MA Applied Anthropology Statement of Purpose Example

An anthropologist passionately shares insights into ancient artifacts with an engaged group, illustrating the intersection of cultural history and academic inquiry.

My background has prepared me for success in Anthropology, as I am a committed student of both Science and the Humanities. Raised in California by Filipino and Japanese parents, my close friends see me as a world traveler. I've visited the UK and the Philippines multiple times due to family ties there. I've also spent significant time in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. In addition to my native English, I can speak, read, and write French at an intermediate level, converse in Tagalog at an intermediate level, and speak basic Japanese. My multiethnic family values education and diversity, which has nurtured my global appreciation for humanity.

Growing up in a multiethnic household, I never felt fully integrated into either culture. To others, I might have seemed fully part of both, but for most of my life, I felt like neither. I often felt like an outsider looking in, studying both sides, gathering information, and learning to communicate superficially about myself to those outside my family. This has allowed me to feel comfortable among people I realized I might never fully understand or identify with. I am a traveler, adventurer, environmentalist, and storyteller, learning much from the stories of those I admire. I see many good people in the world and aspire to be one of them.

I view Anthropology as crucial to making optimal lifestyle choices today, particularly regarding evolution, the environment, and mental health. The master's program in Applied Anthropology at ____ University is my top choice for graduate school due to its program excellence and location. I am a great fit with ____ given my interest in Applied Anthropology, including Psychoneuroimmunology, the health implications of ecological "adaptation and maladaptation," and preventative health and harm reduction practices in Ethnomedicine and pluralistic healing processes.

I wish to contribute to research that aims to better identify and understand trauma causes related to psychopathology, joining the search for effective, ethical, and sustainable mental health solutions worldwide, based on natural remedies and cycles as highlighted in Anthropology and Psychology literature. Our global mental health systems reach only a small fraction of those suffering from mental disorders, with many discouraged from seeking treatment due to cost, social stigma, or perceived ineffectiveness. I aim to develop multidimensional approaches to treating conditions like depression, shedding light on the evolutionary pressures believed to underlie depression, anxiety, and other common psychological discomforts. As a scholar and investigator, I strive to contribute to reducing suffering and disability, leading to greater sustainability in human development, with our minds more in tune with our bodies.

I've volunteered at the Egyptian Museum in San Jose, CA, and the Youth Theater in Long Beach. I am most comfortable traveling alone and enjoy spending time with local populations. I am experienced in wilderness risk management and skilled in using topographic maps and navigation techniques. With a proven track record in methodological research, I have spent significant time developing the necessary conceptual tools for a lifetime of research in Anthropology, applying theories and methods to global mental health issues. I graduated from the University of Concordia in 2017 with a degree in graphic design, focusing on art history and promoting conservation and community through digital media. I transferred to Concordia from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where I studied computer science to develop protocols for automated data processing and manipulation.

Living in Hawaii, I developed a passion for the environment and exploring human experience through visual and symbolic meaning. In California, I joined the Northern California Geographical Society and worked with a start-up cannabis distributor as a marketing consultant and database designer for strain profiles. In 2018, I traveled to Peru to explore the Amazon Basin, refining my interest in Anthropology towards mental health and medical anthropology epistemology. Conducting preliminary ethnographic fieldwork, I focused on the region's healing systems and the ethnopharmacology of culturally significant plants related to "eco-tourism" and "Spiritual Extractivism." I interviewed numerous tourists who sought treatment for mental trauma and addiction that Western biomedicine could not alleviate.

After this pivotal experience in Peru, back in California, I earned an associate degree equivalent in Anthropology for transfer at Diablo Valley College, studying under Dr. Chris Mercer and Dr. Steven Johnson of the Institute of Practical Evolutionary Anthropology at DVC. In summer 2019, I participated in a bioarchaeological program excavating Bronze and Iron Age burials in central Thailand, earning fieldwork credit from NC State University.

My primary career goal is to apply anthropological principles and ethnographic knowledge to mediate between a patient's understanding of their condition and that of the clinician, influenced by cultural context. I seek full immersion at ____ in the complex relationships between culture and mental health. With a focus on cultural and biomedical aspects of mental health, I am eager to study under Dr. ____ at ____ whose expertise in Bioarchaeology I greatly admire, particularly their work on the biochemical genetics of alcoholism. I also hope to learn from Dr. ____ regarding the sociocultural status of biological health, and from Dr. ____ on trauma patterns among prehistoric societies of central California. I want to engage in-depth analysis of the adaptive relationship between human groups and their environments. I am eager to research medical anthropology, particularly structuralism, biology, and psychoneuroimmunology, and their connection to mental disorders, especially those prevalent today. I am keen to elaborate, modify, and test hypotheses about the complex historical and cultural relationships between mental health, maladaptation, and genetic expression.

Thank you for considering my application to Anthropology at ____.

MA Applied Anthropology Statement of Purpose Example