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Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools

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2023 Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools

146 Colleges
$39,722 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Anthropology Master's Degree School for You

Anthropology is the #77 most popular major in the country with 11,415 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 146 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for anthropology majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 15% Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Teachers College at Columbia University to be the best school for anthropology students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Out of the 146 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, The Graduate Center, CUNY landed the # 2 spot on the list. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York.

Read full report on Anthropology at The Graduate Center, CUNY

#3

Rice University

Houston, TX

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Rice University is a great place for anthropology students working on their master’s degree. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.

Full Anthropology at Rice University Report

#4

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Princeton University is a great place for anthropology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Anthropology at Princeton University Report

#5

Yale University

New Haven, CT

The excellent master’s degree programs at Yale University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best anthropology schools in the United States. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.

Full Anthropology at Yale University Report

#6

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools list. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.

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#7

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for anthropology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.

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#8

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Anthropology at Stanford University

#9

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for anthropology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University

#10

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

University of Notre Dame did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for anthropology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.

Read full report on Anthropology at University of Notre Dame

#11

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree anthropology programs. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.

Full Anthropology at Cornell University Report

#12

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree anthropology programs. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

Read full report on Anthropology at Northwestern University

#13

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree anthropology programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Anthropology at Brown University Report

#14

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Full Anthropology at University of Pennsylvania Report

#15

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

With a ranking of #15, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for anthropology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a very large student population.

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With a ranking of #16, University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well on this year’s best schools for anthropology students working on their master’s degree. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.

Full Anthropology at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

#17

Binghamton University

Vestal, NY

With a ranking of #17, Binghamton University did quite well on this year’s best schools for anthropology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Vestal, Binghamton University is a public college with a large student population.

Read full report on Anthropology at Binghamton University

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree anthropology programs. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Full Anthropology at University of California - Los Angeles Report

#19

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree anthropology programs. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

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University of California - Berkeley landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree anthropology programs. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

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#21

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA

William & Mary did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for anthropology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Full Anthropology at William & Mary Report

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Anthropology students that almost earned our Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
22 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
23 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
24 Emory University Atlanta, GA
25 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA
26 University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA
27 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
28 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
29 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA

Anthropology by Region

View the Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Anthropology is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Economics 49,055
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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