropriate and reasonable timeframe. .

CUNY Queens College School of Business

Cuny queens college school of earth and environmental sciences.

Pratt Institute School of Continuing and Professional

Pratt Institute •

BROOKLYN, NY

University of Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, PA

• • Rating 4.43 out of 5   74

Pratt Institute School of Liberal Arts and Sciences

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Ethnographic Writing Workshop: Spaces of Home

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Global, Urban, & Environmental

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Workshop in Ethnography

Eugene Lang College Lib Arts

Anthropology

In Science We Trust?

Multispecies Migrations and Planetary Health

Eugene Lang

Kinship and Relatedness

Crip Anthropology: Ethnographies of Disability

Grammars of Time

New School for Social Research

Migrations and Ethics of Care

Anthropology Workshop /Colloquium

Race and Biology

War and Mobility

Psychedelic Science & Mysticism

Evolution, Culture & the Mind

Deep Futures: Feminist Ecological Imaginaries from Latin America

Contested Heritage Sites

The Politics of Wounds

Anthropology

Share this page, fall 2024 admissions update.

Admissions to the PhD in social anthropology and the AM in medical anthropology have been paused and will not be accepting applications for fall 2024. The PhD in archaeology will be accepting applications.

The Department of Anthropology is one of the world’s leading institutions for anthropological research. Our PhD programs provide in-depth conceptual and methodological training in archaeology and social anthropology , with faculty whose work covers every time period—from the Paleolithic to the present—and every major world area. The department also offers an AM in medical anthropology .

You will have the unique opportunity to work with a world-renowned faculty that has a long tradition of foundational research across nearly every continent. You will have access to a wide range of resources including the Harvard Medical School, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, various area centers such as the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Korea Institute, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Asia Center, and Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. You will also have access to extensive archaeological and anthropological collections of the Peabody Museum, an important resource for both research and teaching.

Projects that students have worked on include “Archaeology of the 19th and 20th Century Chinese Labor Migrants,” “Zooarchaeology in Ancient Mesopotamia,” and “Mass Media in Indonesia.” Our PhD graduates are now on the anthropology faculties at some of the top universities in the world. Others have secured positions with Facebook, the World Bank, and various museums.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Anthropology , and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Areas of Study

Archaeology (PhD only) | Medical Anthropology (AM only) | Social Anthropology (PhD only)

Admissions Requirements

Please review the admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Anthropology .

Academic Background

Previous concentration in anthropology is not required; however, applicants must be able to clearly state their interests in anthropology and demonstrate familiarity with intellectual issues in current anthropological theory and method.

Writing Sample

For PhD applicants, a writing sample is required as part of the application and can be a term paper or thesis no longer than 20 pages (double-spaced) not including bibliography. Do not submit a longer sample with instructions to read a particular section. Applicants should select an example of their best academic writing that demonstrates their capacity for rigorous analysis and independent work. It is not essential that the writing sample be directly related to the topics or areas that you are proposing to study in the future.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose should demonstrate a geographic cultural region and/or a particular topical or theoretical interest in anthropology. Language skills related to an applicant’s intended area or areas of specialization should be explained in the statement of purpose.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Not Accepted

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Anthropology

Anthropology Faculty

See list of Anthropology faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

PhD in Anthropology

The anthropology department is a place of research, new ideas, innovative teaching, public engagement, and extensive hands-on learning. Students are encouraged to challenge conventional thinking, design their education, and use what they learn to offer new perspectives on how we can respond to our present challenges.

We advance innovative thinking that integrates knowledge from the different subfields of anthropology (archaeology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology). Nationally, we are especially known for research in the anthropology of Europe, indigenous and Afro-diasporic archaeology, community-based research methods, and for leading the way in developing a biocultural perspective on human adaptation and adaptability, enhanced by a strong foundation in political economy.

Application information & deadlines

December 20, 2023, anthropology.

Craft your own program of study in the subfields of biological, cultural, and linguistic anthropology and archeology and work with renowned faculty

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Anthropology

Graduate program.

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Anthropology is a premier program at UNM, central to the university's mission, and serving to enhance and strengthen public education in the state. The department creates, disseminates, preserves, analyzses, and applies knowledge about human sociocultural, biological, and lingusitic diversity and change in past and present environments. The graduate program in Anthropology provides diverse student opportunities for field and laboratory training, and produces new and exciting research and scholarship. Faculty and students conduct field research projects throughout New Mexico and the Southwest, Mexico and Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Basin.

The UNM Department of Anthropology is composed of three subfields: Archaeology, Evolutionary Anthropology, and Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology. Archaeology aims to understand the processes and contexts of human cultural and bological change from the analysis of material objects and residues. Evolutionary Anthropology seeks to understand how evolution has molded all aspects of human uniqueness and diversity. Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology affirms the unity of humankind and the universality of human rights, challenging the unfolding variations on racism through a commitment to multiple forms of critical inquiry. 

The Department of Anthropology offers the following graduate degrees:

Master of Arts in Anthropology

• concentration in Public Archaeology
• concentration in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology 

Master of Science in Anthropology

Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology

• concentration in Archaeology (MA or MS on route)
• concentration in Evolutionary Anthropology  (MS on route)
• concentration in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology  (MA on route)

Students must select from one of the four concentrations (Public Archaeology, Archaeology, Evolutionary Anthropology, or Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology) when applying to the graduate program. Master's Degrees are offered only in Public Archaeology and Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology, while PhD Degrees are offered in Archaeoloy, Evolutionary Anthropology, and Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology. Students in a PhD program may complete a Master's while on route to graduation.

Archaeology Faculty

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Anthropology PhD student's work highlights complexity of human identities, histories

Tisa Loewen conducting fieldwork in Salona, the once capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia in modern-day Solin, Croatia. Courtesy photo

Editor’s note:  This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2024 graduates.

Tisa Loewen considers herself a nontraditional student.

She is older than typical U.S. college students, having previously left college and returning years later to complete her undergraduate degree. Loewen credits her tenacity and support from fellow students and women of color for keeping her going throughout her academic career. 

Now, Loewen will graduate this spring with a PhD in anthropology from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change  with a focus in bioarchaeology . 

“My research identifies mixed populations, or groups of people who have been discussed as being of a singular ancestral or cultural background, in this case ‘Roman,’” said Loewen. 

“As a mixed person, it’s important for me to show the complexity that informs how people identify or are identified.”

ASU News spoke to Loewen about her research and time at Arizona State University.

Note: Answers have been edited for length and clarity. 

Question: What was your “aha” moment when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in?

Answer: My aha moment was seeing Ken Nystrom — assistant professor of anthropology at my undergraduate institution, SUNY New Paltz, New York — talking about how bioarchaeology can help identify and assist in recognition of individuals from African American burial grounds which had surreptitiously been built over or removed from (common) memory only to be “stumbled” upon later during construction or community pressure.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about your research and why it is important?

A: I study population change in the Adriatic due to Romanization. I predominately work in Croatia and am engaging across many subdisciplines, including archaeology, biology, classical history, imperialism studies and research on social identity. ... The methods I use, in my opinion, require a deeper level of methodological and theoretical engagement than I think is the norm. 

Many methods in biological anthropology have been misused, continue to be misunderstood or used flippantly and, of course, have racist histories. I think this has led to public misconceptions of human ancestral relationships and science. These methodological skeletons in our closet are either avoided altogether or rightfully criticized for their implications. But, either just criticizing the methods or just decrying their outcomes doesn’t really deal with the whole picture — which in our disciplinary legacy has been a combination of both racialist thinking and bad science. Therefore, I try to go to the “messy” areas and think about the people in the “in-between.” My research results actually discredit the typological thinking they were previously used to create.

Q: Which professor or course taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?

A: I’m very grateful that I had a lot of flexibility in my course requirements at Arizona State University. This doesn’t always work out, but since I came here with a master’s degree, I had a lot of fundamentals I didn’t want to repeat. 

I learned R (programming language) in biometry, which is so valuable. Also, I found the deep engagement with really complex concepts in my population genetics class to be challenging but incredible. I have been really impressed with the openness of many professors to let me take their classes or intern with them, even though as a multidisciplinary scholar, I bring very different considerations and needs than their typical student.

Speaking of typical students — I am a nontraditional student and, in my case, I am older, in a very different part of my life, and have a nontypical orientation to education than many graduate students. I was a college dropout, and when I went back to college, I redid all my classes because I didn’t know any better. 

I started with an associate degree — the second time — and worked my way up to where I am now, getting my PhD. It was extremely hard with a lot of uncertainty and sacrifice. The support I received from those who believed in me ... made all the difference. My life’s experiences have made me tenacious, so I am also grateful that my advisor, Professor Christopher Stojanowski , respected my boundaries and assertiveness.

Q: Anything else you would like to add?

A: During my time at ASU I won an NSF doctoral grant and a NASEM Ford Foundation Fellowship , for which I am so grateful. I also won an American Association of University Women award , which I had to decline for another grant, but I am still so honored. 

Currently, I am a SUNY PRODiG Fellow teaching at SUNY Cortland, and I love it. I hope to continue teaching as a professor and focusing on mentorship of underrepresented and nontraditional scholars.

I also want to shout out to the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA) and Students Identifying Multiracial/Biracial at ASU (SIMBA) , both networks offer support and include amazing people who held me through some rough times.

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NSF's New Mentoring Requirements for Graduate Students

About this event.

The  Council of Graduate Schools , with support from NSF ( Award # 2413980 ), is hosting a virtual workshop to help principal investigators respond to NSF's new graduate student mentoring plan and graduate student/postdoctoral individual development plan requirements. These requirements, described in the  Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF 24-1) , will be in effect for all NSF proposals submitted on or after May 20, 2024. The workshop will include presentations and panel discussions featuring NSF leadership, graduate deans, and senior research administrators.  Additional details on speakers and registration are available at  https://cgsnet.org/webinar/workshop-nsfs-new-mentoring-requirements-for-graduate-students

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Columbine school shooters glorified by young followers: Inside the scary online obsession

When two Colorado students murdered 12 of their classmates and a teacher at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, they committed what history would etch as the first school shooting of the internet era.

At the time, Google was still a startup. Facebook, the iPhone and YouTube had not yet been invented. Yet 25 years later , the traces left online by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold have not faded into the obscurity of the early web. 

Instead, those remnants took hold in each evolving online technology – chat rooms, social media and video – and today spark obsessive online interest among a generation that wasn’t even alive at the time of the attack. 

That interest flourishes via online algorithms that amplify edgy or hate-fueled content, researchers say – and via social media platforms that prioritize audiences and profits over finding and removing violent and damaging content. 

On the 1990s-era internet, the killers left behind their plans of violent terror – like threats and bomb-building instructions – as well as the personal minutiae of teenage life, like playing the first-person shooter game Doom. The lyrics to a favorite song, a recent electronic-metal release called “Stray Bullet,” were posted on one of their websites.

A dark subculture latched onto those details of their online life and the investigative reports that followed. The killers’ photos, personal journals and home videos fueled discussions in internet forums and chat rooms. 

Today, researchers track social media, video sites and gaming platforms, where they find a cult of Columbine thriving among young internet users.

TikTok profiles with the shooters’ names and photos are festooned with hearts and ribbons and fans of the shooters declare their love and admiration in the comments. Videos splice together old footage and stills of the shooters.

First-person shooter simulations of the Columbine massacre regularly pop up on TikTok where they fetch tens and even hundreds of thousands of views. 

While some online platforms say they work to find and eliminate violent content , online experts and school shooting survivors continue to say the megacompanies of the modern internet haven’t done enough to stamp out these dark elements of the early web. 

Social media companies are “raking in the money,” Anne Marie Hochhalter, who was shot and paralyzed during the Columbine attack, told USA TODAY. “They're not going to do anything about it because then the traffic will go down.”

Whatever the forum, the subculture’s real-life effects have been persistent and deadly . 

School shooters, including the killers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012 and Virginia Tech in 2007, studied and emulated the Columbine attack. The documents posted online by copycats frequently mention the influence of Columbine . 

In January, a 17-year-old high school student in Iowa shot six people, killing one, before turning the gun on himself. Shortly before the shooting, he posted a photo on TikTok of himself  in a bathroom stall with a duffel bag at his feet, with the words, “Now we wait.” 

The post was set to music, an old electronic-metal song from the 1990s called “Stray Bullet.” 

More: 25 years later, the trauma of the Columbine High School shooting is still with us

Columbine imagery easy to find on game sites, social media 

Much of the online content related to Columbine today is created by young people or designed to appeal to them, two researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found in a recent study.

Moustafa Ayad and Isabelle Frances-Wright say young people are enthralled by the Columbine killers and create content that goes viral on social media, from first-person shooter simulations to Roblox characters dressed to look like the Columbine killers down to the “natural selection” and “wrath” T-shirts they used to wear.

“The abundance and types of materials that the killers produced resonates with young people in a way that we haven’t really seen with other school shootings,” Frances-Wright said, “which has allowed it to perpetuate and live on all these years later.” 

The creators of those videos, in turn, direct viewers to private, unmonitored channels on Discord and Telegram. 

And that’s where the really dark stuff happens.   

By setting up accounts pretending to be minors on social media, Ayad and Frances-Wright quickly found 127 videos glorifying a range of mass shooters on TikTok and X, formerly Twitter.

One TikTok video they discovered, which featured the Columbine shooters in fictional Disney posters, had amassed nearly 400,000 views in three months. 

TikTok has since taken down the videos flagged by researchers. But content celebrating the Columbine shooters is still widely available, and easily found, on TikTok and other platforms, despite rules against glorification of violence and real-life attacks.

A spokesperson for TikTok said the company doesn’t tolerate content like the videos Ayad and Frances-Wright found, and that the company employs more than 40,000 trust and safety professionals to moderate content.

“We're investing over $2 billion in trust and safety efforts this year to provide a safer platform," the spokesperson wrote in an email.

This week, Frances-Wright performed a quick search and provided USA TODAY with several links to TikTok videos showing school shootings, including some that used imagery from the Columbine attack.   

Videos on TikTok and elsewhere try to evade detection by blending content that glorifies mass shooters with legitimate educational content, or by using the killers’ nicknames or other coded language. Statements like “I don’t condone” or hashtags like “true crime” or “fake” are also added to mislead platform moderators. Some accounts switch privacy settings so posts are only available to followers.

While the researchers found videos appearing to show gameplay on the Roblox platform, where users play shared game scenarios mostly built by other users, it was unclear how long – if at all – those games ever appeared on Roblox itself. The characters may have been designed using Roblox, without ever being uploaded to the platform.  

A spokesperson for Roblox said the company has strict community standards prohibiting “the portrayal of sensitive real-world events and content portraying, glorifying, or supporting Terrorist and Violent Extremist organizations.”

“We have a dedicated team focused on proactively identifying and swiftly removing such content as well as banning the individuals who create it,” the spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email.  

Despite the attempt at camouflage, accounts are still frequently banned. So, the profiles redirect their followers to less-moderated platforms like Discord and Telegram, Ayad and Frances-Wright found. There, open glorification of mass shooters, violent gore and hate speech can be more freely shared. And indoctrination and radicalization are more likely to occur. 

Discord and Telegram did not respond to requests for comment.

In closed discussion groups on Discord, for example, players share tips on building mass casualty simulation games and how to make gaming avatars that look like the Columbine shooters, the researchers said. 

The attackers are commonly referred to and admired, down to details about their haircuts and favorite music. “In many respects,” their report notes, “the Columbine shootings are considered a foundational event for supporters and content producers of mass casualty attacks.” 

The deadly allure of the dark side

Ryan Broll, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, says the internet is an accelerant for “dark fandom” – communities of fans fixated on the perpetrators of violent acts .

“These communities usually form online because they are inherently deviant communities and they can more easily find people who share interest in these topics online,” said Broll, who studied a subreddit devoted to Columbine. “Although people have always been interested in crime and violence, the internet is essential to the size and longevity of dark fandoms, like that around Columbine.”

Of the hundreds of school shootings across the United States in the last 25 years, Columbine remains the most influential, researchers Jenni Raitanen and Atte Oksanen from the Emerging Technologies Lab at Tampere University in Finland found .

Raitanen and Oksanen attribute the shooting’s enduring influence to the oft-cited idea that it was retribution for bullying.  

“The Columbine perpetrators claimed that their massacre was a political act, conducted in the name of other oppressed students,” the researchers wrote in a 2018 paper . 

As such, the two young men sought to serve as spokespeople for what previous researchers called a “revolution of the dispossessed,” Raitanen and Oksanen wrote. In essence, they claimed to be carrying out their attack in the name of angry, disaffected and angst-ridden youth everywhere. 

Those ideas were long ago debunked. 

Columbine’s former principal Frank DeAngelis says much of the Columbine content falsely portrays the Columbine shooters. 

The FBI concluded the killers, who said in home videos that they hoped the attack would inflict “the most deaths in U.S. history,” were driven by a desire for mass carnage and lasting notoriety, not teenage angst.

Yet today’s online subculture celebrates many of the same false claims. 

“The two killers of Columbine are heroes to some of these kids and they shouldn’t be,” said DeAngelis, who retired in 2014 and assists communities across the country after mass shootings . “It scares me.”

Finding kinship online can normalize violent urges, says Peter Langman, a psychologist and author of “Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters” who runs the website SchoolShooters.info .

He points to a website devoted to the Columbine massacre and other mass murders. In a recent chat about which serial killer or mass murderer they related to the most, most said the Columbine killers. “I also relate to Eric and Dylan,” commented one person. “Like most people lol.” 

Three registered users of the website have gone on to commit mass murders, according to Langman. 

“Even if no one is advocating committing such acts, the fascination, the obsession that some people have may normalize the phenomenon,” he said.

Kris Mohandie, a forensic psychologist who has assessed youth offenders influenced by Columbine , said the identities of susceptible young people can be shaped by the content they interact with and produce online. They are drawn to the Columbine shooters “because it aligns with dark impulses and their sense of alienation, and what they think looks cool,” Mohandie said. 

That’s certainly what happened to Lindsay Souvannarath. 

The then-23-year-old student from Geneva, Illinois, was drawn to the story of Columbine via online chat rooms and forums. A budding artist and novelist, she sought feedback from her peers online and eventually fell headfirst into the subculture. 

In a 2019 prison interview with "The Night Time" podcast, Souvannarath, who is now in prison for planning a deadly attack on a mall in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Valentine’s Day 2015, talked at length about the inspiration she took from Columbine.

It all happened online. Souvannarath met her co-conspirator online when he commented on some of her artwork, and the two swapped music recommendations, fashion tips and theories about the Columbine attackers.   

“We thought we were actually them somehow,” Souvannarath told "The Night Time" podcast. “Not exactly reincarnations, but more like their spirits had found their ways to us, and we were them.” 

Souvannarath was arrested as she flew into Halifax airport the day before the planned mass shooting. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder two years later and is serving a life sentence in prison.

A ‘collective fail’ for social media platforms 

Hochhalter, the Columbine survivor, called on Facebook five years ago to take down pages glorifying the shooters , saying she feared they would inspire others. 

One of the pages, which had more than 2,000 likes and shared surveillance video images of the shooters, said its “mission” was to “never forget and always honor these heroes.”

Facebook deleted the pages within hours, saying they breached the company’s rules. 

As the 25th anniversary of Columbine approaches, Hochhalter said the communities of “Columbiners” online have only multiplied. She and other survivors of the attack have received abuse and death threats and have had to call in the FBI to investigate their tormentors, she said.

Meanwhile, on the platforms where the ideas spread, with almost nothing being done about it, she said.

"These people who are at the helm of the social media companies … those are the true extremists,” Hochhalter said. "Because they're allowing all of it to happen.”

Mohandie says the policies and enforcement at most social media companies are “grossly inadequate.”

Social media companies, some of which are worth billions of dollars, “have a responsibility to take down content glorifying the shooters, he said. 

“They have an ethical and social responsibility to do more than what they are doing,” he said. “They get a collective fail. All of them.”

After years of building robust content moderation systems, social media companies facing political pressure and economic headwinds have pulled back on gatekeeping, part of an industry trend that is making it harder to distinguish between educational content about Columbine and content that crosses the line.

What’s more, this is just the kind of content – dark and edgy – that is “algorithmically sticky,” said Natasha Zinda, an online content creator and activist. Posts that push right up to, and even beyond a platform’s rules on conduct, are often exactly the sort of content that gets views, clicks and interaction, she said.

“Algorithms like to push hate,” she said. “Our internet, and our culture on the internet, is all about engagement – whether it's good or bad.” 

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue researchers agreed. 

Some platforms are doing better than others when it comes to moderating content and deleting posts that violate terms of service, Frances-Wright said. But none of the platforms are doing enough, she said.

Better moderation and supervision need to take place at every stop in the radicalization pipeline, Frances-Wright said: From platforms where simulations are being created, to TikTok where it is being distributed, to secret spaces like Discord and Telegram where it is being openly discussed and new plots are being planned.  

Zinda also noted that the last layer of defense for children who might interact with these communities and this content is parents.

As a mother of three, Zinda said she appreciates how difficult it is for parents to control what their children view online. But every parent whose child is gaming or spending significant time online needs to prioritize talking with them about what they are doing and monitor their children’s internet activity.

“It's a click away,” Zinda said. “And you need to be talking with your kids daily about what that is.”

Apr. 17, 2024

Rice alumna wins prestigious merit-based fellowship for new americans, minjung kim is one of 30 2024 paul & daisy soros fellows.

Rice University alumna Minjung Kim is one of 30 recipients of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans , a merit-based graduate school program for immigrants and children of immigrants.

The highly selective award recognizes fellows “for accomplishments that show creativity, originality and initiative [and for] the potential to make meaningful contributions to the United States” in their field of study. Each awardee receives up to $90,000 in funding to support their graduate studies at institutions across the U.S. “This fellowship is a unique experience from the very start — not only did it require me to think critically about the impact I will have in my field, but it also made me contextualize my work within my experience as an immigrant,” Kim said. “The Soros fellowship validates the struggles of new Americans while simultaneously highlighting our accomplishments.

“My empathy and passion to build a more equitable society comes from transcending cultural and language barriers between my Korean heritage and being a new American. But more importantly, the profound understanding of the sacrifices that our families made gives us a unique lens through which we view society.”

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, and immigrated to the U.S. with her parents when she was 7. Her interest in music ⎯ she played the piano, gayageum (a traditional Korean instrument) and cello ⎯ had Kim spending a lot of time at the Shepherd School of Music growing up. “I fell in love with Rice as a young kid, so I was really excited to start my undergraduate journey in 2018,” Kim said. “I graduated in 2022 with a B.S. in chemical and biomolecular engineering and a B.A. in chemistry. What I appreciate the most about my Rice experience is that it helped me contextualize my studies beyond the lectures.”

Programs such as Moody Civic Immersion (formerly Urban Immersion/Civic Owlets) and Alternative Spring Breaks coordinated by Rice’s Center for Civic Leadership provided Kim with the opportunity to become civically engaged and aware of complex social issues and the multitude of factors at play shaping communities and individual histories alike.

“This understanding is crucial in order for science and engineering to have a real impact on the world,” Kim said. Kim used this insight to guide her involvement in outreach activities and service roles during her time at Rice, including as part of the Rice Emergency Medical Services, Owlchemy, Rice Catalyst, Peer Career Advisor, Design for America, O-week, the chemical and biomolecular engineering undergraduate board and more. Her research was likewise motivated by the desire to drive meaningful change. Her work with Matthew Jones focused on plasmonic nanorods , nanoparticles that can be deployed in applications in catalysis, optics and drug delivery. Another project carried out under the mentorship of Michael Wong explored ways to rid water of “forever chemicals.” While at Rice, Kim was also the recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. “If I had to summarize what makes Rice so special, I would say it was the people that I met there,” Kim said, adding that Rice’s “culture of care” is manifest in the history of interactions and relationships she built during her undergraduate journey.

“During my junior year, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and I could not have finished my degree without the financial support from Rice, the mentorship and guidance I received, and most importantly without my friends’ and professors’ understanding,” Kim said. “I wouldn’t be where I am without them — their kindness and patience were the silver lining that helped me navigate through difficult times, and they are my support system that still empowers me to this day. Rice truly has a special place in my heart.”

Kim is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry at Northwestern University, researching how interactions between metal-organic frameworks and metal nanoparticles can be used to decrease the energy requirement of direct air capture technologies. “In the future, I hope to become a professor with a research group focused on photocatalysis for environmental remediation,” Kim said. According to the fellowship program announcement , the 2024 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows join a distinguished community of past recipients, including U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who is the country’s first surgeon general of Indian descent and helped lead the national response to Ebola, Zika and the coronavirus; lawyer Julissa Reynoso, who serves as the U.S. ambassador to Spain and Andorra; Damian Williams, who is the first Black U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York and serves as chair of the attorney general’s advisory committee; and composer Paola Prestini, who was named by NPR as one of the “Top 100 Composers in the World” and plays on major stages across the world. “I think this shared experience among all fellows is what makes this fellowship so empowering: It is a reflection of the new American experience and a representation of how immigrants are actively shaping society,” Kim said. “I am so excited to be a part of this community, and I can’t wait to meet everyone at the fall conference in October!”