Ph.D. Program
Updates:
ADMISSIONS NOTICE: Due to budgetary pressures, PhD admissions at the Cultural Anthropology Department are paused for the 2026–2027 academic year. We plan to resume admissions in the following cycle. We are working closely with the university to ensure that this does not impact our department's intellectual mission or future PhD student cohorts.
Please see the Graduate School's website for information on application fee waivers. Note that our department is not offering application fee waivers beyond those those offered by the Graduate School. If you do not meet the criteria of the Graduate School's waiver program, please do not email the department asking about waivers.
Admission is competitive with approximately 5% of applicants offered admission.
- Applicants must submit applications and supporting documents online.
- All requested supporting documentation should be uploaded electronically via the online application portal. An official hard copy of your transcript will be requested after admission by the Duke Graduate School. We strongly encourage you to apply before the deadline. If you apply later, there may not be time for all your supporting documents (transcripts, recommendation letters, etc.) to arrive by the time our departmental reviews begin in early January. An incomplete file may affect full consideration of your application. All supporting documents must be electronically submitted along with your application to the Duke Graduate School. They should not be submitted directly to the department.
- The statement of purpose is an especially important part of the application because it gives applicants a chance to describe their research interests. There is no single way to write a good statement of purpose. However, you can download some sample statements of purpose (below) from a few successful applicants.
- At the beginning of the statement of purpose, applicants must also list three keywords best describing their research interests and geographical area of study (for example: Mass Media, Indigenous Rights, Latin America).
- Applicants must also upload a sample of relatively recent written work (10-20 pages, double spaced) via the online application portal.
For questions regarding admissions materials or process, in lieu of phone calls to the department of Cultural Anthropology, please contact:
Graduate School Admissions
Phone: (919) 684-3913
Email: grad-admissions@duke.edu
Download Sample Statements of Purpose
Certificate Program
To enroll in a Certificate Program, you must be enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Duke University. Once you have been admitted into a Ph.D. program and wish to add a Certificate in another department or field, you must identify a faculty mentor in that field to assist you in developing a plan of study. Cultural Anthropology PhD students have acquired certificates in, among others: Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies; African & African American Studies; Latin American & Caribbean Studies; Asian & Middle Eastern Studies; Documentary Studies; International Development Policy.