• Substantively, the Field of Anthropology combines humanistic and social scientific approaches in innovative ethnographic research, emphasizing culture as a productive process and anthropologists as engaged in understanding and defending cultural diversity. Geographically, our greatest depth is in Asia (East, South and Southeast), but the Americas, Europe, and Oceania all also figure importantly. The Field of Anthropology has strong ties with all the geographic area programs, as well as faculty active in many other interdisciplinary programs, including joint appointments with Asian American Studies, Latino Studies and Women's Studies.
  • The Field of Anthropology primarily admits candidates seeking a Ph.D. because of the lack of funding for, and employment with, only an M.A. With very rare exceptions, every student admitted to the Ph.D. program receives full funding to support all the expected years of on-campus study. In recent years, all our graduate students have received additional funding, either from Cornell or from major external sources such as NSF, Fulbright, SSRC, and Wenner-Gren to conduct both preliminary and dissertation field research. Most students complete the Ph.D. within seven years and most have gone on to find academic employment at major colleges and universities in the U.S. or abroad.