Best Anthropology Programs in Colorado for 2027

CU Boulder's anthropology BA asks for 30 credit hours in the department, and 18 of them have to be upper-division. You start with three introductions: biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and The Archaeology of Human History. Then you take one upper-division course in each of those three subfields and fill the rest with anthropology electives. Every required major course needs a C- or better and can't be taken pass/fail. The degree's learning goals include archaeological techniques such as stratigraphy and dating, along with the hominid fossil record. If an honors thesis or graduate school is on your mind, the department advises adding upper-level methods and theory courses, and honors students take a two-semester sequence in their final year.

Subfield Coverage

An introduction plus one upper-division course in archaeology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology

Honors Thesis

Two-semester Honors sequence during the final year

Program Sources: Anthropology - Bachelor of Arts (BA) < University of Colorado Boulder

Colorado State’s Anthropology BA can stay general or tilt toward one of three concentrations: Archaeology, Biological Anthropology or Cultural Anthropology. The first year pairs Introductory Cultural Anthropology and Practicing Anthropology with Human Origins and Variation, its lab, and Introduction to Archaeology. Seniors take the Capstone Seminar, ANTH 493, alongside an upper-level course in the university’s category 4 requirement. Hands-on options include an Archaeology Field School, a Paleontology Field School, an Ethnographic Field School and study abroad, and a Forensic Anthropology minor sits alongside the major. It conferred 51 bachelor’s degrees in 2023–24.

Concentrations

Archaeology, Biological Anthropology or Cultural Anthropology

Capstone

Capstone Seminar, ANTH 493, taken in the senior year

Field Schools

Archaeology and Paleontology field schools, plus study abroad in Italy, England and Belgium

Program Sources: Major in Anthropology | Colorado State University CatalogAnthropology Undergraduate Programs

Metropolitan State University of Denver builds its Anthropology BA on a 12-credit core: Introduction to Biological Anthropology, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Ancient Civilizations and Anthropology of Language. You then fill 21 credits with electives that range from Archaeological Field Research and Museum Studies to Human Osteology, Forensic Anthropology and Colorado Archaeology. The major closes with a senior experience in biological anthropology research design, advanced ethnographic field experience or advanced archaeological research. The department also runs an Ethnography Lab and a Human Identification Lab, and 28 students completed the major in 2023–24.

Required Core

Biological Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Ancient Civilizations and Anthropology of Language

Senior Experience

Biological research design, ethnographic field experience or archaeological research

Labs

Ethnography Lab and Human Identification Lab

Program Sources: Anthropology Major, B.A.Anthropology - MSU Denver

Colorado College teaches anthropology on the block plan and covers all four subfields: archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology and sociocultural anthropology. You declare by spring of sophomore year and are encouraged to have courses in at least three subfields by then, since they unlock the advanced courses. Senior year centers on the required course AN315, which helps you build a capstone project. That project can be a research paper, an ethnographic film, a museum exhibit or an applied project, and every major presents it in the spring. Six students took the degree in 2023–24.

Subfield Coverage

Archaeology, biological, linguistic and sociocultural anthropology

Capstone Course

AN315, a required course that develops the senior capstone project

Capstone Formats

Research paper, ethnographic film, museum exhibit or applied project

Program Sources: Major's Handbook - Colorado CollegeCapstone Information

UCCS lets you concentrate in any one or more of anthropology’s four subfields, archaeological, biological, cultural and linguistic, through a major of at least 36 credit hours of ANTH coursework, 24 of them upper-division. The 2026-27 plan starts with three introductory courses from Introduction to Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology and Nature of Language. You then add a methods course, an integrative course, History and Theory of Anthropology in the fall and a Senior Seminar in the spring. Fieldwork and research are part of the plan. Seventeen majors finished in 2023–24.

Subfield Options

Archaeological, biological, cultural and linguistic anthropology

Senior Sequence

History and Theory of Anthropology in fall, Senior Seminar in spring

Upper-Division Load

At least 24 of 36 anthropology credit hours at the 3000 level or above

Program Sources: Anthropology, BAANTHROPOLOGY B.A.

Northern Colorado’s Anthropology BA is a 120-credit, in-person degree in Greeley with a 48-credit major. The foundation covers cultural anthropology, world archaeology and biological anthropology, followed by Professional Development and a Seminar in Anthropology. You choose between Applied Anthropology and Field Methods in Cultural Anthropology, and between Archaeological Research Methods and Quantitative Methods, then finish a capstone and community-engaged projects. Electives such as Forensic Anthropology, Medical Anthropology and Public Archaeology fill out the concentration, and an accelerated BA/MPH path can finish both degrees in about five and a half years. Seven students graduated in 2023–24.

Methods Choices

Applied Anthropology or Field Methods, then Archaeological Research Methods or Quantitative Methods

Capstone

Capstone plus community-engaged projects

Accelerated Option

BA in Anthropology with a Master of Public Health in about five and a half years

Program Sources: Anthropology BA - University of Northern Colorado

CU Denver’s Anthropology MA has a 30-credit thesis route and a 36-credit portfolio route. Both start with Integrating Anthropology and quantitative methods, then require core courses from two of three areas: archaeology, biological anthropology, and medical anthropology. The medical path connects with health programs on the nearby Anschutz campus, while the portfolio replaces thesis credits with additional graduate study and a collected body of work. The catalog notes that many students work part-time, so its standard completion pattern may differ from a full-time two-year plan.

Thesis Route

30 credits

Portfolio Route

36 credits

Program Sources: CU Denver Catalog: Anthropology MA

CU Boulder’s Anthropology PhD does not require an MA for admission, and applicants who hold a master’s degree may transfer up to 21 credits. The degree takes at least 42 semester hours of courses numbered 5000 or above plus 30 hours of dissertation credit. Exams come in a set order: a qualifying exam, a comprehensive exam in the form of a dissertation prospectus, and the dissertation defense. You settle foreign language expectations with your advisor during the first year. Doctoral students are expected to carry out original field or laboratory research. Five people earned the PhD in 2023–24.

Exam Sequence

Qualifying exam, prospectus comprehensive exam, dissertation defense

Coursework

At least 42 hours at the 5000 level or above plus 30 dissertation hours

Transfer Credit

Up to 21 credits for applicants with a related master’s degree

Program Sources: Doctor of Philosophy DegreeGraduate Handbook

Front Range Community College’s Anthropology AA is a 60-credit transfer degree that prepares you to finish the second half of a bachelor’s in anthropology at a four-year school. Coursework spans the cultural and biological sides of anthropology, plus archaeology and sociology. Eight Colorado schools are named as places where you can start as a junior: Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, the University of Colorado campuses in Boulder, Colorado Springs and Denver, University of Northern Colorado, and Western State Colorado University. Three students completed the AA in 2023–24.

Topics Studied

Cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology and sociology

Transfer Pathway

Start as a junior at eight named Colorado four-year schools

Program Length

60 credits over four semesters

Program Sources: Anthropology

Community College of Denver’s Anthropology AA is a 60 to 61 credit transfer degree in the Colorado Guaranteed Transfer pathway. The course map opens with Cultural Anthropology, brings in Introduction to Archaeology next, and adds Biological Anthropology with Lab in semester three. You also pick an anthropology course such as Native Peoples of North America, Anthropology of Religion or Medical Anthropology, and your science slot can be Introduction to Forensic Anthropology with Lab. Math is Introduction to Statistics or College Algebra. A single student completed it in 2023–24.

Anthropology Sequence

Cultural Anthropology, Introduction to Archaeology, Biological Anthropology with Lab

Anthropology Choices

Native Peoples of North America, Anthropology of Religion or Medical Anthropology

Transfer Pathway

Colorado Guaranteed Transfer, 60 to 61 credits

Program Sources: AnthropologyAnthropology