Best Anthropology Programs in Missouri for 2027

At WashU you study anthropology through archaeology, biological anthropology and sociocultural anthropology, and the department’s labs are open to undergraduates. Past lab projects have covered paleoethnobotany, geoarchaeology, zooarchaeology, genetics, human biomechanics, osteology and primate studies. A Global Health and Environment track suits you if medical anthropology and human evolution are the draw, mixing anatomy, paleoanthropology and genetics. First-years can join the Medicine and Society program, which pairs medical anthropology with service and research at health sites around St. Louis. An honors thesis, with a 3.65 GPA, leads to Latin Honors.

Major Track

Global Health and Environment, built on medical anthropology and evolution

Research Labs

Projects in archaeology, zooarchaeology, osteology, genetics, biomechanics and primate studies

Honors Thesis

Original research project and a cumulative GPA of 3.65 or above for Latin Honors

Program Sources: Undergraduate Program | Department of AnthropologyUndergraduate Program | Department of Anthropology

Mizzou builds its anthropology major around a 15-credit core that touches all three focal areas: fundamentals of archaeology, cultural anthropology and introductory biological anthropology, each with lab work where it applies. You then pick at least 15 more credits of anthropology, with a minimum of 8 at the 3000 level or above. Three optional tracks (Health & Human Biology, Archaeology & Heritage, and Culture & Human Ecology) steer those electives, and a capstone seminar closes the degree. With 29 degrees awarded in 2023–24, this is one of the larger anthropology majors on the Missouri page.

Core Courses

Archaeology, cultural anthropology and biological anthropology, 15 credits

Specialized Tracks

Health & Human Biology, Archaeology & Heritage, or Culture & Human Ecology

Capstone

Capstone Seminar in Anthropology

Program Sources: BA in Anthropology | University of Missouri CatalogBA in Anthropology | University of Missouri Catalog

Springfield teaches all four fields of anthropology in required courses: cultural, biological, linguistic and archaeology. You then add a history of anthropological theory course that also fulfills the university’s Public Affairs Capstone Experience, and a three-hour methods requirement you can meet through an ethnographic field school, field archaeology, forensic anthropology, an internship or directed research. The BA asks for a minor or second major alongside its 30 credit hours, while the BS adds a social research statistics course and 18 elective hours. Twenty-three degrees awarded in 2023–24 make it one of the mid-sized programs on the Missouri list.

Required Core

Cultural, biological, linguistic and archaeological anthropology, plus history of anthropological theory

Methods Options

Ethnographic field school, field archaeology, forensic anthropology, internship or directed research

BA Versus BS

BA requires a minor or second major; BS adds a statistics course

Program Sources: Anthropology Program | Missouri State UniversityAnthropology Program | Missouri State University

Warrensburg’s Anthropology BS runs on hands-on formats: study tours, excavations, lab work, ethnographic interviews and internships. The Anthropological Study Tour takes you to the United Kingdom to assess how museums and historic sites present material to the public, and other courses cover the anthropology of food and hoaxes and myths in popular culture. Past majors have interned at the university’s McClure Archives and University Museum, and some assist faculty on research projects. With 8 degrees awarded in 2023–24, expect a small, close cohort. A minor in biology, international studies, political science, psychology or sociology pairs naturally with the major.

Study Tour

Anthropological Study Tour to the United Kingdom, focused on museums and historic sites

Experience Options

Internships, undergraduate research with faculty, and field schools or archaeological digs

Suggested Minors

Biology, international studies, political science, psychology or sociology

Program Sources: Anthropology, BS | University of Central MissouriAnthropology, BS | University of Central Missouri

Cape Girardeau’s anthropology majors train in all four subfields: sociocultural, linguistic, archaeology and biological anthropology. The curriculum stays flexible enough to let you go deeper in whichever one grabs you. The faculty’s own work gives the program its flavor, with specialties in forensic anthropology, mortuary analysis, food and beverage, Missouri archaeology and underwater archaeology. You get lab and field time through archaeological digs, forensic analysis and ethnographic research. Four degrees were awarded in 2023–24, so classes are small, which is how the department describes them too.

Subfield Training

Sociocultural, linguistic, archaeological and biological anthropology

Faculty Specialties

Forensic anthropology, mortuary analysis, Missouri archaeology and underwater archaeology

Hands-On Work

Archaeological digs, forensic analysis and ethnographic research

Program Sources: Anthropology Degree | Southeast Missouri State UniversityAnthropology Degree | Southeast Missouri State University

At Saint Louis University you take cultural anthropology, biological anthropology and archaeology as separate required courses, then add anthropological theory and a capstone in your final year. One methods course is yours to pick, from urban ethnography and primate social behavior to field recovery methods, archaeological lab method or supervised research. You also choose an emphasis in cultural, biological or archaeological anthropology and fill at least 12 credits with anthropology electives. The Archeology Lab gives you each semester a place to work with lithics and ceramics and to shape a research project of your own. Only five degrees were awarded in 2023–24.

Required Core

Cultural, biological and archaeological anthropology, anthropological theory and a capstone

Methods Choice

Urban ethnography, primate social behavior, field recovery, archaeological lab method or supervised research

Emphasis Areas

Cultural, biological or archaeological anthropology

Program Sources: Anthropology, B.A. | Saint Louis UniversityAnthropology, B.A. | Saint Louis University

You apply to WashU's anthropology PhD in one of three concentrations: archaeology, sociocultural anthropology, or biological anthropology. Everyone takes Social Theory and Anthropology in the first year and at least one course in a subfield outside their own, on the way to 42 units of graduate coursework. An MA is earned along the way, expected by the end of the second year. Your qualifying exam is the defense of a doctoral proposal before a research advisory committee of at least three anthropology faculty, held by December 15 of your third year. In the sociocultural concentration, that proposal takes the form of a major external grant proposal. Your committee can add a language, statistics, or lab training, and the degree is designed to finish within five years.

First-Year Core

ANTHRO 5473 Social Theory and Anthropology

Qualifying Exam

Doctoral proposal defense before a committee of three or more faculty by December 15 of year three

Cross-Subfield Course

At least one anthropology course outside your own concentration

Program Sources: Anthropology | Washington University BulletinAnthropology, PhD, Sociocultural Anthropology Concentration | Washington University Bulletin

The Columbia PhD asks for at least 72 semester hours beyond a bachelor’s degree, and the 30 hours of the MA count toward that total. Everyone completes the department’s core courses in cultural anthropology, archaeology and biological anthropology, plus basic and mid-level statistics. An oral qualifying exam comes in your first year. A written and oral comprehensive exam follows around the end of year two or three, built on a reading list and your dissertation proposal. You also teach, either as a teaching assistant for a semester or by helping a faculty member build a course. The dissertation can be a book or three or more papers.

Core Requirements

Cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology and statistics

Doctoral Milestones

First-year oral qualifying exam, then written and oral comprehensive exam

Dissertation Format

Traditional book-length dissertation or three or more primary-authored papers

Program Sources: PhD in Anthropology | University of Missouri CatalogPhD in Anthropology | University of Missouri Catalog