Anthropology

Anthropology is the holistic study of human behavior and biology. Anthropologists examine human biological and cultural diversity through space and time and the interplay between culture and biology.

A bachelor's degree in anthropology at PSU gives you a foundational understanding of how humans operate and interact in a global perspective. PSU Anthropology supports three subfields: Sociocultural Anthropology, Archaeology, and Biological Anthropology. Our department is committed to research and scholarship in "Applied Anthropology" – where anthropological scholarly products address "real world" problems; and knowledge is returned to the peoples and places where the research is conducted.

We offer:

• A broad-based view of human adaptation, evolution, variation, and achievement.
• A balanced view of the anthropological subfields of biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and sociocultural anthropology.
• Expert faculty who bring the best research and real-life perspectives into the classroom.
• Hands-on experience in our campus labs in zooarchaeology, ceramics, lithics, general artifact cataloging and processing, and through fieldwork.
• Support from graduate assistants and accessible faculty.
• Electives on a variety of ethnographic courses on particular regional or areas of interests, such as East Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific Northwest.
• The necessary general anthropological background for those interested in pursuing graduate study in the discipline.

Our alumni have gone on to work for federal and state agencies, for museums, for private consulting companies, and for non-governmental organizations. Many also branch out into other fields, such as healthcare, education, the law, social services, and more.

The Anthropology minor is useful for students majoring in business, pre-med, history, geography, and engineering just to name a few examples.

PSU offers a Bachelor's + Master's Program in Anthropology. Undergraduate Anthropology students may be admitted directly into the parallel Anthropology master's program (i.e., BA students for the MA, and BS students for the MS) and share up to 20 graduate-level credits (five 4-credit courses) between their bachelor's and master's degrees.

Submit Your Application and $60 Application Fee

Go to Portland State University's online application system and select Create Account. If you have already started an application, or created one for a past term, select Log In.

Submit Academic Records

You are required to submit complete academic records. We accept high school transcripts, grades and other relevant academic records along with your graduation certificate, diploma or exam results or certificates. If you have taken any college or university classes, submit transcripts from all colleges or universities attended. You can submit unofficial transcripts from non-U.S. institutions for review of your application and to receive an admission decision. Official transcripts are required for enrollment, see our official records policy for details.

Electronic Submission: Transcripts may be submitted via Parchment or sent directly from a school official to [email protected].

In Person Submission: You can bring these directly to our office upon arrival to Portland State.

Mail Submission: Submit official transcripts in their original sealed envelopes from all schools attended and mail them to PSU at the address below.

Portland State University
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
PO Box 751
Portland OR 97207-0751

Submit Evidence of English Language Proficiency

Request official test results to be sent directly to Portland State University by ETS (TOEFL), PTE, or IELTS. Students who meet the academic requirements for admission to PSU, but have not yet met English proficiency requirements, will be admitted to PSU and placed into one of our ESL programs. Review PSU’s English Language Proficiency Requirements for more details.

• TOEFL Code: 4610, department code 00
• SAT Code: 4610

Check Your Application Status

If you have submitted an application to Portland State University, you can log in to PSU's application portal to review the status of your application. You will be notified via email for each document you submit and your admission decision.

If you are not receiving email communications from Portland State University, be sure to check your @pdx.edu email account. Once you set up your student account all communications will be sent to that email address. If you are not receiving information from us in any email inboxes, please contact us at [email protected].