The Doctor of Philosophy program in Anthropology combines academically rigorous studies with individual mentorship of students in their areas of interests. Students received advanced training in theory, contemporary research methods, research design and implementation, and proposal writing. After gaining foundational theoretical and topical knowledge relating to the field of anthropology in general and to their specific research foci in particular, students work intensively with faculty members to design and implement an advanced research project. Senior doctoral students are encouraged to participate in the larger academic community through the submission of grants, presentation of papers, and publishing. These extracurricular activities ensure that students acquire the necessary skills and accomplishments to compete at national and international levels for academic and other advanced jobs.

Our program is explicitly cross-disciplinary, and students are encouraged to work with a variety of faculty members and to approach anthropology through a broad lens. Our program focuses on four broad areas: childhood and parenting; food, subsistence, and nutrition; human adaptive strategies; and sexuality, gender and identity. Faculty and students explore these issues from a variety of approaches, including archaeology, bioarchaeology, hormonal studies, and psychological anthropology. Our faculty are active field workers, with research programs in areas as diverse as Africa, Alaska, the American Southwest, China, Cyprus, and Turkey. Students are encouraged to work with faculty in these geographical areas and fields of study or, if they prefer, to develop research projects in related areas. Our emphasis on rigorous training and intensive mentorship has resulted in an unusually high success rate for the placement of our doctoral graduates.