By Rowan Glass
Anthropology—the study of humanity in its cultural, biological, linguistic, and historical dimensions—is often called the most humanistic of the social sciences and the most scientific of the humanities. Unique in its scope, which addresses the entire range of the human condition, a degree in anthropology can pave the way to a wide variety of academic and professional career fields. Anthropologists apply their skills in a variety of roles across academia, industry, NGOs and nonprofits, and government as researchers, teachers, analysts, data scientists, technicians, and writers. From clinical biomedicine to cultural studies, archaeology, museum curation, and more, the professional pathways available to anthropologists are endless.
However, that same diversity inherent in the field can also pose challenges for aspiring anthropologists and social scientists who may wish to pursue a degree in the field but aren’t sure how to identify their niche and choose the right program for them. In this article, you’ll learn how to pick the right anthropology graduate program based on five important criteria.
Name your subfield: The four-field approach in anthropology
In the United States, and often in other countries, anthropology is conventionally divided into four major subfields, each with its distinctive history, theoretical orientations, professional pathways, and research methods. Most anthropologists at the undergraduate level receive broad training across each of the major subfields before specializing in one at the graduate level. The four basic subfields are sociocultural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology. However, bear in mind that interdisciplinary crossover is common in anthropology, meaning that many anthropologists specialize in one subfield while still drawing on others in their work.
Sociocultural anthropology, sometimes also known as either cultural or social anthropology, is the largest subfield by the numbers. Sociocultural anthropologists study the nature and variation of human society and culture. Ethnography, the signature research method of sociocultural anthropology, involves sustained, in-depth qualitative research within a particular sociocultural context (often called “fieldwork”) in which the anthropologist strives to understand and analyze the people under study in terms of their cultural identity, social structure, belief systems, attitudes, and practices. In general terms, sociocultural anthropologists study what people do and why, and then situate these findings within broader theories of human nature, society, and culture.
Biological anthropology, also sometimes called physical anthropology, focuses on the human body in its biological, evolutionary, anatomical, and taxonomic dimensions. Paleoanthropologists study the biological evolution of anatomically modern humans, including our premodern ancestors, to understand how we became what we are today. Primatologists study other living primate species, from monkeys to apes and lemurs, to understand biological and evolutionary relationships within the wider primate order. Other biological anthropologists focus on genetics, gender, sexuality, osteology, neurobiology, aging, and other aspects of human biological variation.
The third major subfield is linguistic anthropology. Linguistic anthropologists study human language in general, as well as the historical development of specific languages (historical linguistics) and the sociocultural dimensions of language use (sociolinguistics). Some linguistic anthropologists conduct fieldwork to document endangered languages around the world. Others study how language interacts with and informs social and cultural constructs such as gender, race and ethnicity, sexuality, and power structures. Others still take a cognitive approach to study how language affects how humans perceive the world. While linguistic anthropology is frequently taught in anthropology departments, it is sometimes housed in a separate linguistics department, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of this subfield.
Finally, archaeology is usually recognized as the fourth major branch of anthropology. While archaeologists are frequently imagined in popular culture as swashbuckling adventurers, in reality archaeology is both the precise science and the careful interpretation of human history based on the material remains of past societies. Some archaeologists identify, excavate, and preserve material culture to document and interpret past societies, from the urban civilizations of the ancient Near East to small-scale hunter-gatherer societies around the world. Others develop and apply theoretical frameworks to situate these findings within a broader narrative of human history and sociocultural development. Like linguistic anthropology, archaeology is sometimes housed within a separate department from other subfields, especially in Europe.
What are your research interests?
At the graduate level, anthropologists need to define their research interests to orient their studies and conduct original research, usually resulting in a master’s thesis or PhD dissertation making a substantial contribution to the field. Because the discipline is so wide-ranging, research can follow many different lines of inquiry. Once you’ve identified your subfield, you can further simplify your choices by choosing topics you would be interested in spending your graduate degree studying. It can be helpful to think of research topics as progressing from general, high-level topics to successively more specific ones.
For instance, if you decide to study sociocultural anthropology, first identify major areas of research in that subfield. Common high-level research topics include cultural identity, economics, politics, kinship, migration, nationalism, religion, ritual, and folklore, among others. Once you’ve identified which general areas interest you, you can then advance to a level of greater specificity. Under the umbrella of kinship studies, for example, you’ll find topics such as mating, parenthood, socialization, siblingship, family structure, marriage, and genealogy. Once you’ve chosen from among those topics, you can then formulate specific research questions. If you’re interested in researching marriage, then you can begin thinking about specific research questions, such as how marriage rituals vary across cultures and what the social consequences of such variation may be.
Another helpful way to narrow down your research interests is by thinking about questions you may have a personal stake in. For instance, I was drawn to research cultural identity and survival among an Indigenous community in Colombia based on my own identity and life experience as a member of an assimilated Jewish family in the US. Observing how elements of my community’s Jewish identity were preserved while others were lost to general American culture inspired me to study similar processes within another minority community in a different context. Can you think of similar ways in which your identity might inform your research?
Where do you want to work?
Also important to consider when formulating your research questions and searching for an anthropology graduate program is where you want to conduct your research. Because anthropological research is generally concerned with specific human societies across time and space, most anthropologists specialize in a certain region of the world. Likewise, some general research topics are easier to research in certain parts of the world. For example, traditional forms of shamanism are by some definitions only found among Indigenous communities in Siberia and the Americas, meaning this topic is geographically confined.
Consequently, when thinking about your research questions and career aspirations, it’s important to identify a regional interest that matches your interests. Sticking with the example of marriage, let’s say you want to study the social consequences of marriage rituals. This research interest might take you to India, which is known for its huge, ornate, and often expensive and lengthy wedding ceremonies. Conversely, you might be drawn to research the unusual wedding traditions of the Congo, where the bride and groom are not allowed to smile on their wedding day. In either case, you have to choose!
Due to its roots as a colonial science that emerged at the height of European imperialism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, anthropology has always been among the most internationally and interculturally oriented disciplines. It’s important to note that for this reason, historically, most anthropologists were White men working in non-White communities, often far removed from their own societies and cultures but bringing the power imbalances of colonialism and imperialism into their work. While many White anthropologists still choose to do research in non-White spaces, anthropology has greatly diversified in the last few decades, and it’s now possible for anthropologists of all backgrounds and identities to work anywhere in the world. Still, it’s important to be aware of how your identities might impact your work, especially where racial, economic, and geopolitical power imbalances are involved.
Matching with the right department
Once you’ve identified your research interests and geographic area of interest, it’s time to locate anthropology departments that match your interests. Many departments have general orientations to certain subfields, research areas, and regions of the world. It’s your job to weigh your options and identify the schools that best align with your profile and aspirations as an anthropologist. Doing so will allow you to make the most of your graduate studies by working with faculty, advisors, and other organizations or resources at your university with expertise in your research areas and geographic region.
Conveniently, many anthropology departments list their areas of specialization on their websites. Many departments also specify their geographic focus areas. Make sure to check department websites to ensure that you would have the support you need for your specific research topics and regional interests.
Similarly, it’s a good idea to check whether relevant resources exist in other departments, research centers, or academic institutes at each university you consider. Many anthropology departments partner with other organizations on campus, such as area studies centers, so make sure you could benefit from such partnerships as a prospective graduate student.
Finding the right advisor
Arguably the most crucial question to decide when applying to graduate programs—not just in anthropology but in any discipline—is who you want to work with. The advisor-advisee relationship is the most important professional relationship any graduate student must cultivate and can make or break the graduate experience. That’s why it’s very important to identify potential advisors based on several factors, such as overlapping research interests, geographic expertise, academic connections, and mentorship style.
Many anthropology departments ask prospective graduate students to identify and reach out to potential advisors within the program faculty to assess their fit and best match. To facilitate the search process, department websites list their faculty, which are often searchable by subfield, research areas, and geographic expertise. Most departments also have a general contact form or email through which prospective students can ask for recommendations about who to reach out to based on their interests. A word of caution, however: some departments specify that prospective students should not reach out to faculty of interest, since some admissions committees reach their admissions decisions based on a student’s overall and general fit with the department. Make sure to read each department’s website for their specific application guidelines.
One good way to identify potential advisors you may want to work with as a graduate student is by reading their publications. This can be a good way to familiarize yourself with their expertise and determine whether your interests intersect. When you’re ready to reach out, send your potential advisors a short email introducing yourself, outlining your research interests and regional focus, and asking whether they are accepting graduate students and might be interested in working with you. Keep these emails brief and don’t follow up too soon if they don’t immediately respond; academics are busy people and they value courtesy and patience on the part of interested students. It’s also a good idea, when possible, to arrange a meeting with potential advisors to discuss your fit in more detail.
Once you’ve confirmed an advisor’s interest, you should detail your fit and how they could support your research when writing your statement of purpose in your graduate application. This will demonstrate that you’ve done your research and can articulate exactly what you expect from a potential advisor—making your application that much more specific and competitive.
Ready to apply to graduate programs in anthropology? Keep these tips in mind as you prepare your applications and take the next step toward becoming an anthropologist!
Rowan Glass is an anthropologist, multimedia journalist, writer, and filmmaker from Oregon. His research, reporting, and travels have taken him from Indigenous territories in Colombia and Mexico to primary schools in Senegal, Kurdish restaurants in Greece, and music festivals in Morocco. In all his work, Rowan endeavors to help tell engaging stories about underreported people and places through incisive research and creative endeavors. Whether at a keyboard or behind a camera, at home or in the field, Rowan is always looking for the next chance to apply his skills to both creative and socially impactful ends. Rowan holds a BA in cultural anthropology from the University of Oregon and is currently applying to PhD programs in anthropology.
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