Graduate

Anthropology historically has inquired into the nature of humanity in the broadest of terms. How did the human species evolve? What is its basic nature, and in what ways is it manifested in different cultures? How have language and culture become the defining characteristics of our species? How and why do cultures change over time? Traditionally, anthropology has investigated these and related problems with a broad range of approaches, from the scientific to the humanistic.

Northwestern's graduate program in Anthropology is committed to fostering the historic diversity of the discipline by building an intellectual dialogue between different humanistic and scientific approaches. In particular, the department's research and graduate training program emphasizes the integration of the major anthropological subfields: archaeology, sociocultural anthropology, bioanthropology, and linguistic anthropology. We train graduate students to harness these strengths in basic research, in effective teaching, and in the application of anthropology both inside and outside of academia.

The faculty in the department have a broad range of topical and real interests, with particular strengths in:

Political Economy
Gender, Ethnicity and Identity
Urban Anthropology
Africa
North America
Prehistoric Complex Societies
Prehistoric Economic Systems
Reproductive Ecology
Demography and Fertility
Quantitative Analysis
Human Biology
Medical Anthropology

The department offers graduate students a variety of research and educational opportunities:

Connections to interdisciplinary programs in the University including: The Program of African Studies, African Humanities Institute, Urban Studies and Women's Studies, Ethnographic Field School in Chicago.
Ongoing field research projects and archaeological excavations in Denmark, Central America, South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Russia.
Professional training in research design, grant preparation and teaching.
Opportunities for study at major Chicago-area universities, laboratories and museums.
Financial aid packages
Collaborative program of research and training with Chicago's Field Museum provides an opportunity for faculty, graduate and undergraduate students to participate in field and collections research projects. Joint research exists in two areas: (1) The archaeology of complex societies focusing on the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, South America, Midwestern and Southwestern US and Oceania; and (2) Urban anthropology focusing on research and representations of culture, communities and social change in Chicago.
Participation in ongoing field research on Human Biology and Health in South America, Kenya, Russia, and the Philippines.