Research, teaching, and service are the foundations of the Department of Anthropology at Washington University. The department is comprised of world-class scholars whose research interests represent three subfields of the discipline: sociocultural anthropology (including linguistics), archaeology, and physical anthropology.

Excellence in teaching and attention to undergraduates is a hallmark of the anthropology department, which offers a major and minor in anthropology, as well as an optional global health and environment track. The department also has a relatively small, top-ranked graduate program that trains scholars for the PhD in archaeology, physical anthropology, or sociocultural anthropology, and which gives students a high level of support.