Each year in the United States hundreds, actually around a 1000, people decide to undertake a PhD in all the sub-fields of Anthropology i.e. archaeology, cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, etc. Maybe you are considering undertaking such a PhD. What sort of time commitment are you looking at?
The median time from start of a PhD programme to the end is 7 years and 8 months. That means half of PhDs are obtained before that time and half after. So there is a range but less than 15% of PhDs are completed in under six years. The majority take 6-9 years.
This does not include obtaining your Masters, many PhD programs are actually Masters and PhD programs. You usually have to complete a Masters successfully before being upgraded to a PhD. From the beginning of a Masters program to a PhD the median time is nine and half years. Yes, you are looking at a decade of your life. The median age when one obtains a PhD is 34.5 years.
Not All Programs the Same
First, that number covers all the sub-fields. Some commenters on this post raised the idea that Cultural Anthropology degrees take longer than some of the other sub-fields. I can’t tell that from the data (more on that below) but that is possible. Moreover, different Universities have different rates. At least two programs have a median completion time in the 5 year range, while one is 12 years!
A Decade in Heave or in Hell?
Time is subjective in the case of a PhD. It could be the greatest time of your life in which you can travel the world for your fieldwork, be paid as part of scholarship/fellowship etc., and have the time of your life. Or it could be a living hell in which you dread waking up every morning because it means facing your PhD.
The Data
I got these numbers from two different sources. The median age and time to completion comes for 2015 dataset, The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED). (SED) is an annual census conducted since 1957 of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from an accredited U.S. institution in a given academic year. You can find out more about it here.
The data on programs and my extrapolation that less than 15% of PhDs are completed in under six years comes from analysis the National Academies’ A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States survey, which asked questions to degree programs (82 Anthropology PhD programs in the US). One question asked was what % of students completed their PhD in under six years (from start of PhD program- excluding any Masters). Taking the completion rate of different schools (ranges from 0% to 55.6%) and multiplying it by the number of students they had at the beginning of 2005 we find that 15% of anthropology PhDs are completed in under 6 years. By average number of students graduated it is 17%.
Yes, that data is from 2005. There should be another survey in the next few years but it does tell you that the data is a bit dated. The trend has been for PhDs to get longer so 15% in under 6 years may be optimistic now. At least that is the trend in Archaeology. A study of archaeologists found that with every passing decade the length of obtaining a PhD for archaeologists increases by about a year (Zeder 1997). Though this data is also old so is this still a trend…
Here is the median time of departments by percentage of graduates. Roughly 80% of Universities graduate half of their students in under 7-9 years. While not a perfect example it does show that most people can expect to finish a PhD in about 7-9 years, not including getting a Masters.
| Median Time to Degree (Full- and Part-Time Graduates), 2006. Rounded to nearest whole. |
Average Number of Ph.D.s Graduated, 2002-2006 |
| 5 yr | 2.1% |
| 6 yr | 9.4% |
| 7 yr | 23.4% |
| 8 yr | 29.2% |
| 9 yr | 27.1% |
| 10 yr | 6.1% |
| 11 yr | 2.5% |
| 12 yr | 0.2% |
Citation
The American Archaeologist: a Profile. Melinda A. Zeder. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. 1997
Doug's Archaeology 
Jeran
October 8, 2011
Where do these measurements start? Freshmen year of undergrad? or is it the start of gradschool?
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 8, 2011
from the start of the PhD program. thanks for asking. I have changed the post to make it more clear.
oldmainartifacts
October 13, 2011
Does this also include the earning of a Master’s degree, or does this start after the master’s degree is earned?
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 13, 2011
Both- if a person does straight into a PhD program but earns a masters along the way that is counted as part of the PhD time. If a person earned a masters before then joined a PhD program that is the start point. It is just entry into a PhD track program.
Griffin
October 10, 2011
Which schools were included?
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 10, 2011
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
BROWN UNIVERSITY
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK GRAD. CENTER
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
DUKE UNIVERSITY
DUKE UNIVERSITY
EMORY UNIVERSITY
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
INDIANA UNIVERSITY AT BLOOMINGTON
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS
PENN STATE UNIVERSITY
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
RICE UNIVERSITY
RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY NEW BRUNSWICK CAMPUS
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BINGHAMTON
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY
TULANE UNIVERSITY
UC BERKELEY/UC SAN FRANCISCO
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-RIVERSIDE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SANTA BARBARA
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SANTA CRUZ
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-ANN ARBOR
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-ANN ARBOR
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-TWIN CITIES
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO MAIN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA NORMAN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
YALE UNIVERSITY
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 10, 2011
the double of Duke and Standford is when standfords department split in two and the two different departments of Duke.
Ronald Hicks
October 10, 2011
One has to bear in mind that most students will have completed their coursework well before they finish the PhD. Accumulating the data for the dissertation typically takes months, perhaps with field seasons spread over two or more years, and often doesn’t start until coursework is completed. Then comes the writing. A great many students reach a point during analysis of their data when they become convinced they will never make sense of it. Some give up. Others step away for a while, then try again. And of course some just plow right on through. However, multiple drafts are likely to be required before all members of the dissertation committee are satisfied. During much of this time, the student may be employed, which slows the process down even further. If he or she has started a family, that also slows down the process. I haven’t seen recent figures, but for many years these factors led to the average new PhD in anthropology being around age 40 at the time of completion.
Doug Rocks-Macqueen
October 10, 2011
The numbers I have put roughly between the 32-33 to about 36-38 at least for archaeologists. There is definitely a lot of factors that go into how long it takes. None of which can be considered bad but it does put quite a few people in a holding pattern for a portion of their lives. Again some may like this (the professional student) but others may not.
idigdigital
July 12, 2013
Took me 7 years just to get my B.A. in Archaeology at University of PA. I knew Ph.D candidates that took 10 years to get their degree. Most took less, but all post grad students had taken well over 6 years. Passion for the field definitely sets us apart. Very interesting blog, great material!
Nik
November 26, 2014
I’m finishing my Ph.D. in anthropology at one of the schools in this list/study. All the archaeologists in my cohort, except one, finished 2-3 years ahead of all cultural anthro students. The fieldwork and data collection are different. IRB alone added at least 6 months. All of the sociocultural folks were out collecting data for at least a year, all at once. The archaeologists had summer digs without being gone the whole year and some of them had nearby sites or year-round access to data. That isn’t possible for the cultural side. I suspect because of the four-field approach (which I am not criticizing here), that it is possible for archaeologists and perhaps also biological/physical anthropologists to finish faster, on average, because of methods and access. Sociocultural and linguistics take longer, on average, because of their methods and access. Being an archaeologist in 6 years is a tight schedule, but plenty doable with the right supports and study design. But I don’t see how finishing a cultural/linguistics anthropology program, at least in my school, is even possible in less than 7 – in part methods, in part bureaucracy (differences between subfields include getting IRB approval; rapport building and establishing new, local permissions-whereas at a dig they are sometimes already in-place or approved, data collection takes longer, generally; dissertations tend to be longer page-wise).
Gabriela Goamus
March 5, 2017
I need serious help…I’m in 10th grade and want to become a ferensic anthropologist …I’m dedicated to studying anthropology but things aren’t looking good for me financially….I need scolarship idea’s and colleges….