Best Anthropologist programs in Michigan, ranked by enrollment
Study the origin, development, and behavior of human beings. May study the way of life, language, or physical characteristics of people in various parts of the world.
16 schools in Michigan run programs that feed this job, graduating 247 people a year. The job pays a median of $64,700 in Michigan across about — jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Michigan that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Michigan that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Michigan (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Michigan page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthropology, Generalmain feeder CIP 45.0201In Michigan → | 202 | 81.8% | 14 | $27,806 | $23,000 |
| 2 | Ancient Studies/Civilizationmain feeder CIP 30.2201In Michigan → | 12 | 4.9% | 1 | $32,054 | $24,000 |
| 3 | Human Biologymain feeder CIP 30.2701In Michigan → | 10 | 4.0% | 1 | $31,690 | $17,312 |
| 4 | Anthropology, Othermain feeder CIP 45.0299In Michigan → | 9 | 3.6% | 1 | $27,806 | $23,000 |
| 5 | Archeologymain feeder CIP 45.0301In Michigan → | 7 | 2.8% | 2 | $26,804 | $23,008 |
| 6 | CIP 45.1301In Michigan → | 7 | 2.8% | 3 | $28,378 | $24,924 |
Top 16 schools in Michigan
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 16 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 68 | Anthropology, General | $24,079 | 93% | — | 16% |
| 2 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 47 | Anthropology, General | $28,617 | 81% | — | 85% |
| 3 | Wayne State University Detroit, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Anthropology, General | $26,858 | 58% | — | 81% |
| 4 | Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Anthropology, General | $27,350 | 67% | — | 83% |
| 5 | Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 16 | Human Biology | — | 68% | — | 92% |
| 6 | Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Anthropology, General | — | 52% | — | 84% |
| 7 | Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Anthropology, General | $25,264 | 59% | — | 90% |
| 8 | Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 9 | Anthropology, General | — | 58% | — | 88% |
| 9 | Albion College Albion, MI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 7 | Anthropology, General | — | 62% | $16,537 | 81% |
| 10 | Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Anthropology, General | $22,670 | 58% | — | 85% |
| 11 | Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Anthropology, General | — | 46% | — | 80% |
| 12 | University of Michigan - Flint Flint, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Anthropology, General | — | 40% | — | 70% |
| 13 | The University of Olivet Olivet, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Sociology and Anthropology | — | 35% | $21,946 | 83% |
| 14 | University of Michigan - Dearborn Dearborn, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Anthropology, General | — | 58% | — | 56% |
| 15 | Washtenaw Community College Ann Arbor, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Archeology | — | 33% | — | — |
| 16 | Lansing Community College Lansing, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Anthropology, General | — | 25% | — | — |
All 16 schools in Michigan
Every school in Michigan with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor | Public | 68 | 3 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing | Public | 47 | 1 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit | Public | 30 | 1 |
| Grand Valley State University | Allendale | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Michigan Technological University | Houghton | Public | 16 | 3 |
| Northern Michigan University | Marquette | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Oakland University | Rochester Hills | Public | 9 | 2 |
| Albion College | Albion | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 2 |
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Eastern Michigan University | Ypsilanti | Public | 4 | 1 |
| University of Michigan - Flint | Flint | Public | 4 | 1 |
| The University of Olivet | Olivet | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| University of Michigan - Dearborn | Dearborn | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Washtenaw Community College | Ann Arbor | Public | 3 | 1 |
What anthropologists and archeologists earn in Michigan
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $70,770. Michigan pays below the national figure.
Metro areas in Michigan
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Anthropologists and Archeologists page.
How to become a Anthropologist
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Michigan
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 15 majors mapped to Anthropologists and Archeologists15 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.2201Ancient Studies/Civilization
- 30.2299Classical and Ancient Studies, Other
- 30.2701Human Biology
- 30.4201Geoarcheaology
- 30.4701Linguistics and Anthropology
- 45.0201Anthropology, General
- 45.0202Physical and Biological Anthropology
- 45.0203Medical Anthropology
- 45.0204Cultural Anthropology
- 45.0205Forensic Anthropology
- 45.0299Anthropology, Other
- 45.0301Archeology
- 45.1301Sociology and Anthropology
- 45.1501Geography and Anthropology
- 51.3204Medical/Health Humanities
Common questions
Answers for people weighing anthropologists and archeologists programs in Michigan.
What degree do you need to become an Anthropologist?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Anthropology, General, which awarded 202 degrees in Michigan in 2024-25, 81.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Anthropologist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Anthropology, Classical and Ancient Studies, Human Biology, Archeology, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 247 people a year in Michigan.
How much do anthropologists and archeologists earn in Michigan?+
The median is $64,700 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.6% below the U.S. median of $70,770. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for anthropologists and archeologists growing?+
BLS projects a +3.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Michigan?+
16 institutions in Michigan reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do anthropologists and archeologists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Researcher, Archaeologist, Forensic Anthropologist, Communication and Folklore Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-3091.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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