Hey everyone,
I want to major in cultural anthropology and I’m looking for universities that are known for their anthropology programs.
Thanks.
University of Chicago, Penn, Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley . . . University of AZ, if you’re interested in Native American/pre-Columbian archaeology/anthropology. For match and reach schools, you should not only research on-campus departments, but opportunities for independent and foreign study.
1 Like
Even though you are primarily interested in cultural anthropology, one key to evaluating a college’s commitment to anthroplogy is whether they offer all four areas of study (cultural and social, linguistic, and biological anthroplogy, plus archaeology.) Beloit is one option, and they have a dedicated museum. Hamilton is another. A university environment would not be necessary for this major, unless that is what you are otherwise seeking.
1 Like
Top anthropology programs reside in grad schools. Undergrad colleges are just preparatiom for that.
The Unversity of Michigan
1 Like
Beloit could be a match or a safety depending on your stats… and the program is excellent, so definitely look into it.
What are your stats?
1 Like
You could look up other threads that discuss anthropology here, including cultural. I believe warblersrule is quite knowledgable about some anthropology disciplines, if I recall correctly. I tend to agree that major research universities will be the ones that garner distinction for their anthro programs, and I would add UCLA, UT-Austin and Wisconsin to the list. Beloit is known for strong anthro preparation for a LAC.
This is old, but it is also reputable:
1 Like
Have a look at these previous threads:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17810479#Comment_17810479
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/16743128#Comment_16743128
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/15280901#Comment_15280901
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/13705432#Comment_13705432
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1224761-help-for-college-choice-for-anthropology-archeology-major-p1.html
Key questions
Which sub-field(s) of anthropology most interest you?
- archaeology?
- biological anthropology?
- linguistic anthropology?
- sociocultural anthropology?
Do you prefer a research university or a LAC?
What are your stats? Would you qualify for admission to the most selective schools?
What’s your budget? Do you need financial aid? If so, can you cover the Expected Family Contribution?
Colleges with strong anthropology programs generally will be strongest in 1 or 2 of the major sub-fields, but not all. And of course they vary greatly in selectivity, sticker prices, and amount of need-based or merit aid.
1 Like
you’re an int’l who needs full aid. You should have mentioned that in your post. That limits the schools.
1 Like
NRC Rankings in Anthropology
1 Michigan 4.77
2 Chicago 4.77
3 Cal Berkeley 4.51
4 Harvard 4.43
5 Arizona 4.11
6 Penn 3.94
7 Stanford 3.71
8 Yale 3.67
9 UCLA 3.67
10 Cal San Diego 3.67
11 Florida 3.65
12 Texas 3.62
13 NYU 3.60
14 Illinois 3.59
15 Cal Davis 3.51
16 Columbia 3.49
17 Washington (St. Louis) 3.42
18 Wisconsin 3.41
19 Duke 3.41
20 Cal Santa Barbara 3.40
21 Johns Hopkins 3.39
22 CUNY 3.39
23 Virginia 3.38
24 Rutgers 3.38
25 Pittsburgh 3.34
26 Arizona State 3.31
27 Princeton 3.30
28 Washington 3.24
29 North Carolina 3.24
30 Indiana 3.24
31 Cornell 3.21
32 Penn State 3.18
33 Southern Methodist 3.10
34 Northwestern 3.09
35 Massachusetts 3.04
36 SUNY Binghamton 3.02
37 SUNY Buffalo 3.01
38 SUNY Stony Brook 2.97
39 SUNY Albany 2.82
40 Connecticut 2.80
41 Hawaii Manoa 2.78
42 Southern Illinois 2.76
43 Iowa 2.73
44 Brown 2.73
45 Oregon 2.66
46 Michigan State 2.58
47 Utah 2.56
48 Tulane 2.56
49 Kentucky 2.51
50 Minnesota 2.49
51 Boston University 2.44
52 Tennessee 2.42
53 Temple 2.40
54 Missouri 2.40
55 Colorado 2.39
56 Cal Riverside 2.39
57 Vanderbilt 2.35
58 Kansas 2.35
59 Brandeis 2.28
60 South Florida 2.17
61 Syracuse 2.09
62 Wisconsin Milwaukee 2.08
63 Washington State 2.00
64 Wayne State 1.98
65 Rochester 1.89
66 Oklahoma 1.89
67 Ohio State 1.89
68 American 1.86
69 Catholic University 1.21
I suppose you could spell out the list I posted in #6. But according to post #8, it’s highly unlikely the OP will be able to afford spot #1 on the list. He may have to travel down a ways before one would meet full aid, depending on his stats.
Just sayin’…
As is common, graduate department rankings are being used to infer undergraduate department quality and desirability. This may have some value when comparing one university to another. Beyond that, it has a sort of anti-value, in that exclusively undergraduate-focused colleges, many with perhaps better programs overall, are, by definition, excluded from these types of lists.
Btw, I think @BrownParent’s comment has been interpreted as having the opposite of its intended meaning.
1 Like
A school with a good grad program may not be the best choice for undergrad…
A LAC with a good reputation may not be the best choice to study Anthropology. Such generalizations. Find a ranking/survey of undergraduate disciplines and put it online.
@merc81 – well, to a degree, yes. But this is at least a(n older) National Research Council ranking, not U.S. News. While I agree that it does not include smaller undergraduate (or, for that matter, any undergraduate) programs that may be very good, it can still be used as a barometer of where some of the best research is being performed. I would think that certain undergraduate opportunities at these institutions would benefit, and may have resources available for both undergrad and grad that smaller colleges aren’t likely to match.
In particular, I believe I have read others on this forum who argue that the larger research university programs would represent the best preparation for some sub-fields of anthro, such as physical. I know this student has asked about cultural, but it would stand to reason that if other anthropology sub-fields would benefit from the research university setting for undergrad, a ranking like this may prove useful. I am curious, more than anything. There may be differences of opinion, which is fine with me.
1 Like
@anhydrite: My opinion is partly based on my own research. In the sub-2000 student LAC I checked, 49 courses in anthropology are available, with 33 of the them designated as social anthropology courses. Field work and research are integrated within the offerings. This college also offers a somewhat esoteric geoarcheology major.
If there are better opportunities available for undergraduate study in anthropology, then of course they should be pursued. But the question remains as to whether they can actually be found.
@rjkofnovi: It’s not that I am against objective and specific rankings. However, I think your list should come with the qualification that it is for graduate departments, and that it may or may not have relevance to the undergraduate study of anthropology.
1 Like
I just expanded the listing that anhydride provided in an easier posting.
Thanks for the reply. That LAC seems like a robust program, especially for social anthropology. There’s much room for comparison. I’ll leave it up to other anthropologically-informed posters as to the benefits of the respective undergrad experiences. I wonder if, on occasion, certain small college programs will have a relationship or exchange with research university anthropology programs.
1 Like
^ Those are NRC 95 rankings.
(graduate program rankings released in 1995).
A more recent NRC anthropology assessment is available:
http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124703/
Unfortunately, it’s harder to interpret and use.
These rankings (even the earlier one) may help the OP identify which universities are likely to attract the most productive researchers. This may have some bearing on the quality of undergraduate instruction and research opportunities as well. In some other respects, schools near the top may or may not be among the best for undergraduates (or for internationals in particular).
According to the 2014-15 Common Data Sets (section H6), neither Berkeley nor Michigan offered financial aid to international students. Arizona does offer some need-based and merit aid to internationals (averaging about $12K per award to 141 out of 1,875 internationals). Penn offers only need-based aid to internationals (averaging about $42K per award to 314 out of 1,077 internationals in 2013-14). Harvard is one of only 6 US schools that is need-blind, and claims to cover 100% of demonstrated need, for internationals as well as US applicants. If you need financial aid, these distinctions may be even more important than knowing which universities have the very strongest faculty (or generate the most publications) in your intended field.
1 Like
While that list is useful, it does not 1° take into account the fact we have no idea how much OP’s parents can afford (but apparently s/he would need a lot of FA. What(s their budget?) 2° what OP’s stats are and 3° whether undergraduate students can get near that research once graduate students have been handed out theirs (meaningful research that is).
As of now, the only college we know OP can look into safely is Beloit, because most internationals (being high performing) have stats that qualify them for this college AND it offers financial aid.
We need to hear from OP regarding stats and budget before we can discuss anything else further.
1 Like