Anthropology is the study of humans, and at the University of Oregon we accomplish this through the integration of three distinct yet complementary subfields: archaeology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology.
The Department of Anthropology is dedicated to better understanding human cultural and biological origins and diversity through education and research. The faculty is committed to excellence in teaching and to the advancement of knowledge through local, national, and international programs of research. As anthropologists, we are engaged in understanding recent and historical developments in the world at large, and we also seek to bring anthropological perspectives to bear on the problems of a modern global society.
The department embraces a broad intellectual pluralism where different theoretical and methodological approaches are recognized and valued.
Anthropology Commencement
Sunday, June 15th, 2025
4-6 pm
East Campus Green
What you can do with a degree in Anthropology
Our students leave our program well equipped to step into multiple careers, including:
- Academia
- Government and nonprofit sectors
- Public and social policy
- Human rights work
- Land and resource management
- Cultural heritage management
- Primatology
- Conservation biology
- Forensic science
- Public health and medical professions
- Laboratory or field technician
- Independent consulting and contracting
Faculty Spotlight
Katelyn McDonough
Katelyn McDonough is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Native American and Indigenous Studies, and Curator of Great Basin Archaeology at the UO’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History. An environmental archaeologist interested in long-term relationships between people, foodways, and landscapes, Katelyn focuses on people’s interactions with plants and changing environments during and since the late Pleistocene in North America and uses archaeobotany, ethnobotany, palynology, and parasitology to investigate these dynamics. As Director of the Northern Great Basin Archaeology Field School, Katelyn is currently leading education and research programs at the Connley Caves, a series of rockshelters in central Oregon where Indigenous communities intermittently resided for more than 12,500 years. She also is involved with field- and collections-based projects throughout the Far West, including environmental and dietary studies in Washington, Oregon, and Nevada.
Faculty Spotlight
Gabriel Sanchez
Gabriel Sanchez is an Indigenous Anthropologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Native American and Indigenous Studies. He also is the Curator of Zooarchaeology at the UO’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History and the director of the Coastal Archaeology and Ancient Proteomics Laboratory. Gabriel currently participates in a collaborative and community-based participatory research project with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, and California State Parks, to investigate the native range of California’s endangered salmon species, which are vulnerable to extinction or extirpation. Another focus of Gabriel’s investigation is Indigenous persistence in California during the Spanish mission era to understand how Esselen ancestors evaded the Spanish mission system and continued practicing traditional lifeways.
Our Degree Programs
The Department of Anthropology is dedicated to better understanding human cultural and biological origins and diversity through education and research. We embrace a broad intellectual pluralism where different theoretical and methodological approaches are recognized and valued.
Learn from Experts in the Field
Our faculty are committed to excellence in teaching and to the advancement of knowledge through local, national, and international programs of research. As anthropologists, we are engaged in understanding recent and historical developments in the world at large, and we also seek to bring anthropological perspectives on the problems of a modern global society.
Get Real-world Experience
Students have multiple opportunities to extend their education through opportunities like studying abroad during a term or a full academic year, or attending research conferences and archaeological site digs while at the UO.
Continue Our Legacy of Groundbreaking Research
The Department of Anthropology has roots stretching back as far as 1929, when Dr. Luther S. Cressman joined the UO faculty to develop advanced research in sociology and teach social anthropology. His landmark contribution to the archaeology of the West remains his discovery in the early 1930s that human occupation of the Northwest was as early as that known anywhere in North America.
Scholarships and Funding
The Department of Anthropology offers several small awards to support undergraduate research and conference attendance. Multiple scholarships funded by the UO are also available for students that can be used to fund tuition, study abroad, research and other academic expenses.
Academic Support
Advising in the Department of Anthropology starts with our Undergrad Advising Coordinator, who welcomes students to the major and helps them understand our degree requirements. She introduces students to departmental resources, connects them with departmental advising, answers students' general questions about the program, courses and other opportunities, and helps students check their degree requirements for timely graduation.
The Department of Anthropology welcomes gifts from donors to enhance its dynamic academic programs for undergraduate and graduate students. The donated funds go directly to support student and faculty research, colloquia, departmental events, etc.
