What can I do with a degree in Anthropology?

Click here to see what Alumni have done with their degrees

Anthropology leads to a variety of "real-world" jobs. Anthropologists are on the staff of leading medical, business, law, public affairs and other professional schools, and have played critical roles in international ventures, public health programs, community development activities and minority and migrant social actions. With first-hand experience in every region in the country and around the world, anthropologists form a pool of understanding about specific social and ethnic groups and about biological, ecological and cultural factors that influence human behavior. Applied anthropology is the practical use of our professional knowledge and skills to resolve social and organizational issues.

Graduates with a BA or BS degree in anthropology have found employment in such areas as:

  • social service agencies, both government and private
  • museums, zoos and similar public education institutions
  • ethnic, cultural and immigrant organizations
  • elementary and secondary schools
  • health care agencies which serve diverse populations
  • foreign service and foreign aid agencies
  • businesses with international and interethnic dimensions
  • independent consulting services/diversity training
  • employment with private firms and government agencies as an archaeologist

Del Jones's article, Hot Asset in Corporate: Anthropology Degrees (USA Today Thursday, February 18, 1999) gives another example of what an anthropology degree can do:

"Don't throw away the MBA degree yet. But as companies go global and crave leaders for a diverse workforce, a new hot degree is emerging for aspiring executives: anthropology. The study of man is no longer a degree for museum directors. Citicorp created a vice presidency for anthropologist Steve Barnett, who discovered early warning signs to identify people who don¹t pay credit card bills. Not satisfied with consumer surveys, Hallmark is sending anthropologists into the homes of immigrants, attending holidays and birthday parties to design cards they¹ll want. No survey can tell engineers what women really want in a razor, so marketing consultant Hauser Design sends anthropologists into bathrooms to watch them shave their legs. Unlike MBAs, anthropology degrees are rare: one undergraduate degree for every 26 in business and one anthropology Ph.D. for every 235 MBAs. Textbooks now have chapters on business applications. The University of South Florida has created a course of study for anthropologists headed for commerce. Motorola corporate lawyer Robert Faulkner got his anthropology degree before going to law school. He says it becomes increasingly valuable as he is promoted into management. "When you go into business, the only problems you'll have are people problems," was the advice given to teenager Michael Koss by his father in the early 1970s. Koss, now 44, heeded the advice, earned an anthropology degree from Beloit College in 1976, and is today CEO of the Koss headphone manufacturer. Katherine Burr, CEO of The Hanseatic Group, has masters in both anthropology and business from the University of New Mexico. Hanseatic was among the first money management programs to predict the Asian crisis and last year produced a total return of 315% for investors. "My competitive edge came completely out of anthropology," she says. "The world is so unknown, changes so rapidly. Preconceptions can kill you." Companies are starving to know how people use the internet or why some pickups, even thought hey are more powerful, are perceived by consumers as less powerful, says Ken Erickson, of the Center for Ethnographic Research. It takes trained observation, Erickson says. Observation is what anthropologists are trained to do."

So exactly what kind of skills and experience do anthropologists bring to the workplace?

  • A style of thinking in terms of holistic, integrated social organizational systems
  • Theoretical approaches and practical methods for enhancing cross-cultural understandings
  • Training and experience in cross-cultural, inter-ethnic and international communication
  • Detailed knowledge of a variety of ethnic groups within the U.S. as well as in other countries
  • Skills in social research, especially in-depth, qualitative interviewing and fieldwork
  • Skills in archaeological excavation and analysis
  • A basic understanding of human evolution and genetics
  • Experience in writing both descriptive reports and analytical papers
  • Familiarity with museum work, cultural resource management, artifact analysis and repatriation issues
  • The ability to analyze the root cause of social problems and to work cooperatively toward solutions with people from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds

For more information on careers in anthropology check out the following sources:
Careers in Anthropology (1999) by John T. Omohundro, published by the Mayfield Publishing Company
Great Jobs for Anthropology Majors (1999) by Blythe Camenson, published by VGM Career Horizonss

Anthrojob.com
Anthropologists at Work: Responses to Student Questions about Anthropology Careers
Non-Academic Careers in Physical Anthropolgy
Frequently Asked Questions about a Career in Archaeology in the U.S.

Enter here for additional links to careers in Anthropology.

Graduate School

Graduate study in anthropology opens the world of practicing anthropology. Not limited to college teaching, anthropologists with graduate degrees can be found in a variety of private sector and government agency positions.

Getting into graduate school can be a difficult but rewarding experience. It's suggested that you start early and consult often with you faculty advisor. Following are some tips that may help you in your quest:

  • Develop good study habits! A recent study (reported in Science) of qualities found in graduate students which translated into research productivity, ability to generate funding and career sucess were: 1. self motivation and 2. ability for focused energy. Grades showed low correlation.
  • Complement your anthropology degree with a second major or a minor from another department according to your interests. Possiblities include: American Studies, Biology, Business, Geology, Geography, History, Language, Natural Resources, Political Science or Public Health.
  • Get involved in activities that will give you experience and also look good on applications, such as: being a member of Lambda Alpha or other clubs, becoming a TA or SI leader, assisting faculty with research or other projects, volunteering, developing a museum exhibit or submiting articles for publication to professional journals or even school publications.
  • Take the GRE seriously (this means preparing for the test before you actully take it). In addition to the many self-help books and seminars on the subject, check out the Testing Center in the basement of the University Inn for more information.
  • Decide what area of anthropology you wish to pusue then choose departments with strengths in that specific kind of anthropology. In addition, look at the in-the-field research the faculty members are participating in: is this what you're interested in, are there opportunities for you to go along?
  • Actually visit the campuses and talk to the students and professors. What a school is really like can be quite different from the way it looks on paper.
  • Apply to several schools, assuming you won't get into all of them.

Here are some schools with graduate programs you may be interested in. Check them out! And if you want more information on specifics of the application process, GRE, letters of intent and so forth, check out
Getting Into Grad School.


Here is a link for information in Applied Anthropology - http://www.sfaa.net/sfaaorgs.html