#  Dissertation Prospectus - Social Anthropology 

 



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All candidates must, in consultation with their advisors, select a dissertation topic and describe their proposed doctoral research in a prospectus. The prospectus should:

1. Give a concise statement of the problem to be addressed in the dissertation or of the hypotheses it proposes to test.
2. Situate the project in conversation with existing scholarship.
3. Provide a clear research design and methods.
4. Present any preliminary findings you may have.

The prospectus will normally be written in the G3 year after the general examination, drawing on their work in the Research Design/Proposal Writing course.

The candidate will discuss and defend the prospectus before his or her dissertation committee. The defense begins with a brief (10-15 minute) presentation on the project. The prospectus defense should take place prior to the beginning of dissertation fieldwork. Completion of the Human Subjects compliance forms and approval of them by Harvard’s Institutional Review Board must be completed before dissertation field work can begin (see the [HUA IRB website](https://cuhs.harvard.edu/)).

### Length

No more than 25-30 double-spaced pages, exclusive of the bibliography and any figures.

Upon successful defense of the prospectus, all students are required to present their prospectus projects in the Spring Anthropology Prospectus Symposium normally held annually in early May.