Anthropology and Education

Welcome to the Anthropology program


Anthropology is positioned to answer some of the toughest questions of education and policy-making because of its emphasis on spending time with and learning from people. Our program highlights participatory ethnography: engaging in and observing human activities and conversing with people as a means of improving education and collaborating with local groups and organizations. We offer one of the only master's programs in Anthropology and Education in the world and we offer a unique outlook on how to understand and support diverse approaches to education in and outside the classroom.

Our two doctoral programs help student develop the complex theoretical and methodological issues involved in the application of anthropological knowledge and approaches to matters of policy concern in medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, economic and community development, education, businesses and corporations, institutional programs, and ecological and environmental change.

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The masters program in Anthropology and Education is concerned with the cultural, social and linguistic dimensions of education. Our program offers insight to better understand inequalities, cultural differences, linguistic diversity, and the wealth of human life for educational purposes. We examine educational processes in schools and classrooms, in families, on street corners, in community centers, in churches, and in all other non-conventional education settings.

The Doctoral Programs are research degrees designed to help students develop the complex theoretical and methodological issues involved in the application of anthropological knowledge and approaches to matters of policy concern in medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, economic and community development, education, businesses and corporations, institutional programs, ecological and environmental change, etc. The programs lead to a Columbia degree and capitalize on the strength of the university's faculty.

Two doctoral programs are offered and differ slightly in their focus and the career paths for which they prepare.

The program in Anthropology and Education emphasizes theories of education and their uses in the analysis and planning of educational efforts in and out of schools. An Ed.D. in Anthropology and Education is also available under special circumstances.

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Anthropology at Teachers College

Anthropology Blog

The Anthropology Programs at Teachers College, Columbia University

Registration is Now Open!: 4th Annual Conference on Anthropology & Education

Registration Is Now Open: https://www.tc.columbia.edu/conferences/anthropology-for-education/ The 4th Conference on Anthropology & Education October 20-21, 2023 Teachers College, Columbia University 525 West 120th Street New York, NY 10027 Theme: Anthropology For Education After a hiatus, the Programs in Anthropology at Teachers College, Columbia University are excited to host the 4th Conference on Anthropology & Education with […]

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Call for Papers: Education for Anthropology

Proposals are due Friday, May 19th at 11:59 PM EST After a hiatus, the Programs in Anthropology at Teachers College, Columbia University are excited to host the 4th Conference on Anthropology & Education with the theme, Anthropology For Education. The conference will highlight ethnography and its value for educators and policy makers. We are pleased […]

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Return to the Field and Back to the Classroom

By Lottie Boumeester, MA in Anthropology and Education ’22 It’s another Sunday evening before school – a time that some teachers (and many others so gainfully employed) have often marked out for the Monday Blues. Yet I do not feel a sense of dread for the week ahead and I haven’t for many years. Since […]

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