Top Anthropology Schools in 2019

The most recent QS World University Rankings by Subject features a ranking of the top 100 anthropology schools, one of the 48 subjects covered.

The subject rankings are compiled using four indicators; academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper and the H-index (a way of measuring the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar). You can find out more about the methodology used here.

Read on to discover the top universities for anthropology in each world region, starting with a look at the top 10.

Top anthropology schools in the US and Canada

The US boasts 34 of the 100 top anthropology schools. 20 of these place within the top 50 worldwide, and make up exactly half of the top 10 (more than any other country). The US’ top university for anthropology is Harvard University, in third place, with a perfect score in the employer reputation indicator.

Other notable universities, which narrowly miss out on the top 10, include Ivy League universities; Yale University (11^th), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA, 13^th), Stanford University (15^th), Princeton University (21^st) and New York University (NYU, 22^nd).

Now we head north to Canada where six universities are featured. The University of Toronto is the highest ranked anthropology school in Canada, in 12^th place, falling from it’s top 10 spot last year. Other Canadian universities placing in the top 50 include, University of British Columbia (29^th) and McGill University (joint 31^st).

Top anthropology schools in Europe

Europe features 39 universities in this year’s ranking, including the University of Oxford in the UK, coming in at top of the rankings; earning a near perfect scores in all of the indicators, except the H index, where it scores perfectly.

Three other UK schools feature in the worldwide top. Of the 12 other UK universities featured in the ranking, nine of these place within the top 50. Mentionable universities not starring in the top 10 include; the University of Manchester (14^th), School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS, 16^th), University of Edinburgh (23^rd), Durham University (24^th) and Goldsmiths, University of London (41^st).

France possesses five universities in the rankings, all of which rank 51-100^th . These include Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Université PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres), Sorbonne University, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense.

Germany also scores well with five universities in the top 100 – and three of these were among the top 40 in the world; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (which rises 13 places this year to steal joint 31^st), Freie Universität Berlin (33^rd) and Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (rising 15 places to 36^th). Other notable German universities include Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, which both place 51-100^th.

Spain’s sole entrant Universitat de Barcelona (UB) comes in at 51-100^th place. Similarly Switzerland’s sole entrant, University of Zurich also ranks at 51-100^th, as does Austria’s only entry, Universität Wien. Also placing 51-100^th are Italy’s two entrants in the ranking; Sapienza - Università di Roma and Università di Bologna (UNIBO).

Over to the Nordic countries now, where three Swedish universities landed a spot in the top 100; Lund University, Stockholm University and Uppsala University (all placing 51-100). Denmark and Norway contain two ranked universities each – in Denmark; University of Copenhagen (18^th) and Aarhus University (42^nd) and in Norway; the University of Oslo (rising six places to 25^th) and University of Bergen (51-100). Finland’s sole entrant, University of Helsinki, enters the table in 48^th place.

The Netherlands’ University of Amsterdam and Leiden University rank within the top 50; placing 17^th and 30^th respectively. Other notable universities in the  Netherlands include Utrecht University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, which both rank 51-100^th.

Top anthropology schools in Asia

There are currently seven universities in Asia featuring in the top anthropology schools ranking.

Japan is the Asian country with the most universities in the ranking, with two universities – both of which feature in the top 40 worldwide. These are the University of Tokyo (joint 27^th) and Kyoto University (39^th).

Mainland China’s Peking University, Hong Kong SAR’s The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK),  South Korea’s Seoul National University (SNU) and India’s University of Delhi are all the countries’ sole entrants, and all place 51-100^th.

Singapore also only has one entry in the ranking this year, the National University of Singapore (NUS), which comes in at 20^th, and is subsequently the highest ranked university in Asia for anthropology.

Top anthropology schools in Australia and New Zealand

Of the six Australian universities featured in the rankings this year, one is featured in the top ten worldwide, and three others are in the top 50; The University of Melbourne (19^th), The University of Sydney (26^th), The University of Queensland (UQ, 43^rd). Other mentionable universities include Monash University and The University of Adelaide, which both place 51-100^th.

Finally, New Zealand has two entries in the top anthropology schools ranking this year; the University of Auckland (49^th) and University of Otago (51-100^th).

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