Best Anthropology Programs in Washington, DC for 2027

Georgetown’s Anthropology major has ten courses, four core and six electives. The core moves from an introductory course through The Ethnographic Imagination and Doing Anthro Fieldwork to Anthropological Theory. In the fieldwork methods class you design and carry out your own research project, using participant observation, field notes, interviews and maps of kinship and the built environment. Only the introductory course can be transferred from another institution, so the other three core courses happen on campus. An optional senior honors thesis is also available. Georgetown graduated 9 majors in 2023–24.

Core Courses

Introduction, The Ethnographic Imagination, Doing Anthro Fieldwork, Anthropological Theory

Research Project

Students design and carry out their own project in the fieldwork methods class

Honors Option

Senior honors thesis under a faculty mentor

Program Sources: Anthropology, AB

GW’s Anthropology BA starts with four prerequisites that include Language in Culture and Society, then adds 24 to 36 credits of anthropology, including Foundations of Anthropological Thought and at least one course from three of four categories. You also take an approved methods course, such as Methods in Sociocultural Anthropology, Paleoanthropological Field Program, Historical Archaeology Field Program or Lab Research Methods in Archaeology. A foreign language at two-year proficiency is part of the plan, along with 6 to 12 credits of related coursework. The senior capstone can be ANTH 4008, undergraduate research or an approved 6000-level course. 7 students earned the BA in 2023–24.

Methods Options

Sociocultural methods, paleoanthropological or historical archaeology field programs, archaeology lab methods

Senior Capstone

ANTH 4008, undergraduate research or an approved 6000-level course

Language Requirement

Two-year proficiency in a single foreign language

Program Sources: Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Anthropology | The George Washington University

At American University the Anthropology major takes 48 credits and has an applied step built in. Foundations are Anthropological Theory, Culture, History, Power, Place, Contemporary Ethnographies and Anthropological Research Methods. You add one course in language, human origins or archaeology, then three credits of fieldwork through an internship or a summer archaeology field school, and a Senior Seminar in Anthropology as the capstone. Recent senior capstones include a study of neopagan knowledge circulation on TikTok and one on community policing in Washington, DC. AU awarded 8 in 2023–24.

Foundations

Theory, Culture, History, Power, Place, Contemporary Ethnographies and Research Methods

Fieldwork

Three credits through an internship or archaeology summer field school

Capstone

Senior Seminar in Anthropology

Program Sources: Program: Anthropology (BA) - American UniversityBA in Anthropology

Catholic University’s Anthropology major pairs three foundation courses, ANTH 101, 105 and 108, covering cultural, biological and archaeological anthropology, with a core on anthropological or archaeological theory and a core on ethnographic or archaeological methods. Six topical electives follow. In senior year you complete a capstone project that rests on an internship or practicum, or on independent research directed by a faculty member. A 2.0 GPA gets you into the major, and a 3.0 in major courses keeps you in it. The department sits in Washington, close to the National Archives and the Library of Congress. One student graduated in 2023–24.

Foundation Courses

Cultural anthropology, archaeology and biological anthropology

Capstone

ANTH 452 project based on an internship, practicum or faculty-directed research

GPA Requirements

2.0 for acceptance, 3.0 in major courses to continue

Program Sources: Department of History and Anthropology

GW’s Anthropology PhD trains you in all four fields, sociocultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology and biological anthropology, before you specialize. Pre-candidacy work includes three of four proseminars, Methods in Sociocultural Anthropology and a professional skills and ethics seminar, and 6 to 27 credits go to dissertation research. The second phase begins with the candidacy assessment process, usually in spring of year three: a research proposal written to funding agency guidelines plus a general examination in at least three areas. You show proficiency in one foreign language, and an internship at an institution that communicates anthropology to the public is recommended. The doctorate was conferred 4 times in 2023–24.

Core Training

Three of four proseminars, sociocultural methods and a professional skills and ethics seminar

Candidacy Assessment

Funding-style research proposal and a general exam in at least three areas

Internship

Recommended at an institution that communicates anthropology to the public

Program Sources: Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Anthropology | The George Washington University