Ph.D. Program
ADMISSIONS UPDATE: The Department of Cultural Anthropology will be accepting applications to its PhD program for the 2027-2028 academic year. The application portal will open August 2026, and applications are due Thursday, December 3, 2026.
NEW PHD CURRICULUM: Starting in the 2027-2028 Academic Year, all newly enrolled PhD students will be studying under a new curriculum. See our New PhD Curriculum page for more.
APPLICATION FEE WAIVERS: 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 through Duke's admissions portal.
- An official copy of your transcript will be requested only after admission by the Duke Graduate School.
- We strongly encourage you to submit your application and supporting documents before the deadline. We begin the review process very quickly afterwards. An incomplete file may affect full consideration of your application.
- Do not submit any documents 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 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