Columbia University Department of Anthropology

The Department of Anthropology, established by Franz Boas in 1902, is the oldest in the United States and remains a center of disciplinary innovation and theoretical leadership. The department’s faculty members are actively engaged in research and writing about issues of both pressing contemporary relevance and historical significance. Our scholars work in regions and language traditions around the globe and in the United States, as do our students. We operate doctoral degree programs in both sociocultural anthropology and archaeology, and host two distinct MA programs, one in sociocultural anthropology and the other in museum anthropology. In addition, we offer rigorous undergraduate training toward both the major and the concentration, and welcome students from other disciplines into our classes.