The Department of Anthropology at Purdue University is a leading-edge, research-intensive department with a public service mission. We are committed to being thought leaders on our campus and in our discipline as the Anthropologies of Tomorrow (AOT) Department. Anthropologies of Tomorrow embodies a collective orientation toward the transformative potential of anthropology to prioritize excellence through diversity. Through high-impact scholarship, teaching, and public engagement, our work expands understandings of diverse human experiences and cultures past and present. As a department, we see unique opportunities to lead the field in integrative, collaborative, and decolonizing scholarship that addresses emerging and established global grand challenges.
Our department offers MS and PhD programs to provide comprehensive training in archaeological, biological and evolutionary, cultural, linguistic, visual, and applied anthropology, with specific strengths in our cross-cutting signature research areas: Applied Anthropology and Public Engagement, Ecological and Environmental Anthropology, Health and Well-Being, Identity, Heritage and Social Justice, and Science and Technology. Other strengths of our graduate program include close mentoring and access to faculty, flexible curricular structures, and the ability to combine anthropology with a number of other programs, degrees and concentrations. All students are admitted with full funding and mentored for success. Doctoral students may elect to prepare their dissertations in one of several formats, including monograph, article style, or multimodal. Through the student-run Anthropology Graduate Student Organization (AGSO), our students promote the needs, interests, and ideas of graduate students. Alumni of our program pursue careers in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors, including academia and education, health and medical professions, high-tech startups, international development, conservation, and city, state and federal agencies.