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A doctoral degree program in anthropology is available for the first time this fall at UNLV.

Students enrolled in the program can choose from one of four subdisciplines -archeology, physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, or linguistic anthropology.

Five students currently are enrolled in the program, which concentrates on, but is not limited to, the study of humans in arid lands.

"That's a very respectable number for the first semester of a doctoral program," said anthropology professor Alan Simmons, who helped develop the program. "This degree program has been years in the planning process, and our idea always has been to start small and gradually increase the number of students.

"Four of our five doctoral students earned their master's degrees at institutions other than UNLV, which indicates that word about our new program already is spreading and also indicates a need for the program," said Simmons, an archeologist who has done extensive work in Jordan and Cyprus, as well as in the southwestern United States.

Simmons said the focus of the program is the study of humans in arid lands and how people adapt to harsh environments. Since UNLV is located in the desert Southwest, that concentration seemed to be a natural choice, he said. However, students also will be able to study other geographic areas.

"With 14 faculty members in the department, we have people with extensive experience in South and Central America and Asia, as well as in the Near East and Africa, and, closer to home, in the southwestern United States and Great Basin," said Simmons. "One of our faculty members has done work in Siberia, which could be considered a 'cold desert.'"

Jim Frey, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, which houses the anthropology department, said, "We are very pleased to be able to offer a Ph.D. in anthropology. This program will build upon already strong bachelor's and master's degree programs. The faculty are nationally and internationally known for their research and this will attract students from around the country."

The four subdisciplines offered to students represent the traditional specialties within anthropology, according to Simmons.

Archeology, which concentrates on past cultures and the collective heritage of humans, often is the most visible of the subdisciplines because of the news coverage that sometimes surrounds excavations, he said.

Physical anthropology looks at human biological variation, Simmons explained. Within physical anthropology, paleoanthropology deals with human evolution and with fossils and human remains, while biological anthropology deals with living populations and why variations exist among different groups of humans.

Cultural anthropology centers on contemporary human societies. A cultural anthropologist may study similarities and differences between various current cultures, he said. Another area of study would be the reasons for the extinction of some traditional cultures.

Linguistic anthropology records living languages and compares them, trying to understand how meaning and the flow of discourse are structured by culture. It tries to determine how new languages emerge, how languages change, and how to prevent endangered languages from becoming extinct.

While some students who obtain doctoral degrees in anthropology teach at the college level, many also find jobs outside universities and colleges, Simmons said. For instance, many archaeologists find work with private firms doing the site surveys and excavations that typically must be done before an oil company begins to drill on new land or a contractor begins to build a new subdivision. The goal in that case is to make sure that no important archeological sites are being disturbed.

"Having a Ph.D. in anthropology definitely makes a job applicant more marketable," he said. "Even in non-academic settings, employers often look for that doctoral degree."

For additional information on the Ph.D. in anthropology, call Simmons at 895-3912.