In the U-M Department of Anthropology, we explore questions about humanity’s past, present, and future. How are we affecting our planet? Are our political and economic systems just and sustainable? Where have we come from as a species, and where are we headed? Our mission is to advance and share anthropological knowledge through research, teaching, publication, and community engagement, and we are recognized as one of the best programs in the world due to the intellectual leadership of our faculty and our varied, real-world research opportunities for students.
Anthropology cultivates a fluency with issues of culture and change that is more vital than ever in our increasingly global society. From corporate boardrooms to urban communities, from remote settings to familiar neighborhoods, anthropologists are studying the moral and material interests that influence us. Our research identifies solutions to worldwide problems, influences government policies, guides industry practices, and advances new knowledge about what makes us human.
Undergrads may choose to major in anthropology (with an option to focus on one of six submajors) or human origins, biology, and behavior (HOBB). After graduation, our alums find success in fields such as business, government, medicine, science, conservation, law, social work, and the arts.
Our renowned Ph.D. program equips the next generation of leading scholars for advanced work in the field through concentrated study and research in one of four subfields: anthropological archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and sociocultural anthropology. We also offer joint degree programs in anthropology and history, anthropology and social work, and a student-initiated combined doctoral program.
No matter their specialization, all U-M anthropology students will explore the discipline’s history and foundational ideas, new developments, area and topical literatures, practical methods, and advanced modes of data collection and interpretation in an environment of inclusion, innovation, rigorous scholarship, and generous support for research and study.
Land Acknowledgment Statement
The University of Michigan is located on the territory of the Anishinaabe people. The Ann Arbor campus currently resides on land ceded through the Treaty of Detroit in 1807. Additionally, in 1817, the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodewadami Nations made the largest single land transfer to the University of Michigan, ceded through the Treaty of Fort Meigs, with the hope that their children could be educated.
We acknowledge the sovereignty of tribal lands and the painful history of genocide, forced assimilation, and displacement of Native communities that facilitated the establishment of the University. We affirm contemporary and ancestral Anishinaabek ties to this land, the profound contributions of Native Americans to this institution, and the University’s commitment to educate the children of Native ancestors.
As anthropologists, we recognize and value cultural diversity, past and present. When it comes to our relationships with Native communities in Michigan and the rest of North America, as well as with Indigenous peoples elsewhere in the world, we acknowledge the harms that have been caused by anthropology and anthropologists. For this we are sorry. The Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan is committed to repairing these relationships, work that begins by respecting Native sovereignty and listening to our Native partners. We hold ourselves and our colleagues accountable for these harms, seek opportunities for making appropriate reparations, and support efforts by faculty and students to work collaboratively with indigenous communities against ongoing injustices. We pledge to acknowledge and respect Indigenous ways of knowing, affirm Native language use and revitalization, fortify tribal sovereignty and Indigenous recognition, responsibly steward Indigenous cultural belongings in our care and work with Native communities to bring ancestors and sacred objects home, and train our students in keeping with these values. We will also help fulfill the University’s promise to educate Michigan’s Native youth as well as those Indigenous students who come to us from beyond Michigan’s borders. We ask our alumni and affiliates to uphold these commitments as well.
