I’m pretty certain that I want study multi-species ethnography. My current research proposal is about studying culturally-situated human-animal relationships in Costa Rica, which may include framework in intersubjectivity, intrinsic and extrinsic value, and anthropocentrism.
Some programs that were suggested to me by a former undergraduate student at my institution were:
Arizona
British Columbia
Santa Cruz
Toledo
Washington
I’ve seen that one professor at Virginia deals with animals in a social way and one at Columbia does as well. In my experience it’s more common to find faculty who study animals in the bioarch sense. I have seen a lot of profs who study environmental anthropology.
My GPA is pretty good (anthro and Spanish double major) and I have not taken the GRE yet. I’m not expecting to do above average, though, so some departments that don’t really care about the GRE would be ideal.
Funding is important - if I don’t get funding, then I can’t go. I will be applying for both Masters and PhD programs.
I’m sorry, but unfortunately, I’m not familiar with any programs that would fit your interest. So I can’t really be of much help there.
However, I do have two things to say to you. First, from my experience, there aren’t really any programs that “don’t really care about the GRE.” (But you’d have to double-check that since, again, I’m not an expert in your field of interest.) There probably are, however, programs that tend to admit applicants whose GRE scores are in “lower” or “average” ranges (including what I guess would be an “average” score on your part, but I’m not quite sure what scores you see as “above average”). That’s something that you’d have to look into.
You might want to start your search with the websites of the programs that you mentioned in your original post. If that doesn’t yield any results, then I would check forums like this, which might have that sort of information about those programs and/or other programs that can still cater to your interests. I would also consider calling up the admissions office associated with each of the aforementioned programs and seeing if they can tell you anything.
Second, in my experience, Master’s students are normally not completely funded. Ph.D. students, on the other hand, are. (You’d want to double-check that, too.) So if money is an issue, I would recommend focusing your efforts on Ph.D. programs.
I’m sorry that I couldn’t be of more help! Good luck with your search!
There are a few Anthrozoology or similar programs around. Bucknell, ASU, Eastern Kentucky University. University of Exeter in the UK, Cansius, Texas A&M, Tufts,Purdue, Wesleyan, and Colorado Statel. All have different emphasis.
^I know that you are being facetious, @GMTplus7, but there’s actually ongoing research in that area and it’s a controversial question: are dogs capable of love, and thought in that sense? What are they thinking when they perform behaviors that we humans interpret as love and affection? I have a dog and to anyone who’s owned a dog and hasn’t really thought about it, it seems like a no-brainer: Of course my dog loves me, she cuddles and begs for my attention and licks my face. But maybe she simply cuddles me to get warm or because she knows that doing so produces affection from me and thus food and treats and toys. There are actually some neuroscientists studying this now - the neuroanatomy of the dog, particularly the dog’s reward centers and what dogs are thinking (or “thinking”) when rewarded with treats by human actors.]
Anyway, OP, I don’t know anything about this area but I agree with @reach2015 in everything one thing: don’t call the admissions office of the programs. Instead, browse the website and look up the faculty research interests there. If you call and ask, the secretary is going to refer you to the website, and might be little annoyed that you asked a question that is easily answered there.
