A degree in anthropology is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #77 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
College Factual reviewed 265 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of anthropology. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 11,105 degrees in anthropology annually.
Your choice of anthropology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Anthropology School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Anthropology Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Schools for Anthropology in the United States
The schools below may not offer all types of anthropology degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It's hard to beat University of Pennsylvania if you wish to pursue a degree in anthropology. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were about 29 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year.
Any student who is interested in anthropology needs to look into Yale University. Located in the midsize city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.
There were approximately 35 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent data year.
Explore societal similarities and differences as seen through cultural, biological, archaeological and linguistic lenses when you earn one of your degrees in anthropology from Southern New Hampshire University.
Every student pursuing a degree in anthropology has to take a look at University of Chicago. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 56 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available.
It is hard to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you want to pursue a degree in anthropology. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 220 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Those anthropology students who get their degree from University of California - Los Angeles receive $3,401 more than the standard anthropology graduate.
Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.
There were about 104 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent data year. Anthropology degree recipients from Washington University in St Louis earn a boost of approximately $5,590 above the average earnings of anthropology majors.
Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.
There were approximately 27 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available.
UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were roughly 116 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the anthropology program make about $28,661 for their early career.
UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill. This university ranks 2nd out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 94 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent data year. Those anthropology students who get their degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earn $7,312 more than the typical anthropology grad.
Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were approximately 32 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available.
Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 21 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 9 schools for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.
There were roughly 37 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent data year.
Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.
There were roughly 53 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 70 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were approximately 186 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the anthropology major at University of Florida make $3,072 above the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 149 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available. Anthropology degree recipients from University of California - Santa Barbara earn a boost of around $2,521 above the typical earnings of anthropology majors.
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. This university ranks 1st out of 56 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were approximately 73 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, anthropology degree recipients typically make an average of $24,079 in their early careers.
Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were approximately 50 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.
Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 50 schools for overall quality in the state of Washington.
There were about 56 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available. Those anthropology students who get their degree from University of Washington - Seattle Campus make $3,879 more than the average anthropology grad.
GWU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. This university ranks 2nd out of 7 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.
There were approximately 53 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the anthropology program earn about $22,614 in their early career salary.
Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Hanover. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Dartmouth is a great college overall.
There were approximately 33 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the anthropology major at Dartmouth College make $11,172 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Princeton. This university ranks 1st out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were approximately 41 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Princeton in the most recent year we have data available.
Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston. This university ranks 4th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 33 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the anthropology program earn about $26,934 in the first couple years of working.
Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus. This university ranks 1st out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were approximately 81 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the anthropology program make around $28,172 for their early career.
Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 59 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year.
Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 113 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the anthropology program earn an average of $28,059 for their early career.
UCSD is a very large public university located in the large city of La Jolla. This university ranks 8th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 69 anthropology students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, anthropology degree recipients generally earn an average of $28,543 at the beginning of their careers.
This section shows the rest of the schools awarded a Best Anthropology Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 20% of the 265 different United States anthropology schools we analyzed.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Credit for the banner image above goes to Deror avi.
Your choice of anthropology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Anthropology School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
