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Graduate Studies

With a diversified faculty, the Purdue graduate program offers training in all subfields of anthropology (click here to read more about the subfields).  

Purdue Anthropology offers both MS and PhD programs. We offer broad training to prepare students for diverse career options. We are deeply involved with Purdue’s strategic initiatives on “Engaging Global Grand Challenges”. Our main focus areas are:

  • Applied Anthropology and Public Engagement
  • Ecological and Environmental Anthropology
  • Health and Well-Being
  • Identity, Heritage, and Social Justice
  • Science and Technology

To complement your Anthropology education, students can link with Engineering, Technology, Health Sciences, Agriculture, and/or Purdue’s numerous Interdisciplinary Programs and Research Centers. 

Application Requirements

FUNDING

Admitted students receive financial support in the form of a teaching assistantship (TA), a research assistantship (RA), or a multi-year fellowship on a competitive basis to qualified students. Financial support for two to five years includes a monthly stipend, a waiver of tuition, and partial fee remission.

Applicants to the graduate program are automatically considered for departmental funding. No separate application or additional information is required. TAships are the most common form of funding offered to graduate students in our program. The 2023-24 base stipend is $22,000. Year-long fellowship competitions are also available for continuing graduate students at different stages of their academic careers. Travel awards are available for students presenting their research at conferences and travel to research sites. 

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GRADUATE STUDENT LIFE

Graduate students typically take two years to com­plete the MS degree and another five for the PhD.

Our students participate in an innovative curric­ulum designed to provide the professional skills necessary for research in academic and applied/practicing anthropology settings. Students are encouraged to develop individu­alized programs by pursuing connections with other Purdue programs including Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Center for Aging, American Studies, Engineering and Materials Science, Center for the Environment, and the Interdisciplinary Program in Ingestive Behavior.

We are a dynamic faculty that of­fers personalized mentoring, camaraderie, and a great sense of community among the faculty and graduate students. Through the student-run Anthropology Graduate Student Organization (AGSO), our students promote the needs, inter­ests, and ideas of graduate students.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact particular professors they are interested in working with prior to applying. Applications for admission to the master's or Ph.D. program must be submitted by December 15th to be considered for the subsequent fall semester, as well as for the full range of funding opportunities. For further information, please contact the Academic Program Manager at anthgrad@purdue.edu or 765-496-7428. 

Decisions on admission, funding awards, or wait listing will be made as soon as possible, usually by the end of February or early March.