Group of young adults excavating soil in a park, kneeling with trowels and buckets nearby.

Anthropology Degree

Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Anthropology

Discover What Makes Us Human: Explore Anthropology

UMF’s Anthropology program offers hands-on learning and student-led research that makes a positive impact on local, regional, and state communities.

The University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) Anthropology program offers students engaging, hands-on opportunities to explore human cultures and societies. As a field of study, anthropology draws on both the sciences and humanities to explore how people live, communicate, organize societies, and adapt to a changing world, providing insights into the human experience across past, present, and future.

A defining feature of UMF’s program is its emphasis on student-led research. Students investigate questions and issues that matter to them while contributing meaningful insights that can benefit local, regional, and statewide communities. Through fieldwork and interactive research projects, students gain valuable skills that go beyond the classroom.

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The Learning Experience

With opportunities for fieldwork, research, and project-based learning locally, regionally, and abroad, you’ll develop strong analytical, research, and critical thinking skills that prepare you for graduate study and your career. Through coursework exploring human diversity across time and place you’ll learn:

  • Social and cultural anthropology, with a focus on globalization, gender, and food systems
  • Archaeology, with a focus on human origins, material culture, and resource management
  • Biomedical anthropology, with a focus on global health and healing
  • Environmental anthropology, with a focus on climate change and causes/consequences of human behavior

Explore Courses and Requirements

What Makes UMF Unique

Small Classes, Big Opportunities

Small class sizes mean more personal attention, stronger faculty connections, and opportunities to shape your learning experience. Students are encouraged to connect anthropology with other fields across campus to deepen their academic and career pathways.
Academics

Hands-on Experiences

Anthropology at UMF is built around doing, not just studying. Students gain real-world experience through internships and applied learning in cultural anthropology, archaeology, and community-based work.
Experiential Learning

Affordability

UMF offers a high-quality anthropology education at a strong value. Students benefit from hands-on experiences, faculty support, and real-world learning without the high cost of many field-based programs.
Financial Aid & Costs

Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Anthropology at UMF encourages students to think locally and globally through fieldwork and research opportunities in Maine, across the U.S., and abroad. The program prepares students to apply anthropology in meaningful ways in communities, careers, and graduate study.
Anthropology students standing in front of a castle.

Travel Opportunities

Faculty lead students on exciting summer travel courses examining the past and present cultures of Peru and New Mexico, where students are able to explore archaeological sites such as Machu Picchu and Mesa Verde, as well as contemporary indigenous communities.

Also our vibrant Anthropology Club hosts campus activities, takes field trips to regional museums and cultural events, and has attended national anthropology conferences in cities such as New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Portland, Oregon.

Fieldwork & Interships

Students gain applied experience through internships and fieldwork that connect classroom learning to real-world practice. Unique to UMF fieldwork opportunities are available on and near campus, giving students direct hands-on experience in archaeology and cultural research.

The program partners with the Northeast Archaeology Research Center, just minutes from campus, where students work in cultural resource management on projects across Maine and the broader region through internships, as well as part-time and full-time jobs. Additional internships are available with museums, archives, healthcare organizations, and community institutions throughout Maine.

What You Can Do with an Anthropology Degree

A degree in Anthropology opens the door to a wide range of careers because it equips you with skills in research, critical thinking, cultural understanding, and communication. It prepares you to understand human behavior, culture, and history—skills that are valuable in nearly any field that involves people.

Interested in a minor?

The Anthropology minor introduces students to the methods and approaches used to study human societies, cultures, and histories across time and around the world. Students gain experience in cultural analysis, archaeological inquiry, and understanding human development and diversity.

Complimentary minors for Anthropology majors include: History, International and Global Studies, Geography, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Political Science.
Anthropology Minor
“College was the perfect basecamp for me to grow as a person, learn how to learn, and figure out who I am before launching into my next chapter. I had professors who took the time to get to know me, and believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.”
Eve Poteet
’26 Graduate with Anthropology and Creative Writing Double Major

Student Spotlights

Adam Tosch

Adam Tosch, a 2026 UMF Anthropology graduate and Commencement student speaker, was an active member of the Anthropology Club who took part in hands-on learning connecting classroom study with archaeology and historical research. Through these experiences, Adam has built a strong foundation for advanced study in archaeology and will continue his studies at the University of Aberdeen.
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Person wearing a life jacket paddles a colorful kayak on a calm river, with dense green banks and overcast sky behind.

Evelyn Potts

For 2026 graduate Eve Poteet, UMF was more than the place where she earned degrees in Anthropology and Creative Writing. It was where she found a community, discovered her confidence, and built the foundation for a career dedicated to caring for public lands.
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Learn from Faculty Across the Social Sciences

At UMF, you’ll learn from experienced anthropology faculty while also taking classes with professors in related social science fields like history, geography, and political science — giving you a broader understanding of cultures, societies, and the world around you.
Questions? Ask a Professor!
Nicole Coffey Kellett
Nicole Coffey Kellett

Professor of Anthropology

About Nicole
Lucas Kellett
Lucas Kellett

Associate Professor of Anthropology

About Lucas
Scott Erb
Scott Erb

Professor of Political Science

About Scott
James Melcher
James Melcher

Professor of Political Science

About James
Linda Beck
Linda Beck

Professor of Political Science

About Linda
Matthew McCourt
Matthew McCourt

Associate Professor of Geography

About Matthew
Michael Schoeppner
Michael Schoeppner

Associate Professor of History,

About Michael
Brad Dearden
Brad Dearden

Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Planning

About Brad
Anne Marie Wolf
Anne Marie Wolf

Professor of History

About Anne

Contact Us to Get Started!

Office of Admissions
246 Main Street
Farmington, Maine USA 04938-1994
umfadmit@maine.edu
207.778.7050
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