TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - For the first time in 11 years, The University of Alabama is poised to launch a new doctoral program.

The Alabama Commission on Higher Education has unanimously approved the creation of a doctoral program in anthropology at UA.

“The University has been very selective in proposing new programs, and for good reason,” said Dr. Nancy Barrett, provost and vice-president for academic affairs. “After careful examination, it was clear there was a growing need for doctorally educated anthropologists. We have an outstanding group of faculty in this area and unique resources upon which to build a viable program.”

“We never would have embarked on this if the job market had not indicated the need was there,” said Dr. Jim Knight, professor and chair of the department of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences. “There is a projected shortage of Ph.D. students starting about four years from now.”

There are four main thrusts in anthropology, and while UA will continue to offer education in physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistics and cultural anthropology, UA’s primary niche lies in medical anthropology and archaeology that focuses on the complex societies in the Americas, Knight said.

“These are areas in which we’re recognized fairly widely and students will consider us a viable option.”

Owning Moundville Archaeological Park, a world-class archaeological site, gives UA a distinction no other university can offer its anthropology students, Knight said. Its wealth of information and its close proximity to campus make the site an excellent teaching tool, he said.

“Eleven doctoral dissertations have been written on Moundville, but none by our students,” Knight said. That should soon change, as the creation of the program will now give UA students that opportunity.

At its peak, in about 1250, Moundville was the largest city north of Mexico, home to about 3,000 people. The park, located on the banks of the Black Warrior River 13 miles south of Tuscaloosa, preserves 320 acres of what was once one of the most powerful prehistoric Native American communities in North America.

From A.D. 1000 to 1500, Mississippian Indians constructed large earthworks in Moundville, topped by temples, council houses, and the homes of their nobility. The Moundville Archaeological Park contains more than two dozen of these surviving flat-topped mounds, remnants of a ceremonial and economic center whose trade routes extended across the entire southeastern United States.

Last summer, an expedition led by Knight at Moundville discovered the remains of an earthlodge, a structure where chiefs of the Moundville Indians met with their councils to make important decisions. Prior to the discovery, archaeologists believed these types of semi-underground structures only existed in the extreme eastern section of the nation.

The UAS Board of Trustees, who granted approval to bring the doctoral program proposal before ACHE, will review the projected budget for the program in an upcoming meeting. Three UA master’s degree students are poised to enter the program, Knight said.