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Why study at Northwestern?
The Department of Anthropology offers graduate students varied and rich educational opportunities:
- Connections to interdisciplinary programs in the University and opportunities to participate in an interdisciplinary learning cluster.
- Ongoing field research projects and archaeological excavations around the world.
- Professional training in research design, grant preparation and teaching.
- Opportunities for study at major Chicago-area universities, laboratories
and museums. Joint research with Chicago’s Field Museum exists studyingarchaeology of complex societies and urban anthropology focusing on Chicago culture, communities and social change. - Financial aid packages.
Review enrollment, admissions, and placement statistics for the department.
Ph.D. Program application materials
The application form for Fall 2026 admission opens on September 12, 2025.
Apply by submitting the following materials via the online application by the December 1, 2025 deadline:
- The Graduate School Application
- An academic statement (1000 word max) answering the following questions: what are your academic interests, why do you wish to pursue graduate studies in our department, how has your academic and professional background prepared you for graduate study, and how will our program help you achieve your intellectual and professional goals? Please include mention of any research, training, or educational experiences you have that would be relevant to our program;
- A personal statement (500 word max) addressing how, as a student in our graduate program, you could contribute to an intellectual community. Your answer may draw upon past or present experiences, whether in academic work, extracurricular or community activities, or everyday life;
- It is not required, but feel free to submit an additional statement (250 word max) addressing concerns you may have with your application. If you feel that your academic credentials do not demonstrate your true capabilities, or if there are gaps in your academic career that you would like to explain, this is the section in which to share that information;
- Transcripts (from all universities attended)
- Letters of Recommendation
- Writing Sample (desirable but not required)
- Curriculum Vita (desirable but not required)
- GRE Scores are not required, submission is optional
- TOEFL, IELTS or MET exam scores (required for all International/non-native English speaking applicants)
- To be considered official the exam must have been taken no more than two years prior to September 2026,
- Rules governing exemptions from this requirement are detailed at the bottom of this page
Additional details from Northwestern's Graduate School about the application (including further details on the TOEFL/IELTS/MET requirement, transcript submission, application fees, etc.) can be found on The Graduate School's website. The Department of Anthropology relies on the Northwestern Graduate School’s fee waiver program.
PLEASE NOTE:
All fee waiver requests are submitted as part of the online application form. The Department of Anthropology relies solely on the Northwestern Graduate School’s fee waiver program. We do not have the funding to offer fee waivers and have no fee waiver codes of our own to distribute either to domestic or international applicants.