Career Opportunities
With an undergraduate degree in anthropology, employment possibilities are really endless since anthropology provides a strong liberal arts foundation for any career in which you might work with humans. In other words, anthropology provides a strong foundation for any career that interests you. Probably the most common career among our alumni is cultural resource management, which includes archaeology jobs in both private and public sectors. Other SIUE alumni with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology work within nonprofits, for-profits, government agencies, legal agencies, health departments, coroners offices, museums, the military, the peace corps, agricultural organizations, environmental consulting organizations, educational institutions, libraries and the zoo. So you could say that our alumni have diverse careers from A (archaeologist) to Z (zookeeper)!
SIUE anthropology alumni seeking to further their educations have gone to graduate school in anthropology and related fields (geography, history, sociology, social work, public administration, biology, etc.), business school, law school and medical school. Our alumni with advanced degrees include professors, lawyers, artists, business people, cartographers and a pharmacist.
No matter what their job titles, all of our alumni put their anthropological background to use, and thus they practice anthropology every day.
General Resources
- Why Corporate Anthropology is the Missing Link in Your Company's Culture
- Anthropology Jobs Ranked Among the Best by US News & World Report
- Anthropology Without Doctorates
- Here's Why Companies are Desperate to Hire Anthropologists
- American Anthropological Association Career Center
Archaeology Positions/Fieldwork Opportunities
- Shovelbums.org
- archaeologyfieldwork.com
- Archaeological Institute of America
- Illinois State Archaeological Survey
International Positions
Anthropology Graduate Programs Resources
Thinking about graduate school? Here is a Graduate School Primer to help you understand the application process. Gradschools.com has information about graduate schools with anthropology programs. The Society for Applied Anthropology has a list of anthropology programs that show a commitment to applied anthropology. And don’t forget that students can prepare for careers in Cultural Heritage and Resource Management through SIUE’s integrative studies graduate program.
