Anthropology Major

warblersrule
Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:03:57 +0000

A good biological anthropology program is much more difficult to find than decent cultural anth programs, which are a dime a dozen. Even schools known for anthropology are often quite weak in the field. Chicago, for example, has a single scholar working in biological anthropology, whereas NYU has 7. Many of the schools mentioned above have either no bioanthropologists (Reed, Wesleyan, Marlboro) or only one (Grinnell, Bryn Mawr).

Unlike cultural or linguistic anthropology, which often require little to no specialized technology, good research in biological anthropology frequently necessitates lab equipment befitting a science department - anatomy labs, computer modeling technology, primate (living) and/or osteology (dead) collections, etc. It is therefore beneficial to look for colleges with at least a halfhearted emphasis on the subfield.

Unfortunately, many of the best bio anth programs are quite selective (Harvard, Yale, Duke, Emory, etc.). Slightly less selective but very good programs include but are not limited to:

Arizona
GWU
Michigan
NYU
Penn State
Stony Brook
UCLA
Wisconsin

An obvious choice for medical anthropology is Case Western, which is less selective than some of the elite schools and has an excellent program. BU, Iowa, U Conn, and U Mass-Amherst are also quite good. Among more selective schools, you have Yale, Tulane, Emory, UNC, GWU, Penn, and probably a few others I’m forgetting.

The top forensic anthropology programs - something you may be interested in - are currently U Tennessee and Boston U.

Important note: The obvious caveat to the public schools I listed is that they generally offer poor financial aid to OOS students. Although the program here at UCLA is excellent, for example, I would be hesitant to recommend it to anyone other than California residents.