Anthropology (PhD) at Cornell University

Programme overview

Graduate training emphasizes sociocultural anthropology with an additional concentration in archaeological anthropology, combining humanistic and social scientific approaches to ethnographic research. The programme is individualized and interdisciplinary, with greatest geographic depth in Asia and strengths in the Americas, Europe and Africa. With very rare exceptions every admitted PhD student receives funding for five years of on-campus study.

Faculty: Cornell University Graduate School | Department: Graduate Field of Anthropology | Duration: Minimum 12 semesters | Intake: Fall | Location: Ithaca, NY, United States

What you will study

Only four courses and a field research proposal are required; remaining work in language, area studies or other training is designed with the special committee. Examinations follow the first year (qualifying), the second or third year (A exam) and after the thesis (B exam), and most students complete one to two years of field research.

Career pathways

Most students complete the PhD within seven years and go on to academic employment at colleges and universities in the U.S. or abroad.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Online application with academic statement of purpose (two pages or about 1,000 words), personal statement, three recommendations and a writing sample of up to 35 double-spaced pages. Graduate School requirements including English language proficiency apply. Fall deadline December 1.

USD 20,800 a year (2026-27). Doctoral tuition per year ($10,400 per semester); the source states $20,800 applies to Ph.D., D.M.A. and J.S.D. programs in endowed and contract colleges; tuition only. Source

Graduate School applications are submitted online through the Graduate School application; the application fee is $105. Each graduate field sets its own deadlines, and many fall between early December and mid-January.

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