Information for Prospective Students
We invite students to join our established research programs. Our archaeology program explores the peoples and cultures of the New World, from the late Pleistocene through early historical times. Our cultural anthropology program encompasses a broad range of content areas, including applied, development, economic, ecological, feminist, medical, political, science-technology-society and urban anthropologies. Our biological anthropology program explores human-environment interaction as it shapes population and individual well-being across space and time.
Some of the features that distinguish our graduate program include:
- The collections of the William S. Webb Museum of Archaeology provide students with access to research, RA and internship opportunities.
- A productive faculty with diverse research interests.
- A robust and exciting program of colloquia and roundtable events, including both current faculty and visiting speakers.
- A successful record of career placement in both academic and nonacademic positions.
- A successful record of community partnerships and internships for students pursuing the applied M.A. degree.
- Opportunities for interdisciplinary study are available through graduate certificates in Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies, Gender and Women's Studies and Social Theory, among others.
- A supportive and vibrant graduate community with its own well-established governing body.
- A commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive community for all.
We are pleased to be able to offer assistantships to all of our incoming Ph.D. students, which include a stipend, a full tuition waiver (both in and out-of-state) and health insurance coverage. Occasionally, similar assistantships are available to M.A. students.
We have funding for a select number of applicants to visit the department in person. While here, they can attend classes, talk with faculty and current students, tour the facilities and explore the city of Lexington.
Lexington, Kentucky, is a vibrant and growing city of more than 300,000 people and is located within a six-hour drive of many other great cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Cleveland, St. Louis and Memphis. Cincinnati and Louisville are 80 minutes away. The city has a low cost of living compared to many comparable cities, and our graduate TA and RA stipends are higher than those paid at many of our benchmark institutions. All of our eligible Ph.D. students are funded through various sources, including teaching and research assistantships, for four or more years, and there are special fellowship opportunities for those who qualify (for example, many minority and first-generation Ph.D. students in our department have Lyman T. Johnson fellowships), making this a very affordable place to attend graduate school.
Fall 2015 Cohort: Fuzzy Sutton, Katie Alexander, Ashley Whitten, Goeun Lee, Anahid Matossian, Erfan Saidi Moqadam, Michael Flynn, and Dayton Daniel Starnes II. (Photo Credit: C. Cutright)
Ph.D. Program in Anthropology
The Department of Anthropology welcomes applications from interested students. We encourage potential students to contact individual faculty members or the director of graduate studies for more information about our program before applying. Our application deadline is Jan. 1. Please see a description of our program and degree requirements under the Graduate Curriculum. For an overview of the types of research conducted by Ph.D. candidates in our program, please see a list of recent dissertation titles.
M.A. Program in Applied Anthropology
Since its inception in the 1960s, the graduate program has been nationally recognized as a leader in applied anthropology. We define applied anthropology as research with practical application and impact, but anchored in a rigorous foundation in anthropological theory and method, whether from cultural, bio-cultural, medical or archaeological perspectives. With a grounding in core anthropological theory and method, we train our students to be skilled researchers who can traverse both academic and nonacademic settings, bringing to their research a sound intellectual base and skills for application and practice. The M.A. program offers concentrations in archaeology, cultural anthropology and medical anthropology. Most M.A. degrees include a practicum, including these recent internships and partnerships. Our application deadline is Jan. 1.
Application Procedures
All applications for graduate study at the University of Kentucky Graduate School must be submitted online. For materials required for application, please consult the Graduate School website for more information. Please note that the application deadline for both programs for fall 2026 admission is Jan. 1, 2026.
Please be sure to consult the anthropology program requirements before applying. Department standards for admission to graduate work in anthropology include an undergraduate grade point average of B or better, satisfactory Graduate Record Examination scores, completion of a separate departmental application form and three letters of recommendation. Consult the Graduate School website for additional information on departmental requirements and opportunities for financial assistance.
For more information or questions on program requirements, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Christopher Pool, at christopher.pool@uky.edu.
Fall 2016 Cohort: Alex Brown, Brittany Stanfield, Mauri Systo, Shayna Lindquist, Briana Moore, and Megan Parker. (Photo Credit: C. Cutright)