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CIP 45.0201 Social Sciences

Anthropology, General

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

10,022

2025 · 526 schools

International share

3.8%

378 international students

Bachelor's degrees

7,745

1.9% international

Master's degrees

872

15.3% international

Overview

Anthropology is the study of humans, their behavior, culture, and evolution. As a comprehensive discipline, anthropology encompasses various subfields, including cultural anthropology, physical (or biological) anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology.

Cultural anthropology focuses on the social customs, beliefs, and practices of different communities, examining how culture shapes human experience and identity. Physical anthropology, on the other hand, investigates the biological aspects of humans, exploring topics such as human evolution, genetic diversity, and primatology. Archaeology delves into past human societies through the analysis of material remains, providing insights into how people lived, worked, and interacted with their environment. Linguistic anthropology studies the relationship between language and culture, exploring how language influences social life and reflects cultural values.

Students pursuing a degree in anthropology develop critical thinking skills and a global perspective, as they learn to analyze human behavior across different contexts and historical periods. The program often includes fieldwork opportunities, allowing students to engage directly with diverse communities and conduct research in various settings.

Graduates in anthropology can find careers in a wide range of fields, including education, research, public policy, cultural resource management, and international development. They are equipped to work in both academic and applied settings, contributing valuable insights into human diversity and the complexity of social interactions. Overall, anthropology fosters an appreciation for cultural diversity and encourages students to understand the world through multiple lenses.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates grew 10% and the international share went from 3.2% to 3.8%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
56.1%
Asian
5.2%
Hispanic
20.9%
Black
4.8%
Other
9.3%
Intl.
3.8%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 526 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

RankSchoolStateGraduatesInternational
#2 Princeton University New Jersey 65 16
#3 Harvard University Massachusetts 50 14
#4 Yale University Connecticut 32 7
#5 Stanford University California 29 9
#7 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 28 3
#8 Duke University North Carolina 18 4
#9 University of Chicago Illinois 28 1
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 25 6
#9 Johns Hopkins University Maryland 15 7
#12 Dartmouth College New Hampshire 41 3
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 52 19
#14 Cornell University New York 19 3
#16 Washington University in St Louis Missouri 50 9
#16 Brown University Rhode Island 21 6
#16 Vanderbilt University Tennessee 19 3
#16 Rice University Texas 20 6
#20 University of California-Berkeley California 106 1
#20 University of California-Los Angeles California 170 9
#20 University of Notre Dame Indiana 27 5
#23 Georgetown University D.C. 12 0
#23 Emory University Georgia 73 5
#25 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan 47 4
#26 University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia 31 4
#27 University of Southern California California 14 1
#27 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina 30 2
#29 University of California-San Diego California 40 1
#31 Tufts University Massachusetts 10 1
#31 New York University New York 35 6
#34 University of California-Davis California 86 6
#34 University of California-Irvine California 74 4
#34 University of Florida Florida 103 5
#34 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois 26 2
#34 Boston University Massachusetts 22 5
#34 Wake Forest University North Carolina 7 2
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 68 5
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 34 1
#44 University of California-Santa Barbara California 108 3
#44 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey 22 1
#44 Case Western Reserve University Ohio 28 2
#44 Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio 40 1
#44 Lehigh University Pennsylvania 11 0
#49 University of Maryland-College Park Maryland 34 1
#49 University of Rochester New York 9 1
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington 51 4
#52 University of Georgia Georgia 40 0
#52 College of William and Mary Virginia 27 2
#55 Santa Clara University California 3 0
#55 University of Miami Florida 11 0
#55 The Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania 47 3
#55 Purdue University-Main Campus Indiana 31 0
#59 George Washington University D.C. 18 1
#59 Florida State University Florida 42 0
#59 Tulane University of Louisiana Louisiana 36 2
#59 Brandeis University Massachusetts 33 7
#59 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Massachusetts 40 3
#59 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota 48 8
#59 Stony Brook University New York 27 2
#59 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania 58 5
#59 Texas A & M University-College Station Texas 48 1
#69 Michigan State University Michigan 47 0
#69 University of California-Merced California 16 0
#72 Syracuse University New York 20 2
#73 University of Connecticut Connecticut 35 1
#73 Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana 42 6
#73 Rutgers University-Newark New Jersey 4 0
#73 Binghamton University New York 42 1
#73 North Carolina State University at Raleigh North Carolina 38 2
#80 University of California-Riverside California 72 2
#80 Clemson University South Carolina 20 0
#85 University of Delaware Delaware 14 0
#85 Fordham University New York 15 1
#85 University at Buffalo New York 29 2
#85 Southern Methodist University Texas 12 1
#90 Baylor University Texas 49 3
#90 Texas Christian University Texas 6 0
#90 Marquette University Wisconsin 4 0
#95 American University D.C. 30 0
#95 University of Illinois at Chicago Illinois 24 3
#95 University of Missouri-Columbia Missouri 27 0
#100 Auburn University Alabama 9 0
#100 University of San Diego California 3 0
#100 University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida 91 6
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 29 1
#100 Saint Louis University Missouri 7 0
#100 Elon University North Carolina 5 0
#109 University of California-Santa Cruz California 93 2
#109 University of Colorado Boulder Colorado 55 2
#109 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus New Hampshire 20 0
#109 Temple University Pennsylvania 19 0
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 104 0
#116 Iowa State University Iowa 11 1
#116 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma 37 0
#116 University of Oregon Oregon 65 1
#116 Brigham Young University-Provo Utah 18 0
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 72 3
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 47 3
#121 University of Denver Colorado 24 0
#121 University of Central Florida Florida 113 0
#121 Loyola University Chicago Illinois 18 0
#121 SUNY at Albany New York 22 1
#121 University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina 32 0
#121 George Mason University Virginia 26 0
#133 Miami University-Oxford Ohio 18 0
#133 University of Vermont Vermont 27 0
#137 University of Alabama at Birmingham Alabama 14 0
#137 California State University--Long Beach California 51 0
#137 San Diego State University California 47 0
#137 San Jose State University California 40 0
#137 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Maryland 8 0
#137 St John's University (NY) New York 6 0
#137 University of Houston Texas 36 0
#137 James Madison University Virginia 10 0
#148 California State University-Los Angeles California 21 0
#148 Catholic University of America D.C. 3 0
#148 Mercer University Georgia 2 0
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 24 0
#148 University of Kentucky Kentucky 26 0
#148 University of Tulsa Oklahoma 4 0
#148 University of Rhode Island Rhode Island 16 0
#156 The University of Alabama Alabama 33 0
#156 California State University-Fullerton California 38 0
#156 Kansas State University Kansas 4 0
#156 Montclair State University New Jersey 12 0
#156 Seton Hall University New Jersey 3 0
#156 CUNY--City College New York 14 0
#156 Oregon State University Oregon 62 3
#156 Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia 17 0
#169 Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado 58 0
#169 DePaul University Illinois 11 0
#169 Butler University Indiana 3 0
#169 Michigan Technological University Michigan 2 0
#169 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska 31 1
#169 Monmouth University New Jersey 5 0
#169 University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina 41 0
#179 University of Louisville Kentucky 29 0
#179 University of Mississippi Mississippi 5 1
#179 CUNY Hunter College New York 31 0
#179 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Ohio 10 1
#179 University of Utah Utah 62 2
#179 Seattle University Washington 4 0
#186 University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii 32 0
#186 Wayne State University Michigan 30 0
#186 Texas Tech University Texas 30 1
#191 University of Arkansas Arkansas 39 0
#191 Florida Atlantic University Florida 23 0
#191 Georgia State University Georgia 38 0
#191 Rowan University New Jersey 12 0
#191 Adelphi University New York 2 1
#191 Hofstra University New York 8 0
#191 Washington State University Washington 45 1
#202 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana 33 0
#202 University of Massachusetts-Boston Massachusetts 20 0
#202 East Carolina University North Carolina 30 0
#202 Ohio University-Main Campus Ohio 14 0
#208 California State University--Fresno California 15 0
#208 California State University-Sacramento California 38 0
#208 University of La Verne California 7 0
#208 University of Idaho Idaho 11 0
#208 Mississippi State University Mississippi 15 1
#208 University of North Carolina at Greensboro North Carolina 15 0
#208 Willamette University Oregon 1 0
#208 University of North Texas Texas 43 0
#219 Illinois State University Illinois 23 0
#219 Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis Indiana 13 0
#219 University of Nevada-Reno Nevada 40 0
#219 University of North Carolina--Wilmington North Carolina 20 0
#227 San Francisco State University California 40 1
#227 Ball State University Indiana 10 0
#227 University of Michigan-Dearborn Michigan 3 0
#227 West Chester University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 6 0
#227 University of Texas-San Antonio Texas 63 0
#227 West Virginia University West Virginia 7 0
#236 University of Colorado Denver Colorado 19 0
#236 University of North Florida Florida 19 0
#236 University of Nevada--Las Vegas Nevada 50 0
#236 University of New Mexico-Main Campus New Mexico 45 4
#236 North Dakota State University-Main Campus North Dakota 5 0
#236 Kent State University at Kent Ohio 36 1
#236 Pacific University Oregon 1 0
#236 Portland State University Oregon 28 0
#236 University of Texas-Arlington Texas 17 0
#250 New Mexico State University-Main Campus New Mexico 17 1
#250 University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Texas 12 0
#250 University of Wyoming Wyoming 23 0
#262 University of Maine Maine 12 0
#262 Central Michigan University Michigan 12 0
#262 University of South Dakota South Dakota 14 0
#262 University of Texas--El Paso Texas 4 0
#276 Northern Arizona University Arizona 42 2
#276 Western Michigan University Michigan 6 0
#276 University of Missouri--St. Louis Missouri 4 0
#288 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Illinois 6 3
#288 University of Indianapolis Indiana 6 0
#288 Wichita State University Kansas 22 0
#288 University of Memphis Tennessee 11 0
#288 Texas State University Texas 84 0
#288 Utah State University Utah 45 1
#288 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Wisconsin 28 0
#299 Southern Connecticut State University Connecticut 7 0
#299 Boise State University Idaho 22 0
#299 University of Toledo Ohio 4 0
#308 Northern Illinois University Illinois 17 0
#308 Oakland University Michigan 8 0
#308 University of Southern Mississippi Mississippi 15 0
#308 Montana State University Montana 15 0
#317 Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Pennsylvania 6 0
#317 Augusta University Georgia 6 0
#328 Georgia Southern University Georgia 11 0
#328 East Tennessee State University Tennessee 8 0
#332 University of South Alabama Alabama 14 1
#342 University of Northern Colorado Colorado 14 0
#342 Missouri State University Missouri 14 0
#342 University of Akron Ohio 7 0
#342 Cleveland State University Ohio 10 0
#342 Kennesaw State University Georgia 38 0
#353 University of West Georgia Georgia 4 0
#353 Southern Illinois University--Edwardsville Illinois 15 0
#353 University of Louisiana--Lafayette Louisiana 7 0
#353 University of Michigan--Flint Michigan 4 0
#353 Youngstown State University Ohio 9 0
#353 University of Houston--Clear Lake Texas 20 0
#353 University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Puerto Rico 26 0
#353 Pennsylvania Western University Pennsylvania 3 0
#365 Troy University Alabama 18 0
#365 University of Central Arkansas Arkansas 5 0
#365 Indiana State University Indiana 3 0
#365 Northern Kentucky University Kentucky 11 0
#365 The University of Montana Montana 53 1
#365 Eastern Washington University Washington 10 0
#376 University of Arkansas--Little Rock Arkansas 6 0
#382 University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska 7 0
#382 University of Colorado--Colorado Springs Colorado 15 0
#382 Idaho State University Idaho 16 0
#382 University of New Orleans Louisiana 5 0
#382 Wright State University-Main Campus Ohio 7 0
LAC #1 Williams College Massachusetts 2 0
LAC #2 Amherst College Massachusetts 5 0
LAC #3 Pomona College California 3 0
LAC #3 Bowdoin College Maine 12 0
LAC #10 Wellesley College Massachusetts 14 2
LAC #12 Vassar College New York 13 1
LAC #14 Wesleyan University Connecticut 9 1
LAC #14 Hamilton College New York 12 0
LAC #16 Grinnell College Iowa 12 2
LAC #16 Davidson College North Carolina 8 0
LAC #19 Barnard College New York 32 2
LAC #19 Middlebury College Vermont 8 0
LAC #21 University of Richmond Virginia 2 0
LAC #22 Colby College Maine 4 0
LAC #22 Smith College Massachusetts 15 0
LAC #22 Colgate University New York 7 1
LAC #26 Bates College Maine 4 0
LAC #26 Haverford College Pennsylvania 18 0
LAC #28 Macalester College Minnesota 7 0
LAC #29 Bucknell University Pennsylvania 3 1
LAC #31 Trinity College Connecticut 8 0
LAC #31 Denison University Ohio 5 0
LAC #31 Bryn Mawr College Pennsylvania 8 1
LAC #34 Colorado College Colorado 12 0
LAC #34 Mount Holyoke College Massachusetts 17 1
LAC #34 Franklin and Marshall College Pennsylvania 7 0
LAC #38 Scripps College California 7 1
LAC #38 Trinity University Texas 7 0
LAC #41 Skidmore College New York 12 2
LAC #41 Kenyon College Ohio 17 0
LAC #44 Pitzer College California 4 1
LAC #44 Union College New York 2 0
LAC #47 Connecticut College Connecticut 5 0
LAC #49 DePauw University Indiana 5 2
LAC #49 St. Lawrence University New York 7 1
LAC #49 Rhodes College Tennessee 11 0
LAC #49 The University of the South Tennessee 6 0
LAC #54 Dickinson College Pennsylvania 7 0
LAC #54 Gettysburg College Pennsylvania 5 0
LAC #57 Wheaton College (IL) Illinois 12 0
LAC #57 Furman University South Carolina 5 0
LAC #59 Oberlin College Ohio 12 0
LAC #60 Hobart and William Smith Colleges New York 4 0
LAC #60 Reed College Oregon 18 0
LAC #62 Muhlenberg College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #68 Lawrence University Wisconsin 3 0
LAC #74 Rollins College Florida 8 0
LAC #78 Whitman College Washington 6 0
LAC #81 Wheaton College (MA) Massachusetts 6 0
LAC #85 Drew University New Jersey 7 0
LAC #85 Susquehanna University Pennsylvania 4 0
LAC #91 College of Wooster Ohio 10 0
LAC #91 Southwestern University Texas 8 0
LAC #97 Washington College Maryland 5 0
LAC #97 Austin College Texas 2 0
LAC #100 Hendrix College Arkansas 4 0
LAC #100 SUNY College at Geneseo New York 10 0
LAC #100 Lycoming College Pennsylvania 3 0
LAC #100 Beloit College Wisconsin 9 0
LAC #106 Transylvania University Kentucky 3 0
LAC #106 St. Mary's College of Maryland Maryland 11 0
LAC #106 Pacific Lutheran University Washington 1 0
LAC #111 Luther College Iowa 4 0
LAC #119 Albion College Michigan 4 0
LAC #119 Ripon College Wisconsin 2 0
LAC #119 California State University-Channel Islands California 10 0
LAC #128 University of Minnesota-Morris Minnesota 3 0
LAC #128 SUNY at Purchase College New York 10 0
LAC #128 University of Mary Washington Virginia 4 0
LAC #132 Eckerd College Florida 5 0
LAC #142 Eastern Connecticut State University Connecticut 5 0
LAC #150 New College of Florida Florida 1 0
LAC #153 University of Hawaii--Hilo Hawaii 12 0
LAC #154 University of North Carolina Asheville North Carolina 7 0
LAC #168 Lyon College Arkansas 1 0
LAC #184 Fort Lewis College Colorado 10 0
— Arizona State University Digital Immersion Arizona 160 0
— Southern New Hampshire University New Hampshire 154 0
— CUNY Lehman College New York 66 1
— California State University-Northridge California 57 0
— Western Washington University Washington 53 0
— Appalachian State University North Carolina 44 0
— Western Carolina University North Carolina 40 1
— CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York 39 8
— University of Florida-Online Florida 38 0
— California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt California 32 0
— Moorpark College California 29 0
— California State University-Chico California 28 0
— Metropolitan State University of Denver Colorado 28 0
— Long Beach City College California 24 0
— Santa Monica College California 24 1
— Santa Rosa Junior College California 24 0
— University of West Florida Florida 24 0
— Pasadena City College California 23 0
— American River College California 22 0
— El Camino Community College District California 22 0
— Central New Mexico Community College New Mexico 21 0
— Central Washington University Washington 21 0
— Cabrillo College California 20 0
— California State Polytechnic University-Pomona California 20 1
— Saddleback College California 20 0
— College of Charleston South Carolina 20 0
— Chaffey College California 19 0
— Sacramento City College California 18 0
— Grand Valley State University Michigan 18 0
— Palomar College California 17 0

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
Managers, All Other 622,190 $73.99 $153,890
Anthropologists and Archeologists 8,990 $36.35 $75,620
Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary 5,240 — $106,880

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2002–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.