About Us

Anthropology at Berkeley




Anthropology at Berkeley: Then and Now

The Department of Anthropology was established by the Regents on September 10, 1901. The first course, one in North American ethnology, was given in the Spring semester of 1902 by A. L. Kroeber.

An introductory survey course of anthropology, including physical anthropology, ethnology, and archaeology, was introduced in 1905-06. The teaching staff of the Department increased slowly; by the time of the First World War, there were two and one-half teaching positions. Another was added in 1927, and still another ten years later. One more position was added in 1946, and one in 1948. Since 1958, the Department has had approximately 25 regular faculty members.

The first M.A. in anthropology was granted in 1904, and the first Ph.D. in 1908. Since the 1920s, Berkeley has been one of the major sources of professional anthropologists in the world.

The Department grew out of Phoebe Apperson Hearst's interest in establishing a program in anthropological research at the University in 1899. Hearst supported archaeological expeditions in Egypt, Italy and Peru, and research on archaeology, ethnology, and native languages in California. She provided all funds for salaries, facilities and research in the Department until 1906, when the Regents took over support for Anthropology. Hearst also supported the establishment of the anthropology museum. It is one of the greatest anthropological museums in the country, and an important asset to the teaching program.

The Department of Anthropology at Berkeley is among the foremost departments in the United States, a position it has held for decades. Berkeley's department is distinctive for the breadth and depth of its interests—from prehistoric cave art to biotechnology.

The social cultural anthropologists are concerned with a broad range of research on the contemporary world. Faculty are engaged in ongoing research in India, Russia, France, China, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Iceland, South Africa, Canada, Spain, and the United States.

The archaeologists do research on the earliest origins of human culture, the social and cultural development of humans in Europe, Africa, Oceania, Mesoamerica, and North America, and the archaeology of historic cultures in North America and elsewhere. Their topical interests include technology, change, prehistoric art, agriculture, and ecology. Geographical strengths of the department include Europe, East Asia, India, Southeast Asia, Oceania, the Near East, North America, Mexico, South America, and the Circumpolar Region.

Degrees offered

The Department offers a Ph.D. in Anthropology, with the subdisciplines of Social Cultural Anthropology or Archaeoleogy. (Classical Archaeology is part of the Classics Department.)

The Department offers a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology, in cooperation with the University of California, San Francisco.

A Master of Arts degree is available in the area of Folklore.

The Department's Undergraduate Program consists of a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, and a minor in Anthropology.

Contact information

Anthropology Department
232 Kroeber Hall
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-3710
Ph: 510.642.3392
FAX: 510.643.8557

Anthropology at Berkeley
Centennial, 1901-2001

Faculty