ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE GATOR NATION
35 Years of PhDs in Anthropology at the University of Florida
In 2005-2006 Prof. Maxine Margolis embarked on a project to find all of our PhD students since the first doctoral degrees were awarded in 1971. Thanks to her efforts, we can now state more conclusively the impact UF Anthropology has had on Florida, the nation, and the world just through its PhD graduates.
National and Global Representation
Between 1971 and 2005 the University of Florida awarded 306 doctoral degrees in Anthropology: 46% to women and 54% to men. Six of our PhD graduates are deceased, and the whereabouts and/or employment of an additional five are not known. Of those that are known, nearly 83% live or work in the US in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Nearly 35% of that number are in Florida, comprising 30% of the total number of PhDs. The others live or work in 30 countries around the world on every continent except Antarctica, with Latin America the most heavily represented region.
Growth and Gender Equity
As shown in Figure 1, the growth in Anthropology PhDs mirrors the overall increase in graduate programs at UF since 1990. This was the era of President John Lombardi and his push to elevate UF to one of the top graduate schools in the country. Most of our graduates over the past 15 years matriculated during the Lombardi era, and we will continue to see the results of this growth in the coming decade.
Figure 1: Number of PhDs by Gender in 5-Year Intervals
This graph also shows that over time Anthropology has enjoyed relatively good balance between men and women graduates. Although the numerical parity achieved in the late 1980s has not yet been duplicated, women graduates have been outnumbered by men only slightly in the past 15 years. More important, women have made steady gains since the inception of the program, more than tripling the number of graduates the past five years over the first half-decade.
Subfield Representation
In terms of subfield distribution, Figure 2 shows that students with concentrations in cultural anthropology have always dominated our PhD ranks. With only one downturn in 1996-2000, archaeology PhDs have grown steadily to approach one-third of recent graduates. The number of biological anthropology PhDs has likewise grown since the 1980s and promises to increase in the next decade as the contributions of new faculty hires in this subfield come to fruition. Above all, Anthropology PhDs throughout the 35-year period include individuals of broad specialty and talent, and many graduates are difficult to pigeonhole by subfield because of their interdisciplinary research.
Figure 2: Number of PhDS by Subfield in 5-Year Interval
Employment Category
Finally, in terms of employment category, 64% of our PhDs have jobs in academia including museums, 33% work in applied settings including consultancies, and 3% are employed in a variety of other occupations. Most impressive is the finding that 95% have employment related to their training in anthropology.
For more information, consult the Summer 2006 department newsletter.
