Seminar Requirement

Presenting your work is an important learned skill that requires practice. To help develop these skills, students will be expected to give a presentation to the department yearly:  two full length seminars associated with major milestones (proposal defense and dissertation defense) and shorter updates or discussion-leading events in other years.  These seminars are typically given in the weekly lunchtime talk series, Evolutionary Anthropology Talk Series (EATS). 

Within two months of the preliminary examination, students must give a full-length seminar on the topic of their dissertation proposal. A public dissertation defense constitutes the second seminar, and is typically given on the day of the defense.  Shorter presentations in other years may include helping to organize and lead a ‘Hot Topics’ or similar discussion, giving short (10-minute) update talks along with 1-2 other students, or giving practice talks for the AAPA meetings. 

In addition to these requirements, students are strongly encouraged to discuss their work in the numerous individual laboratory meetings and organized discussion groups in the department.