Year of graduation: 2016
Thesis title: Virtual reconstruction and comparative analysis of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis from the late Miocene deposits of Central Macedonia, Greece

"I arrived in Tübingen in 2013 ready to start the MSc. in Archaeological Sciences with specialization in Paleoanthropology. Back then, I had little knowledge about the subject, as my background was in Geology. However, I was sure that it would be a successful journey, as I was next to an excellent team. During my studies, I was able to deepen my knowledge in Paleoanthropology with various courses offered. At the same time, I could also use state of the art equipment available in the department’s facilities. A highlight of the program is also the opportunity to participate in excavations with the Paleoanthropology team, which apart from the discovery of fascinating finds, it also creates a nice bonding among colleagues. Moreover, what I also enjoyed during my studies is the multi-disciplinary environment and the team spirit. The town of Tübingen is also a -not so hidden- gem. It is a beautiful city to live and study, full of international students, beautiful vibes and unique places to visit around."

Year of graduation: 2019
Thesis title: Ontogenetic three-dimensional analysis of the overall geometry and entheseal patterns of human hand bones

During my Bachelors in Archaeology, I first came into contact with the study of skeletal remains and was so interested in the field that I decided to specialize in Paleoanthropology. I heard about Tübingen’s Archaeological Sciences ‘through the grapevine’ and was convinced immediately that this was what I wanted to do. Throughout the Masters, I learned about fascinating new methods, was given the opportunity to engage in very interesting studies and met nice and supportive people both among the students and researchers. The novel equipment and collections within the university allowed me to expand my knowledge and acquire new and handy skills. Moreover, the University of Tübingen offers numerous other courses that go beyond your own field of study and allow you to peak into other areas or learn new skills, such as scientific writing, that can be advantageous later on in your career.

Year of graduation: 2017
Thesis title: Reconsidering dental wear as a tool to estimate age in Neanderthals – an exploratory study of sub adult dentitions aged with virtual histology

After my bachelor’s degree in Pre- and Protohistoric Archeology, I was eager to learn more about the natural scientific aspects of archeology. The MSc. program in Tübingen offered me a widespread introduction into the archeological sciences, including geoarchaeology, archaeobotany, archaeometry,  and paleogenetics, but the decisive factor for me was their unique paleoanthropology specialization. 
With a large osteological collection and renowned, international specialists, the department of Paleoanthropology is a great place if you are interested in the modern way of analyzing skeletal remains from archaeological contexts. Through student projects, lab courses and seminars, us students in paleoanthropology gained practical experience in carefully handling archeological human remains and received training in the latest methods available for the study of skeletal remains and fossils. 
Especially working with the fossil record, understanding the life of human populations from the past and reconstructing the evolution of humans is a main focus of the Paleoanthropology department in Tübingen, and the curriculum of this MSc. For the fascination with Neanderthals I developed in my undergraduate studies, Tübingen was the go-to place. Here I was able to study evolution theories and learn from the leaders in the field of Neanderthal Evolution, as new discoveries and publications were directly integrated into the courses and discussed first-hand with the researchers themselves. As a student research assistant, I had the opportunity to complement my studies by working in a project on frequencies of trauma in Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans and finally I was able to investigate the ageing of Neanderthals based on dental anthropological methods for my Master thesis.
Although I chose a specialization in paleoanthropology, the interdisciplinary connections within the MSc. program continued and helped me not only to collaborate with other archeological disciplines but also to make new friends from different countries and academic backgrounds.  So this  MSc. program is what enabled me to combine my interest in past human populations with archeological questions and scientific methodology, a path I continue in my PhD, where I use confocal microscopy to reconstruct dietary behavior and physiological stress in the Paleolithic.
 

Year of graduation: 2013
Thesis title: Bevölkerungsentwicklung im langzeitbelegten Gräberfeld von Klin-Jar (Nordkaukasus)

"The department of Paleoanthropology at the University of Tübingen is a great place to pursue various kinds of bioarchaeological research on human skeletal remains from different time periods. Although the
department's focus is on Paleolithic biocultural evolution, there are ample opportunities for students interested in bioarchaeological research in Holocene times, too, in particular by becoming involved in
collaborations with external departments. For example, in my Bachelor studies I investigated burial traditions of the Neolithic Corded Ware culture in central Europe, in collaboration with Tübingen's department of Protohistory. In my Master studies, I analyzed population dynamics at the archaeological site of Klin-Jar in the Northern Caucasus from Iron Age to Early Medieval times, in collaboration with Tübingen's department of Medieval Archaeology. In my doctoral studies, I explored past population movements and culture contact during the ancient Greek colonization of the Mediterranean, in collaboration with Tübingen's department of Classical Archaeology. This exemplifies the great diversity of possible Holocene bioarchaeological research projects at the department of Paleoanthropology, and there are many more!"

Year of graduation: 2017
Thesis title: Ontogenetic and adult variation in the morphometry of the cerebellar area in modern humans and chimpanzees

"When I arrived in Tübingen in 2015, I had very little knowledge about archaeology, but the master’s program allowed me to combine my biological background with archaeological research questions. While completing my bachelor’s degree in Biology I developed an interest in human evolution with a special emphasis on brain evolution. The NWA master gave me the opportunity to used the methodological toolkit of geometric morphometrics to answer questions about the cerebellar evolution in hominids and in the end led to a PhD position within the paleoanthropology group in Tübingen.
The number of students in each year’s cohort is rather small which allows for a close contact to the scholars and for me opened an opportunity for taking part in excavations in Greece, symposia like the annual meeting of the DFG center for advanced studies “Words, Bones, Genes, Tools” here in Tübingen, and to work as a paid research assistant in the DFG center. Besides the technical qualifications, the master’s program in Tübingen offers a great chance to be part of a diverse as well as international group of students. Even after some years I still have contact to a number of former fellow students, that in part have spread all over the world again.”
 

Year of graduation: 2018
Thesis title: Geometric morphometrics of the enigmatic sacrum E.688 from the site of Broken Hill, Kabwe, Zambia

After my B.Sc. in the United States, I wanted continue my education in the anthropological sciences and chose the Master’s program in Tübingen because of its reputation for quality, leading-edge paleoanthropological research. During my time in the program, my skills as a researcher developed considerably, and I was able to specifically hone the skills necessary for virtual anthropology and geometric morphometrics. In addition to my positive and constructive academic experiences directly in Tübingen, my thesis project also allowed me the opportunity to make connections to international scholars, and I was even able to spend a week learning how to digitize specimens and perform morphometric analyses at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN) in Madrid, Spain. Beyond the methods of geometric morphometrics, the paleoanthropology specialization also offered coursework involving more traditional metric, epigenetic, and pathological analyses of human skeletal remains, assuring a broad range of topics for students to explore and pursue their interest in, just as I did.