by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 142 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for anthropology students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 941 master's degrees in anthropology to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
The anthropology master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality anthropology program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for anthropology students working on their master's degree.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in anthropology. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Yale University is a good decision for students interested in a master's degree in anthropology. Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New Haven.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Yale University
Harvard University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in anthropology. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Harvard University
It is hard to beat Stanford University if you want to pursue a master's degree in anthropology. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Stanford University
Teachers College at Columbia University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in anthropology. Teachers College is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Teachers College at Columbia University
Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Northwestern University
Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Rice University
Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Princeton University
Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.
Students who graduate with their master's from the anthropology program report average early career income of $38,086.
More information about a master’s in anthropology from Columbia University in the City of New York
Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a master’s in anthropology from University of Notre Dame
WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Washington University in St Louis
Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Duke University
Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from University of California - Berkeley
Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Providence.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Brown University
Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Johns Hopkins University
UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in anthropology from University of Pennsylvania
Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from George Washington University
Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Vanderbilt University
Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Cornell University
UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in anthropology from University of California - Los Angeles
Emory is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta.More information about a master’s in anthropology from Emory University
UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in anthropology from University of Chicago
Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in anthropology from University of Southern California
The Graduate Center is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in anthropology from The Graduate Center, CUNY
Learn about other programs related to Anthropology that might interest you.
Here are some additional great schools for Anthropology students that almost earned our Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 27 | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH |
| 28 | American University | Washington, DC |
| 22 | University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA |
| 23 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 24 | New York University | New York, NY |
| 25 | Binghamton University | Vestal, NY |
View the Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
Anthropology is one of 13 different types of Social Sciences programs to choose from.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Anthropology | 879 |
| Other Anthropology | 26 |
| Cultural Anthropology | 17 |
| Physical & Biological Anthropology | 16 |
| Medical Anthropology | 3 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Economics | 4,803 |
| International Relations & National Security | 4,426 |
| Political Science & Government | 1,936 |
| Sociology | 1,298 |
| Geography & Cartography | 1,076 |
| General Social Sciences | 596 |
| Other Social Sciences | 378 |
| Urban Studies | 351 |
| Demography & Population Studies | 51 |
| Archeology | 48 |
