Anthropology Pathways

A bachelor’s degree in anthropology prepares students for a wide range of careers that focus on understanding people, cultures, and societies. With this degree, graduates can work in areas like community outreach, social services, museums, cultural resource management, education, public health, and nonprofit organizations. Many anthropology majors also find jobs in business, marketing, human resources, or user experience research, where understanding human behavior and cultural differences is valuable. The skills gained—such as research, communication, critical thinking, and cultural awareness—are useful in many fields. A bachelor’s degree in anthropology can also be a strong foundation for graduate school in areas like anthropology, archaeology, public policy, education, or healthcare.

The Associate of Arts DTA degree at Highline College will allow you to transfer to a 4-year college or university where you can pursue a bachelor's degree in anthropology.

Degree Option

Associate in Arts Direct Transfer AA-DTA

Program Length: Two years for full-time students. (Full-time is 12 credits or more)
Costs per year: $4,914 tuition and fees
Program Map: Associate in Arts DTA - Anthropology
Catalog: Associate in Arts DTA – Anthropology

Catalog: Associate in Arts DTA – Anthropology

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Career

One degree. Dozens of directions.

Most degrees point you down one path. Anthropology opens many. Whether you want to work in public health, advocate for communities, preserve cultural heritage, shape better products and services, support Indigenous sovereignty, coordinate humanitarian relief, or step into a classroom, an anthropology degree gives you the tools to go there. And it does not stop at employment. Many anthropology graduates go on to start their own consulting practices, launch community organizations, build cultural enterprises, or create the kind of work that does not yet have a job title because they invented it themselves. Employers across nearly every sector are looking for people who can understand human behavior, navigate cultural complexity, and communicate across difference, and anthropology trains you to do exactly that whether you are working for someone else or building something of your own. Whether you are fresh out of high school, working a job that has hit a ceiling, or returning to school ready for something new, this degree meets you where you are and grows with you.

The AA DTA degree at Highline College is your starting point, transferring to a four-year university where you can build a career you are genuinely proud of, in education, environmental and tribal partnerships, public health, social services, cultural heritage, humanitarian response, business, research, and beyond. And for those who want to go further, anthropology is also a strong foundation for graduate study in fields like Indigenous studies, public policy, social work, environmental studies, and more.
Roles that anthropology graduates commonly move into include the following: