Our Ph.D Program

Graduate study in Biological Anthropology at UCLA

Graduates from our program have studied a diversity of topics in human evolution, ranging from primate behavior to evolutionary modeling. Our faculty specialize in a diverse range of research questions, giving you a breadth of possible dissertations topics to choose from. Specializations you might choose to pursue in our graduate program include:

  • Human behavioral ecology
  • Evolutionary psychology
  • Primatology
  • Evolutionary medicine
  • Cultural evolution

Behavior, Evolution, and Culture (BEC)

Our graduate program centers on evolutionary approaches to behavior and culture. Key to this program is the UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, which forms a core community for students and faculty. BEC hosts weekly talks, lunches, and dinner with visiting faculty, as well as other events that bring together the evolutionary social science community at UCLA.

Experimental Biological Anthropology (XBA)

XBA is a weekly lab group for students and faculty interested in the evolution of behavior

Evolutionary Medicine (Ev Med)

Evolutionary medicine is a growing field. UCLA has inaugurated a new program in evolutionary medicine with which several of our faculty are affiliated, and which represents a possible avenue of specialization for graduate program applicants.

Graduate training

A major strength of our graduate training program is that we hold weekly seminars at which faculty and graduate students present work in progress, at all stages from hypothesis formation to final write-up.  These meetings, which supplement the one-to-one mentoring that students receive from their primary advisers, allow students to (1) receive feedback on their work from all biological anthropology faculty, (2) observe the research process as conducted by more experienced role models, and (3) hone their critical skills.

Furthermore, we strongly encourage our graduate students to begin publishing original research early in their graduate careers, and to amass impressive publication records by the time they finish their Ph.D.  Below is a list of Ph.D.s from our program, with year of graduation and current position:

Thomas Flamson (2010) – Researcher at California Department of Health Care Services

Rebecca Frank (2007) –  Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Los Angeles Valley College

Willem Frankenhuis (2012) –  Associate Professor of Psychology at Utrecht University

Matthew Gervais (2013) – Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Psychology at Brunel University

Joe Henrich (1999) –  Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University

Katie Hinde (2008) – Associate Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Arizona State University

Bailey House (2013) – Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Psychology at University of York

Michelle Kline (2013) – Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Psychology at Brunel University

Stephen Le (2010) – Science writer

Sarah Mathew (2011) –  Associate Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University

Richard McElreath (2001) – Director of Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Cristina Moya (2012) – Assistant Professor of Anthropology at UC Davis

C. David Navarrete (2004) – Associate Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University

Karthik Panchanathan (2010) – Associate Professor of Anthropology at University of Missouri

Elizabeth Pillsworth (2008) – Professor of Anthropology at California State University Fullerton

Stacy Rosenbaum (2014) – Assistant Professor of Anthropology at University of Michigan

Jeffrey K. Snyder (2012) –  Lecturer of Anthropology at UCLA

Advice for prospective graduate applicants: contact at least one of our faculty members (listed and linked above) and briefly describe your background and research interests.  If you decide to apply to our program (see here and here for more information), you will increase the probability of being offered admission if you orient your Statement of Purpose toward (1) your ideas for future research and (2) how your past scholarly experience has led you to formulate these ideas.  Don’t follow the widespread advice (suitable for professional schools but not for academic graduate programs) to focus on your personal experience and personality traits.