Uncover the Human Experience

Anthropology Department

Anthropological artifacts being set up in a display case

Anthropology brings a global perspective to the study of human diversity. Through in-depth research and comparative studies, you will explore the human experience through time and across space.

At Syracuse University, we embrace a holistic approach to anthropology through teaching and research in archaeological, biological, cultural and linguistic anthropology.

The Anthropology Department encourages faculty and students to become engaged in scholarship for the public good and to seek out and address solutions to past, present and future human problems locally and globally. This objective is consistent to the central concerns of all of the subfields of anthropology.

Undergraduate Studies (Major and Minors)

Anthropology explores the entire range of human experiences in the past and present. Our undergraduate courses cover the breadth of the discipline, including physical anthropology (the study of human evolution and biological variation); archaeology (the study of prehistoric and historic cultures through material remains); linguistics (the study of language—its structure, historic developments, and social aspects); cultural anthropology (the study of contemporary societies); and applied anthropology (the use of anthropological methods and theory to solve real-world problems).

Graduate Studies (M.A. and Ph.D.)

The Anthropology Department offers M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. While most graduate students are in the doctoral program, the Department does admit some students interested in a terminal M.A. All students receive broad training in quantitative and qualitative methods of social science research. Students work alongside faculty advisors to develop research expertise in topical and regional foci. Students can further deepen their expertise with a Certificate in Advanced Study earned concurrently with their degree. Some of the many options include women and gender studies, conflict resolution, post-conflict reconstruction, NGO management, environmental decision-making, security studies, South Asia studies, Latin American and Caribbean studies, Middle East affairs, Europe and the EU, and more.

What can you do with an anthropology degree?

Visit the American Anthropological Association careers page

Topical and International Expertise

Faculty members within the Anthropology Department represent wide-ranging interests and sub-specialties, providing students with the opportunity to address issues through multiple lenses.

Archaeology

Learn more about historical archaeology and bioarchaeology. We teach a wide range of courses covering early humans through the recent past, archaeological method and theory, material analysis, and field archaeology.

Cultural Anthropology

Explore cultural anthropology, including political anthropology, medical anthropology, gender and sexuality, globalization and culture change, conflict resolution, religion and social movements.

International Connections

In addition to expertise across anthropology sub-disciplines, including permutations of socio-cultural anthropology, historical archaeology and bio-archaeology, the department has deep expertise in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, South Asia, the United States, and Africa.

Field Schools and Research Facilities

Formal field training schools in historical archaeology are offered each summer throughout Central New York and the Caribbean. Students also have access to world-class research labs and facilities.

Reverand Paul Carter and Professor Doug Armstrong on the steps of the Harriet Tubman House

‘An Incredible Endeavor’

Professor Douglas Armstrong and his undergraduate students discovered the remains of a historically significant building at the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, N.Y.

Their find in the early 1990s led to an enduring relationship and a longstanding archaeology field study course in which students unearthed over 70,000 artifacts that have shed new light on Tubman's later years.

Read the Story

Maxwell Faculty Bookshelf

Anthropology faculty members publish award-winning books on a wide range of topics. Scroll a sample of recently published works below.