Major Anthropology Schools
In its barest form, anthropology is the study of human development. In reality, anthropology comprises several different branches of learning. Some are focused on hard science and others on social science. Cultural, biological, forensic, linguistic and many other sub-specialties of anthropology exist. Most large universities and colleges offer anthropology programs, but there are certain schools that are clearly recognized as leaders in the field.
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Penn State University
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The Penn State Ph.D. program in anthropology has been ranked the top Ph.D. program in the country by the National Research Council. The Department of Anthropology at Penn State has an extensive undergraduate and graduate spectrum of available courses. The Matson Museum of Anthropology provides both students and visitors to the campus with a facility to learn about anthropology in a visual and hands-on environment. Summer field school provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to gain valuable field experience and education by working on a live site with experienced staff and interns. Graduate studies are also an important part of the Penn State anthropology departments, and graduate students can choose to focus their research on one of four areas. Cultural, biological, ecological and sociological anthropology focuses can be chosen by graduate students.
Harvard
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Harvard is constantly recognized as one of the best universities in any discipline in the world, and its anthropology program is no exception. Undergraduate students can focus in social anthropology or archeology-based anthropology. There are also biological anthropology degrees that are taught through the Life Sciences Department. Harvard has a large list of field school opportunities for undergraduates that it runs, as well as a recommended list of other endorsed programs. The graduate division has degree options that are highly specialized, such as media anthropology. There is also a medical anthropology program that requires a medical degree for admission.
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University of California Berkeley
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According to its website, the University of California Berkeley Department of Anthropology is ranked on a consistent basis as one the five best programs in the country. The Berkeley department only has one undergraduate anthropology degree. However, students can choose the majority of their electives to focus in a single area, focusing on societal or biological studies as they desire. This does not grant any noted specialty on the degree, but provides the knowledge base required for professional work or graduate study on that topic. The graduate programs feature an emphasis on independent research. The department has a number of grant programs that are designed to help ensure that students can pursue their research. Assistance is provided for grant writing, to help students pursue other outside funding sources for their work. Teaching and speaking also are addressed in the graduate program. The goal is to teach students how to share their work with others as they begin to work professionally in the field.
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
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The NRC rated the Department of Anthropology at Michigan as the No. 1 department in both 1990 and 1995. There are four primary branches within Michigan's Department of Anthropology. Linguistics, ethnology, biological anthropology and archaeology are the four primary focus areas. Because anthropology is such a wide-reaching discipline that overlaps with many other areas of study, it also helps run three joint graduate programs. The Department of Anthropology and the History, Culture and Cognition and Social Work programs work together to offer graduate degrees.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Archaeologist image by russe from Fotolia.com
