Best degree programs for Anthropologists and Archeologists, ranked by enrollment
15 college programs and 620 schools train Anthropologists and Archeologists. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $70,770 median wage, 8,990 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
15 college programs at 620 schools train anthropologists and archeologists, graduating 13,675 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Anthropology, General. The job pays a median of $70,770 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About anthropologists and archeologists
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. May engage in systematic recovery and examination of material evidence, such as tools or pottery remaining from past human cultures, in order to determine the history, customs, and living habits of earlier civilizations.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
15 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthropology, Generalmain feeder CIP 45.0201 | 9,337 | 68.3% | 527 | $27,806 | $23,000 |
| 2 | Human Biologymain feeder CIP 30.2701 | 2,282 | 16.7% | 33 | $31,690 | $17,312 |
| 3 | CIP 45.1301 | 496 | 3.6% | 49 | $28,378 | $24,924 |
| 4 | CIP 51.3204 | 415 | 3.0% | 31 | $99,851 | $21,475 |
| 5 | Archeologymain feeder CIP 45.0301 | 392 | 2.9% | 60 | $26,804 | $23,008 |
| 6 | Medical Anthropologymain feeder CIP 45.0203 | 301 | 2.2% | 14 | $27,806 | $23,000 |
| 7 | Anthropology, Othermain feeder CIP 45.0299 | 134 | 1.0% | 20 | $27,806 | $23,000 |
| 8 | Ancient Studies/Civilizationmain feeder CIP 30.2201 | 105 | 0.8% | 27 | $32,054 | $24,000 |
| 9 | Forensic Anthropologymain feeder CIP 45.0205 | 81 | 0.6% | 7 | $27,806 | $23,000 |
| 10 | Cultural Anthropologymain feeder CIP 45.0204 | 56 | 0.4% | 12 | $27,806 | $23,000 |
| 11 | Physical and Biological Anthropologymain feeder CIP 45.0202 | 55 | 0.4% | 10 | $27,806 | $23,000 |
| 12 | CIP 30.4201 | 8 | 0.1% | 2 | — | — |
| 13 | Geography and Anthropology CIP 45.1501 | 7 | 0.1% | 1 | — | — |
| 14 | Linguistics and Anthropologymain feeder CIP 30.4701 | 4 | 0.0% | 1 | — | — |
| 15 | Classical and Ancient Studies, Othermain feeder CIP 30.2299 | 2 | 0.0% | 1 | $32,054 | $24,000 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 537 | Human Biology | 57% | — | 54% |
| 2 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 388 | Human Biology | 93% | — | 9% |
| 3 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 314 | Human Biology | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 4 | University at Albany Albany, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 273 | Human Biology | 61% | — | 69% |
| 5 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 200 | Human Biology | 87% | — | 29% |
| 6 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 4 feeder programs | 197 | Human Biology | 85% | — | 39% |
| 7 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs | 191 | Anthropology, General | 0% | — | 67% |
| 8 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 174 | Human Biology | 92% | $12,032 | 4% |
| 9 | University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 174 | Anthropology, General | 75% | — | 66% |
| 10 | Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 154 | Anthropology, General | 43% | $34,565 | 100% |
| 11 | The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 153 | Medical/Health Humanities | 53% | — | 87% |
| 12 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 143 | Human Biology | 95% | $17,613 | 9% |
| 13 | University of Kansas Lawrence, KS Public · 2 feeder programs | 125 | Human Biology | 69% | — | 93% |
| 14 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs | 124 | Anthropology, General | 68% | — | 90% |
| 15 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 123 | Anthropology, General | 91% | — | 24% |
| 16 | Baylor University Waco, TX Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 118 | Medical/Health Humanities | 80% | $35,682 | 51% |
| 17 | University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Public · 2 feeder programs | 118 | Anthropology, General | 78% | — | 40% |
| 18 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 108 | Anthropology, General | 93% | — | 11% |
| 19 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 108 | Anthropology, General | 83% | — | 33% |
| 20 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 104 | Anthropology, General | 74% | — | 42% |
| 21 | Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 97 | Anthropology, General | 94% | $14,126 | 12% |
| 22 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 3 feeder programs | 95 | Medical Anthropology | 91% | — | 15% |
| 23 | University of South Florida Tampa, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 91 | Anthropology, General | 77% | — | 43% |
| 24 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 90 | Anthropology, General | 96% | $15,315 | 4% |
| 25 | The University of Montana Missoula, MT Public · 2 feeder programs | 90 | Anthropology, General | 48% | — | 96% |
| 26 | Brown University Providence, RI Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 89 | Human Biology | 96% | $14,644 | 5% |
| 27 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 88 | Anthropology, General | 89% | — | 27% |
| 28 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 86 | Anthropology, General | 86% | — | 42% |
| 29 | Texas State University San Marcos, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 84 | Anthropology, General | 55% | — | 89% |
| 30 | Western Washington University Bellingham, WA Public · 3 feeder programs | 80 | Anthropology, General | 65% | — | 93% |
| 31 | Emory University Atlanta, GA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 75 | Anthropology, General | 91% | $20,586 | 11% |
| 32 | University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 74 | Anthropology, General | 76% | — | 76% |
| 33 | Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 4 feeder programs | 71 | Anthropology, General | 88% | — | 61% |
| 34 | Boston University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 8 feeder programs | 68 | Anthropology, General | 89% | $21,956 | 11% |
| 35 | Montclair State University Montclair, NJ Public · 2 feeder programs | 68 | Medical/Health Humanities | 65% | — | 88% |
| 36 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 68 | Anthropology, General | 93% | — | 16% |
| 37 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 67 | Anthropology, General | 86% | — | 27% |
| 38 | University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Green Bay, WI Public · 2 feeder programs | 67 | Human Biology | 48% | — | 89% |
| 39 | CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Anthropology, General | 51% | — | 57% |
| 40 | Princeton University Princeton, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 65 | Anthropology, General | 98% | $13,729 | 5% |
| 41 | University of Oregon Eugene, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 65 | Anthropology, General | 72% | — | 88% |
| 42 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 63 | Anthropology, General | 70% | — | 77% |
| 43 | SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 62 | Medical Anthropology | 71% | — | 66% |
| 44 | University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT Public · 1 feeder programs | 62 | Anthropology, General | 65% | — | 86% |
| 45 | College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 61 | Sociology and Anthropology | 34% | — | 92% |
| 46 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 58 | Anthropology, General | 57% | — | 93% |
| 47 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 58 | Anthropology, General | 67% | — | 89% |
| 48 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 58 | Anthropology, General | 85% | — | 58% |
| 49 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 56 | Anthropology, General | 98% | $15,013 | 4% |
| 50 | Idaho State University Pocatello, ID Public · 2 feeder programs | 55 | Anthropology, General | 39% | — | — |
What anthropologists and archeologists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $72,240 | 2,060 | 1.96× | 137 | 3,110 |
| New York | $67,220 | 120 | 0.21× | 48 | 1,769 |
| Texas | $67,700 | 430 | 0.52× | 25 | 758 |
| Florida | $59,270 | 620 | 1.07× | 15 | 540 |
| Arizona | $65,290 | 500 | 2.69× | 13 | 438 |
| North Carolina | $73,130 | 200 | 0.69× | 18 | 408 |
| Washington | $74,790 | 260 | 1.25× | 9 | 399 |
| Pennsylvania | $79,660 | 130 | 0.37× | 31 | 396 |
| Massachusetts | $121,300 | 80 | 0.38× | 17 | 338 |
| Ohio | $59,160 | 70 | 0.22× | 18 | 312 |
| Illinois | $59,560 | 140 | 0.39× | 19 | 271 |
| Georgia | $58,990 | 150 | 0.52× | 10 | 255 |
| Colorado | $68,620 | 250 | 1.50× | 16 | 253 |
| Michigan | $64,700 | — | — | 16 | 247 |
| Oregon | $84,970 | 240 | 2.10× | 11 | 241 |
| Tennessee | $60,310 | 160 | 0.85× | 9 | 219 |
| New Hampshiremoderate | $61,160 | 40 | 0.95× | 4 | 216 |
| New Jersey | $66,230 | 140 | 0.57× | 10 | 213 |
| Missouri | $66,930 | 80 | 0.47× | 9 | 211 |
| Indiana | $63,730 | 70 | 0.37× | 15 | 210 |
| Wisconsin | $63,130 | 40 | 0.21× | 13 | 207 |
| Utah | $73,920 | 120 | 1.21× | 7 | 199 |
| Virginia | $80,230 | 320 | 1.34× | 12 | 194 |
| Kansas | $41,870 | 60 | 0.78× | 6 | 178 |
| Minnesota | $65,920 | 140 | 0.83× | 14 | 173 |
| Idaho | $88,710 | 170 | 3.40× | 7 | 152 |
| South Carolina | $63,130 | 50 | 0.36× | 6 | 139 |
| Connecticut | $91,420 | — | — | 11 | 125 |
| Nevadamoderate | $64,390 | 230 | 2.61× | 4 | 120 |
| Maryland | $54,160 | 220 | 1.35× | 6 | 119 |
| Montanamoderate | $79,420 | 80 | 2.57× | 3 | 106 |
| Kentucky | $72,230 | 70 | 0.57× | 9 | 99 |
| Alabama | $75,690 | 170 | 1.43× | 5 | 91 |
| New Mexicomoderate | $68,180 | 230 | 4.47× | 4 | 90 |
| Iowa | $67,270 | 40 | 0.40× | 7 | 87 |
| Louisiana | $47,750 | 110 | 1.00× | 5 | 87 |
| Arkansas | $62,160 | 60 | 0.76× | 6 | 72 |
| Nebraskamoderate | $94,520 | 40 | 0.66× | 3 | 58 |
| Hawaiimoderate | $84,530 | 210 | 5.81× | 3 | 54 |
| Oklahomalimited | $71,740 | 90 | 0.87× | 2 | 48 |
| South Dakotalimited | $63,130 | 40 | 1.35× | 2 | 27 |
| Wyomingmoderate | $76,400 | 80 | 5.14× | 3 | 27 |
| Alaskalimited | $89,810 | 130 | 6.69× | 2 | 17 |
| North Dakotalimited | $63,830 | — | — | 2 | 8 |
| West Virginialimited | $54,340 | 50 | 1.21× | 1 | 7 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Collect information and make judgments through observation, interviews, and review of documents.
- Teach or mentor undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology or archeology.
- Write about and present research findings for a variety of specialized and general audiences.
- Plan and direct research to characterize and compare the economic, demographic, health care, social, political, linguistic, and religious institutions of distinct cultural groups, communities, and organizations.
- Create data records for use in describing and analyzing social patterns and processes, using photography, videography, and audio recordings.
- Train others in the application of ethnographic research methods to solve problems in organizational effectiveness, communications, technology development, policy making, and program planning.
- Identify culturally specific beliefs and practices affecting health status and access to services for distinct populations and communities, in collaboration with medical and public health officials.
- Apply traditional ecological knowledge and assessments of culturally distinctive land and resource management institutions to assist in the resolution of conflicts over habitat protection and resource enhancement.
Skills
- Writing4.3
- Speaking4.3
- Reading Comprehension4.1
- Active Listening4.1
- Critical Thinking4.1
- Active Learning3.9
- Monitoring3.5
- Learning Strategies3.4
Knowledge areas
- Sociology and Anthropology4.9
- English Language4.4
- History and Archeology4.2
- Foreign Language4.0
- Education and Training3.9
- Geography3.6
Abilities
- Written Expression4.4
- Written Comprehension4.4
- Oral Expression4.4
- Oral Comprehension4.3
- Deductive Reasoning4.1
- Speech Clarity4.0
Core activities
- Getting Information4.8
- Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others4.5
- Documenting/Recording Information4.5
- Analyzing Data or Information4.5
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.4
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.4
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
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.
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
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
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 9,337 degrees in 2024-25, 68.3% 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 15 programs to this occupation. The largest are Anthropology, Human Biology, Sociology and Anthropology, Health Professions Education, plus 5 more. Together they graduate about 13,675 people a year.
How much do anthropologists and archeologists earn?+
The median is $70,770 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $49,050 at the 10th percentile to $108,060 at the 90th. 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?+
620 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 15 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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