In 2010 the National Research Council ranked Pennsylvania State University among the top four anthropology departments in the U.S. Anthropology research at Penn State falls into four general areas: human evolutionary biology with a focus on fossils, bones, behavior and genetics; evolution of cultural complexity; past and present ecological context; and demographic and population response to social and environmental change. The school's graduate program is competitive and generally admits five students of every 100 applicants. Prospective graduate students must take the Graduate Record Exam; most admitted students score over 1200 on the test. The school also offers a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, a Bachelor of Science in Biological Anthropology and a Bachelor of Science in Archaeological Science.
Duke University's anthropology department ranked among the top on the National Research Council's list. The department offers baccalaureate degrees, a joint master's degree in anthropology and law through Duke Law School, a doctorate program, and a certificate in anthropology and history. Students focus in one of four areas: cultural; linguistics; archaeology; or evolutionary, which emphasizes anatomy, human origins and primates. Faculty research includes African music, human rights, golf culture in America, indigenous organizing, racism in the U.S. and race, gender and sexuality. The doctoral program generally admits five students per year from 120 to 150 applicants.
Harvard University's Department of Anthropology ranked in the top three in 2010. The department is divided into the broad fields of archaeology and social anthropology. Social anthropology is further divided into the sub-disciplines of social anthropology, linguistic, medical, sensory ethnography and applied anthropology. Harvard offers baccalaureate degrees, a terminal Master's of Medical Anthropology, and doctoral degrees in Media Anthropology and Medical Anthropology. The graduate program accepts eight or nine students each year from more than 160 applicants. Faculty research areas include secularism and religion, early farming societies, globalization, food systems, urban ecology and sensory ethnography.
The National Research Council ranked Stanford University's Department of Anthropology fourth in the U.S. in 2010. The department's focus lies in using anthropological perspectives to solve contemporary global problems. Unlike many other universities, Stanford's anthropology department does not divide studies into sub-fields, but rather melds boundaries of topics as seemingly diverse as language and ecology, or archaeology and current politics of representation. Faculty research areas include transnational political economy and globalization, sex and gender, spatial dynamics, heritage ethics, and culture and health. Stanford offers a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, a co-terminal and terminal Master of Arts in and a Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral students must choose a track of study from culture and society, archaeology or ecology and environment, and complete the program within five years.