Best Anthropology Programs in Tennessee for 2027

Tennessee’s anthropology major has a gate: you finish the three introductory courses in biological anthropology, archaeology and cultural anthropology with at least a 2.66 GPA and no grade below a C, then apply for progression and get a departmental advisor. Once in, you can follow the general BA or pick a concentration in archaeology, forensic anthropology, or Disasters, Displacement and Human Rights, which opens once you have declared the major and finished the prerequisites. An honors major is also available. With 101 degrees awarded in 2023–24, this is one of the larger anthropology programs on the Tennessee page, which it leads.

Progression Requirement

Three introductory courses with a 2.66 GPA and no grade below C

Concentrations

Archaeology, Forensic, and Disasters, Displacement and Human Rights

Honors

Separate honors major requirements

Program Sources: Major, Concentrations, and Minors | AnthropologyMajor, Concentrations, and Minors | Anthropology

Vanderbilt’s anthropology major is 30 credits built around a theme you choose: environment and place; healing, medicine and culture; social politics and power; identity, ethnicity and gender; biocultural foundations in health, genetics, forensics and ethics; or language, cognition and culture. Around that sit two subfield introductions, a theory course, a methods course that can involve ethnographic interviews, GIS, AI applications or drone technologies, and a capstone in engaged anthropology through an independent study, internship or honors thesis. The department’s research leans toward Latin America and historically marginalized groups. Fourteen students graduated in 2023–24, second on the Tennessee page.

Themes

Six predesigned themes or a self-designed theme approved by the director of undergraduate studies

Methods

Ethnographic interviews, archaeological investigations, GIS, AI applications and drone technologies

Capstone

Independent study, internship or honors thesis in engaged anthropology

Program Sources: Major & Minor | Department of Anthropology | Vanderbilt UniversityMajor & Minor | Department of Anthropology | Vanderbilt University

Memphis builds its anthropology BA on a 30-hour major: ANTH 1100, 1200, 3200 and 4065 are required, followed by 18 more hours, at least six of them at the 4000 level. An honors program adds four honors courses, including an independent study that ends in a research paper, thesis or report, for juniors and seniors with a 3.25 GPA in anthropology. The department also lists an Undergraduate Internship in Anthropology and an Accelerated BA/MA Program for majors. Nineteen students earned the degree in 2023–24, which puts Memphis third on the Tennessee list.

Major Core

ANTH 1100, 1200, 3200 and 4065 plus 18 more hours

Honors Program

Four honors courses including an independent study research paper or thesis

Accelerated Option

Accelerated BA/MA Program

Program Sources: Undergraduate Program Degree Requirements and Course DescriptionUndergraduate Resources - Department of Anthropology

Rhodes teaches anthropology and sociology together in one department and one major, with about nine majors in a typical graduating class. You start with Anthropology/Sociology 103 and 105, take a methods course (choices run from the department’s own methods courses to Archaeology 120 and 450), and move through 351 and 380 in the fall of junior year before the senior-year 485 and 486. Five electives, 20 credits, can include Archaeological Methods, the Archaeological Field School and a GIS course. The field school and its lab teach the biological and geological methods behind human and environmental interaction at prehistoric and historic sites. Twelve degrees were awarded in 2023–24, fourth in Tennessee.

Core Sequence

Courses 103 and 105, then 351 and 380 in junior fall, then 485 and 486 in senior year

Field School

Archaeology Field School with an accompanying lab

Electives

Five courses, 20 credits, including archaeology and GIS options

Program Sources: Anthropology and Sociology | Rhodes CollegeRequirements for a Major in Anthropology/Sociology

MTSU puts fieldwork at the center of its anthropology degree, available as a BS or a BA. The department has run an annual summer archaeology field school since 1995, with excavation on Tennessee sites that range from prehistoric Native American sites 4000 to 1000 years old to frontier forts to African-American slave sites. International field opportunities since 1998 have gone to Mexico, Brazil, England, Australia and New Zealand. Internships connect you with the National Park Service, local archaeological firms and parks, and the archaeology laboratory is there for hands-on work. Twenty-seven students finished the degree in 2023–24, fifth on the Tennessee page.

Field School

Annual summer archaeology field school since 1995

International Fieldwork

Mexico, Brazil, England, Australia and New Zealand

Internships

National Park Service, local archaeological firms and parks

Program Sources: Anthropology Degree | B.S. or B.A. | MTSUAnthropology Degree | B.S. or B.A. | MTSU

At Sewanee, every anthropology major completes a semester-long field methods project, in the United States or abroad, through the archaeology field school, Anthropological Field Methods, or another approved field-based course. The 36 hours also include Introductory Cultural Anthropology, an introduction to biological anthropology and archaeology (or World Prehistory), the Senior Seminar in Anthropological Theory and five more anthropology courses. The comprehensive exam is a Senior Thesis, a research paper with an oral component that draws on several courses. Majors are encouraged to study abroad in junior year. Sewanee awarded 14 degrees in 2023–24, sixth on the Tennessee page.

Field Methods

Archaeology field school, Anthropological Field Methods or an approved field-based course

Senior Seminar

ANTH 403, Senior Seminar in Anthropological Theory

Comprehensive Exam

Senior Thesis with an oral component

Program Sources: Anthropology < Sewanee | University of the SouthAnthropology < Sewanee | University of the South

East Tennessee State’s anthropology BA is 34 credit hours with a required minor. The 19-hour core covers cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, anthropological theory, social statistics and ethnographic methods. Guided electives then send you to one course in each of four areas: archaeology, biology and culture, culture studies, and health and culture. You also sit a Major Field Test. The department describes the degree as a fit for people drawn to the cultures of the Southeastern U.S. and Latin America, and as a second major for students headed toward journalism, medicine or museum curation. Five students graduated in 2023–24, and ETSU ranks seventh in Tennessee.

Core

Cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, theory, social statistics and ethnographic methods

Guided Electives

One course each in archaeology, biology and culture, culture studies, and health and culture

Exit Requirement

Major Field Test and a minor of your choosing

Program Sources: Anthropology | ETSU Sociology & AnthropologyAnthropology | ETSU Sociology & Anthropology

Lee University’s BA in anthropology includes a required seminar on the integration of anthropology and Christian faith. The rest of the specialty core covers archaeology, cultural, linguistic and biological anthropology, research methods and statistics, anthropological thought and theory, and ethnographic writing and research. You add six hours of culture-area study, such as the Arab world and Islam, Native Americans of the Southwest, Contemporary Latin American Culture or Contemporary Chinese Culture, plus 12 hours of electives that include archaeology field methods and visual anthropology. The program describes itself as useful in missions, education and health care. Seven students graduated in 2023–24, and Lee is eighth in Tennessee.

Required Seminar

A Seminar in the Integration of Anthropology and Christian Faith

Culture Area Studies

Six hours, with regional choices such as the Arab world, the Southwest, Latin America and China

Language

Six hours of foreign language at the intermediate level

Program Sources: Anthropology (ANTHR.BA) | Lee UniversityAnthropology (ANTHR.BA) | Lee University

The University of Tennessee’s anthropology PhD has three concentrations: anthropological archaeology, biological anthropology and cultural anthropology. You apply with a master’s degree in anthropology or a related field such as biology, sociology, geology, classics, history, historic preservation or geography. Applications for admission and for a departmental teaching assistantship are due December 1. Research the department highlights includes a forensic science and transitional justice project in northern Uganda, a Community DNA Project in the U.S. Mountain South, and a study of genetic ancestry, race and national belonging in Argentina. The program awarded seven doctorates in 2023–24 and ranks first in Tennessee.

Concentrations

Anthropological archaeology, biological anthropology and cultural anthropology

Admission

Master’s degree in anthropology or a related field; applications due December 1

Research Projects

Northern Uganda forensic project, Community DNA Project, genetic ancestry in Argentina

Program Sources: MA / PhD - AnthropologyMA / PhD - Anthropology

Vanderbilt’s anthropology PhD is built around Central America, Mexico and South America, with scholarship in the Caribbean and North America too, and it expects proficiency in Spanish, Portuguese or another language relevant to your research. The degree takes 72 graduate credit hours, 51 of them in formal coursework, starting with a two-part history of anthropological theory and first-year professionalization seminars. You choose primary, secondary and tertiary subfields, write two essays for a comprehensive exam in the fourth semester, and defend a dissertation proposal to reach candidacy. Training options include Mayan languages, GIS, skeletal analysis, stable isotope analysis and genetic research. Two doctorates were awarded in 2023–24.

Credit Requirement

72 graduate credit hours, at least 51 in formal coursework

Language Requirement

Spanish, Portuguese or another relevant language, completed by the fourth semester

Comprehensive Exam

Two substantial essays written in the fourth semester

Program Sources: Degree Requirements | Department of Anthropology | Vanderbilt UniversityDegree Requirements | Department of Anthropology | Vanderbilt University