Skip Navigation

Anthropology

Group of students working on joint OU-OAS archaeological field school excavation.

Welcome to the Department of Anthropology!

The Department of Anthropology is a vibrant intellectual community that seeks to advance knowledge of and respect for human cultures. Our faculty members have wide-ranging expertise, spanning the sociocultural, linguistic, biological, archaeological, and medical anthropology subfields.

Anthropology has been taught at the University of Oklahoma since 1905 and became its own department in 1927. We offer BA, BS, and MA degrees and have the only PhD anthropology program in the state of Oklahoma. Historically, the main focus of our department has been on the Americas, with a primary focus on Native North America and a secondary emphasis on Latin America. We also continue the historical relationship of anthropology to the larger international arena. Our Native North America focus reflects our location in a state with 39 federally recognized American Indian tribes, and includes undergraduate and graduate courses and mutually beneficial research partnerships among faculty members, graduate students, Native Americans, and tribal governments. Increasingly, our faculty also engage with other communities and populations in the state and region, offering a robust environment for collaborative research. 

Our comprehensive undergraduate and graduate curriculum is based on the traditional four-field approach in Archaeology, Sociocultural Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, and Linguistics. In recent years, the department has developed unique degree programs in Human Health and Biology, leveraging anthropology's holistic perspective to understand how biological and cultural diversity shape experiences and outcomes of health and disease. This integrated approach of all our degree programs produces graduates who are critical and holistic thinkers, broadly trained, and prepared to positively contribute to today's multicultural and globalized society.

What is Anthropology?

Anthropology is the study of what makes us human, including the study of human culture, history, and evolution. The discipline draws upon and contributes to knowledge from the social and biological sciences as well as the humanities and physical sciences.

Anthropologists share a commitment to:

  • Holistic Study of the Human Experience
  • Ethical Conduct
  • Respect for Cultural Differences

The Department of Anthropology engages with the public and university through...


Recent News

Amanda Minks and Daniel Mains

Dan Mains and Amanda Minks Join the Anthropology Faculty.

October 07, 2024

On Monday, the Anthropology Department welcomes two new faculty members, Dan Mains and Amanda Minks. They are both sociocultural anthropologists and Full Professors. Moving forward, their teaching and service responsibility will be split between Honors and Anthropology. We are excited to have them join the Department!

Brian Kemp

Dr. Brian Kemp Co-Publishes a Study in Science Advances.

January 21, 2025

Former Anthropology undergraduate Ryan Frome and faculty member Dr. Brian M. Kemp co-published a study about ancient relations between canids (dogs, foxes, wolves, coyotes) and some of the earliest human inhabitants of North America/Beringia in Science Advances.

Pailes, Matt

Associate Professor Matthew Pailes received an NSF award to conduct three years of field work in Sonora, Mexico.

January 27, 2025

Associate Professor Matthew Pailes received notice of an NSF award for $102,340 to conduct three years of field work in Sonora, Mexico exploring the spread of agriculture.

Click here to access more news from the Anthropology Department!

What Do Anthropologists Do?

Hear from some of our graduates about how they are putting their anthropology degrees to work.

Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Ph.D.

Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Ph.D.

William & Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia)

Teaching Professor of Anthropology, Thomasina E. Jordan Director of the American Indian Resource Center, Administrator of the Native Studies Minor, and Curator of Native American Art at the Muscarelle Museum of Art

Grace Ma, Ph.D.

Grace Ma, Ph.D.

Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University

Associate Dean for Health Disparities, Founding Director of Center for Asian Health, and Laura H. Carnell Professor in Urban Health & Population Science

Upuli-DeSilva

Upuli DeSilva, M.A.

Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine

Ph.D. Candidate

Academics and Research

Explore our undergraduate majors, courses offered and research opportunities.

UNDERGRADUATE
PROGRAM

Learn more about our graduate program, courses offered and financial assistance.

GRADUATE
PROGRAM

Explore our research areas, facilities, support services and centers.

RESEARCH

People and Resources

 

Learn more about our faculty, staff, postdocs and graduate students.

PEOPLE

Explore the resources and facilities available to our faculty and students.

RESOURCES

See what areas of need the Department of Anthropology currently has.

GIVE

Anthropology Events