The anthropology program offers a balanced and flexible program of academic courses and research opportunities in cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology and biological anthropology. Anthropology contributes to an understanding of the complex problems of human behavior, biology, language, cultural and social organization, and the relationship of humans to their environments. Research carried out in the field, laboratory and library emphasizes past and present modes of living and the origins and distribution of peoples and cultures throughout the world, with special attention to the circumpolar North.<br><br>The graduate program emphasizes general preparation in the field of anthropology. Such preparation enables graduates of the master's program to pursue more advanced training leading to a Ph.D. in anthropology, prepares them to teach anthropology within secondary education and undergraduate levels of higher education, and prepares students for careers with various levels of government in which some anthropological background or expertise is beneficial. Field research in Alaska is a common experience for graduate students in anthropology. All students must have fieldwork and laboratory experience appropriate to the discipline or subdiscipline.<br><br>The primary focus of the Ph.D. program is on the circumpolar North, although graduate students and faculty also conduct research elsewhere, in particular Asia, Oceania, and elsewhere in the Americas. The Ph.D. is available with an emphasis in any of the four subfields of anthropology.