Ph.D. in Anthropology

Wayne State's Ph.D. in Anthropology prepares scholars both for academic careers and work in applied and practice settings. Our program has particular strengths in medical anthropology, business/organizational anthropology, historical archaeology and urban anthropology, within a department that works with students across traditional subfields.

Our doctoral students acquire skills and concepts to allow them to solve contemporary social problems and apply their work both within and outside the academy. In addition to our core Ph.D. program, we have specialized interdisciplinary programs in social work and anthropology (SWAN) and anthropology and urban sustainability (T-RUST), as well as the M.D./Ph.D. program in the School of Medicine.

We recruit small classes of well-prepared applicants with a commitment to fund all students appropriately and to provide careful mentoring within a close-knit intellectual community. We are particularly proud of our record in preparing doctoral scholars who are members of groups underrepresented in the academy. Our commitment to our students, our home in the city of Detroit and the national and global reach of our scholarship exemplify the very best of our doctoral program in anthropology at Wayne State University.