Across the United States, colleges and universities are reassessing academic programs amid financial pressures, shifting enrollments, and institutional restructuring. In this environment, anthropology programs have increasingly faced admissions pauses, mergers, faculty reductions, and, in some cases, program closures.
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is documenting these publicly reported changes to anthropology programs through the below Anthropology Watch program tracker in order to provide a centralized and transparent record of how these decisions are unfolding nationwide. This effort is not simply archival. Periods of rapid technological transformation and social change heighten the need for disciplines that examine human behavior, culture, institutions, and ethics.
By systematically tracking these developments, AAA aims to support informed public discussion, enable comparative analysis across institutions, and preserve an accurate historical record of how higher education is adapting—and what intellectual capacities may be lost or strengthened—as universities reshape their academic priorities.
If you are looking for support or assistance, please review our Anthropology Department Crisis Toolkit or connect with our Anthropology Advocacy Council (AAC) through the buttons below.
Program Tracker
| Institution | Location | Program | Level | Action type | Announced | Effective | Primary driver | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington University | Washington, DC, USA | Anthropology PhD | PhD | Admissions pause | 1/26/2026 | 2026-27 academic year | Financial deficit/budget constraint | GWU paused admissions to the Anthropology PhD (among others), citing fiscal constraints and need to meet existing funding commitments. (Inside Higher Ed) | Inside Higher Ed (Jan 26, 2026) (Inside Higher Ed) |
| Brown University | Providence, RI, USA | Anthropology PhD | PhD | Admissions pause | 10/15/2025 | 2026-27 academic year | Financial deficit/budget constraint | Brown's Anthropology PhD was among departments told to pause admissions amid university-wide budget cutting and a cited structural deficit. (The Brown Daily Herald) | Brown Daily Herald (Oct 15, 2025) (The Brown Daily Herald) |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL, USA | Anthropology PhD | PhD | Admissions pause | (page states pause) | 2026-27 academic year | Financial deficit/budget constraint | UChicago Anthropology temporarily paused PhD admissions for the 2025-2026 academic year due to budgetary pressures. (anthropology.uchicago.edu) | University of Chicago Dept. of Anthropology admissions page |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI, USA | Anthropology PhD | PhD | Admissions pause | (catalog notes pause) | 2026-27 academic year | (not specified on catalog page) | MSU's catalog states applications to the Anthropology PhD are paused for the 2026-27 academic year, with admissions to resume for 2027-28. (reg.msu.edu) | MSU academic program catalog |
| The New School (NSSR) | New York, NY, USA | Anthropology PhD | PhD | Admissions pause | (page states pause) | 2026-27 academic year | Program review | NSSR Anthropology PhD is pausing admissions for one year during a comprehensive program review. (The New School) | NSSR program page (The New School) |
| Duke University | Durham, NC, USA | Cultural Anthropology PhD | PhD | Admissions pause | 10/21/2020 | 2021 academic year | Temporary shock (COVID) | Duke Cultural Anthropology paused doctoral admissions for Fall 2021, citing pandemic-related disruption and student support needs. (culturalanthropology.duke.edu) | Duke Cultural Anthropology news (Oct 21, 2020) |
| UNC Greensboro | Greensboro, NC, USA | Anthropology (undergrad/grad offerings) | Multiple | Program elimination/cut | 1/2024 to 7/2024 | teach-out/implementation after approval | Enrollment decline + Financial deficit/budget constraint | UNCG moved to eliminate anthropology among programs after an academic portfolio review; cuts were later approved by the UNC Board of Governors. (Higher Ed Dive) | Higher Ed Dive + WUNC (Higher Ed Dive) |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | Bloomington, IL, USA | Anthropology major/minor | BA/BS | Program discontinued | 7/16/2020 | (discontinuance announced) | Restructuring/Financial deficit/budget constraint | IWU trustees voted to discontinue anthropology (and other majors) as part of a restructuring plan to strengthen the institution. (WGLT) | WGLT (Jul 16, 2020) (WGLT) |
| Ithaca College | Ithaca, NY, USA | Anthropology Department | Department | Department dissolved (proposed/implemented through cuts) | 1/2021 to 2/2021 | (cut plan/implementation) | COVID-era financial cuts | Ithaca College's Shape of the College cuts included dissolving Anthropology as part of broader layoffs/restructuring. (The Ithacan) | The Ithacan (Feb 2021) (The Ithacan) |
| University of Kent | Canterbury, UK | Anthropology | Department/programs | Phase-out / closure | 2024 (statement) | phased out (timeline per institution) | Financial deficit/budget constraint | Kent stated it would phase out Anthropology (along with other subjects) as part of financial recovery measures. (University of Kent - University of Kent) | Kent official statement + Times Higher Education (University of Kent - University of Kent) |
| University of Toronto | Toronto, Canada | Anthropology (Biological) Specialist (Honours BSc) | Undergrad program | Closed to admissions + full closure | 4/15/2011 (governance item) | 4/1/2012 closed to new admissions ; full closure 6/2014 | Low enrollment | U of T approved closure of the Biological Anthropology Specialist program, citing low enrollment; major program continued. (The Office of the Governing Council) | U of T governance report + agenda (The Office of the Governing Council) |
| CSU Bakersfield | Bakersfield, CA, USA | Anthropology BA & MA | BA/MA | Discontinuation process / teach-out planning | 2024-2025 (senate actions) | 2026-27 teach-out (proposed) | (memo indicates discontinuation rationale) | CSUB senate materials reference discontinuation proceedings for Anthropology BA/MA and a teach-out timeline through 2026-27. (California State University, Bakersfield) | CSUB Academic Senate docs (California State University, Bakersfield) |