Anthropology

Program Overview

Anthropology is concerned with the unity and diversity of humanity (and related primates) and of human culture and society from a comparative and global perspective. For nearly 150 years, aspects of anthropology have been taught at University of Toronto. The Department of Anthropology was established in 1936 and has included many of the most prominent figures in Canadian anthropology.

Members of the department conduct research on present and past human societies, cultural knowledge and practice, evolutionary antecedents, and closely related species. We offer graduate training in sociocultural, medical, biological, linguistic, and archaeological branches of the field.

The Department of Anthropology offers research training and courses of instruction in five fields:

• Archaeology
• Evolutionary Anthropology
• Linguistic and Semiotic Anthropology
• Medical Anthropology
• Sociocultural Anthropology

The Master of Arts degree program is offered in all five fields.​

The Master of Science degree program may normally be taken in three fields: Archaeology, Evolutionary Anthropology, and Medical Anthropology.

The Department of Anthropology is not currently accepting international applicants to its Master’s programs.

The Doctor of Philosophy is primarily a research degree. A program of study is designed for each student to ensure competence in a field of research, culminating in the writing of a thesis.

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