Graduate Education

The UConn Department of Anthropology offers courses, lab and field-based training, individualized mentoring, and research opportunities to help students grow as anthropologists, scholars, and individuals.

Students and faculty in our department work across core and emerging subfields in anthropology, including:

  • Archaeology
  • Critical biocultural anthropology
  • Cultural anthropology
  • Environmental anthropology
  • Evolution, cognition, and culture
  • Human rights
  • Medical anthropology

Students identify their own area(s) of specialization and work closely with their major advisor to develop a program of coursework tailored to their interests. They also gain hands-on training and experiential learning opportunities through:

Degree Options

Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

The Department of Anthropology offers a Ph.D. in Anthropology. Within that program, students can pursue two tracks:

  • A Ph.D. track for students entering the program with a Master of Arts (MA) in Anthropology or an equivalent discipline.
  • A joint MA/Ph.D. track for students entering the program without a master's degree in anthropology or an equivalent discipline.

Master of Arts (MA)

The department accepts students to complete a terminal MA in Anthropology in rare cases, such as when a student’s interests are closely aligned with our faculty expertise and the student’s chosen career path requires a master’s degree but not a Ph.D.

If you are interested in earning only a Master of Arts in Anthropology at UConn, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies to discuss options.

Our Community

Our department offers a collegial, collaborative, and supportive learning environment. We train students to undertake theoretically-grounded, socially-situated, and historically-contextualized scholarship.

Our degree programs provide rigorous training in ethical anthropological practice. We teach students to employ anti-racist, decolonial/anti-colonial, and intersectional approaches to better address contemporary issues and important questions about the past and present.

Department Resources

Outcomes and Careers

Upon graduating, our students are well prepared for meaningful careers in academia, government, industry, nongovernmental organizations, and beyond.

Financial Aid

Students and applicants can apply for graduate assistantships, fellowships, and awards to help cover the cost of their graduate education.

Admissions Requirements

Prospective students apply to the Department of Anthropology’s graduate program online via the Graduate School’s application portal. GRE scores are not required.

Contact Us

Director of Graduate Studies

For general questions about the graduate program, please contact Deborah Bolnick, professor and director of graduate studies.

Faculty Directory

Our professors are talented educators and researchers who pursue their scholarship through laboratory work, archival research, and fieldwork. Graduate students work closely with faculty on research in laboratories on the UConn Storrs campus, and at archaeological and anthropological sites across Connecticut and around the world.

Graduate Peer Mentors

Graduate Peer Mentors are available to meet with prospective students to answer questions about our graduate program, living in Connecticut, and all things UConn.

Meet Our Students

Audra Darcy

Graduate Student Spotlight: Audra Darcy

November 15, 2024

The UConn Department of Anthropology is home to a diverse community of graduate students studying a variety of subfields. Continue reading to learn more about their favorite parts of their research, why they became interested in anthropology, and fun facts about them! Audra Darcy Program Entrance 2021 Paleoecology, stable isotopes, palynology, arctic and subarctic environments, […]

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Madeline Baird

Graduate Student Spotlight: Madeline Baird

October 25, 2024

The UConn Department of Anthropology is home to a diverse community of graduate students studying a variety of subfields. Continue reading to learn more about their favorite parts of their research, why they became interested in anthropology, and fun facts about them! Madeline Baird Medical anthropology, health inequity, human rights, healing, power, decolonizing methods, people-centered […]

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