Best Anthropology Programs in Oregon for 2027

Oregon’s anthropology major is organized by concentration. You pick one area, archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology or forensic anthropology, and complete the department checklist for it. A second or third concentration takes three more courses, 12 credits, though you can’t concentrate in all four. The department integrates three subfields and also offers a minor in anthropology or forensic anthropology. Experiential learning includes study abroad, research conferences and archaeological digs, and faculty lead programs such as a study abroad term in Barbados focused on the island’s cultural heritage. With 73 bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2023–24, this is one of the larger anthropology programs in Oregon.

Concentrations

Archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology and forensic anthropology

Additional Concentrations

Three more courses, 12 credits, for each extra concentration

Related Minors

Anthropology or forensic anthropology

Program Sources: Major Requirements | AnthropologyAnthropology | Social Sciences

Oregon State’s anthropology major has four options: archaeology, biocultural anthropology, cultural anthropology and general anthropology. Everyone takes the same required core, which includes Indigenous Anthropology, Anthropological Theories and Anthropology in Practice, along with a choice between Anthropology of Difference, Power, and Oppression and a service learning course on reproductive justice. You pick two introductions from cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology and language, culture and society, and at least 12 credits must be at the 400 level. A grade of C-minus or better counts toward the major. With 56 degrees awarded in 2023–24, this is one of the larger anthropology programs on the Oregon page.

Options

Archaeology, biocultural anthropology, cultural anthropology or general anthropology

Required Core

Indigenous Anthropology, Anthropological Theories, Anthropology in Practice and a power and oppression or reproductive justice course

Upper-Division Rule

At least 12 credits at the 400 level, excluding blanket-numbered courses

Program Sources: Anthropology Undergraduate Major (BA, BS, HBA, HBS)

Reed’s anthropology department concentrates on two subfields, linguistic and cultural, and treats research as the main event. Year one starts with a gateway course, Topics in Contemporary Anthropology, alongside work in a second language and Humanities 110. In your junior year you take the junior qualifying exam, which prepares you for the senior thesis, an independent project guided by a faculty mentor. You can add a concentration in linguistic anthropology, which needs at least three linguistics courses, or in science, environment, and technology studies, which pairs anthropology with natural science or math and also ends in a thesis. Reed awarded 15 anthropology bachelor’s degrees in 2023–24.

Gateway Course

Topics in Contemporary Anthropology

Junior Qualifying Exam

Prepares you for the senior thesis

Concentrations

Linguistic anthropology, or science, environment, and technology studies

Program Sources: Major Anthropology - Academics | Reed College

Portland State’s anthropology major runs 53 to 54 credits and has you learn archaeology in the lab as well as the classroom, since Archaeological Method and Theory comes with its own laboratory course. The core also includes Practicing Anthropology, a pick from Paleoanthropology, Human Variation or Primate Ecology and Behavior, and Identity and Society or Culture and Power. BA majors complete two years of a foreign language, while BS majors take introductory probability and statistics. Upper-division work is 20 elective credits with at least one methods course and 12 credits at the 400 level, and up to 8 of those credits can come from approved geography, geology or environmental courses.

Archaeology Core

Archaeological Method and Theory with a laboratory course

BA and BS Difference

BA majors complete two years of a foreign language; BS majors take Stat 244

Methods Requirement

At least one methods course among the 20 upper-division elective credits

Program Sources: Program Details | Anthropology Bachelor’s | Portland State University

Linfield’s anthropology major sits inside Sociology and Anthropology and totals 40 credits, available as a BA or a BS. You begin with Exploring Sociology and Anthropology and Cultural Anthropology, then take Social Research Methods and a social theory seminar. Senior year has two capstones: a fall research and thesis course, and a spring internship and applied capstone seminar. Electives include Introduction to Archaeology, Introduction to Linguistics and a semester of study abroad, with a world area course allowed as a substitute in some cases. Linfield awarded 4 anthropology bachelor’s degrees in 2023–24, which means a small cohort.

Methods and Theory

Social Research Methods and a social theory seminar

Senior Sequence

SOAN 490 Research/Thesis and SOAN 487 Internship/Applied Capstone Seminar

Major Size

40 credits in Sociology/Anthropology

Program Sources: Anthropology Major | Linfield University

Pacific’s cultural anthropology major is a 31 to 35 credit program in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, Law and Society. You train in qualitative and ethnographic research, starting with Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. The methods requirement is either Trinidad Culture and Society, paired with a 2-credit travel course, or Qualitative Research. A junior seminar such as Designing Ethnography leads into a capstone built around Writing Ethnography and an Ethnography Lab, or a directed research capstone. A version of the major adds study abroad. Pacific awarded 5 anthropology bachelor’s degrees in 2023–24.

Methods Choice

Trinidad Culture and Society with a travel course, or Qualitative Research

Capstone Sequence

Writing Ethnography with Ethnography Lab, or Directed Research: Capstone

Study Abroad Version

Cultural Anthropology with Study Abroad, BA

Program Sources: Cultural Anthropology, BA | Pacific University Academic Catalog

Oregon’s anthropology PhD asks you to concentrate in archaeology, biological anthropology or cultural anthropology, while the department works across subfields through five areas of expertise. If you arrive without a relevant master’s, you’re admitted as a Conditional Doctoral Student and earn an MA or MS in the department first. Your advisor and doctoral committee oversee the main milestones: comprehensive examinations, a proposal defense and dissertation research. After advancement you register for at least 18 credits of Dissertation (603), and the degree must be completed within 7 years. The university awarded 3 anthropology doctorates in 2023–24.

Concentrations

Archaeology, biological anthropology or cultural anthropology

Milestones

Comprehensive examinations, proposal defense and dissertation research

Dissertation Credits

At least 18 credits of Dissertation (603) after advancement

Program Sources: PhD Requirements | AnthropologyPhD Requirements | Key Program Requirements

Oregon State’s doctorate is the PhD in Applied Anthropology, which ties anthropological theory to practice within a concentration you choose. You enter with a master’s in anthropology or a related field, or earn the equivalent graduate credits after admission, and then complete 25 credits of specialization that include ANTH 695 for developing your dissertation research project. Before comprehensive exams you show second-language proficiency through two years of university study or a proficiency exam. The degree ends with 9 credits of comprehensive review and 36 credits of dissertation. The program also expects teaching or leadership experience in a classroom or fieldwork setting. Oregon State awarded 1 doctorate in 2023–24.

Specialization Credits

25 credits, including ANTH 695 for the dissertation research project

Second Language

Two years of university-level study or a proficiency exam before comprehensive exams

Master’s Specializations

Archaeology, biocultural anthropology and cultural/linguistic anthropology

Program Sources: Applied Anthropology Graduate Major (MA, MS, PhD)

Linn-Benton’s anthropology emphasis is an Associate of Science written for students who plan to finish a bachelor’s at Oregon State. The program courses are Introduction to Anthropology, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, and either Introduction to Archaeology or Introduction to Biological Anthropology, with ANTH 232, 270 and 283 suggested as electives. The college strongly encourages Oregon State’s Degree Partnership Program, because some lower-division courses are offered only there. The Oregon State BA needs two years of a second language, which LBCC recommends starting early, while the BS does not. At Oregon State you’d choose biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics or cultural anthropology. LBCC awarded 3 anthropology associate degrees in 2023–24.

Transfer Partner

Oregon State University, with the Degree Partnership Program encouraged

Program Courses

Introduction to Anthropology, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, and archaeology or biological anthropology

Second Language

Two years recommended for the Oregon State BA

Program Sources: Linn-Benton Community College - AnthropologyAnthropology emphasis, Associate of Science