washburn entered harvard's graduate program with the intention of pursuing a doctorate in zoology. his focus shifted to anthropology after being induced to attend an introductory seminar on the subject led by his freshman advisor and close family friend alfred tozzer. finding the mixture of archaeology, customs and human evolution stimulating, he joined the physical anthropology program led by earnest hooton where he was able to enfold his zoological coursework such as comparative anatomy and paleontology in his approach to the study of human evolution. doctoral students in harvard's physical anthropology program were forced to look beyond the anthropology department to secure the necessary training, which washburn considered fortuitous because the experience left him with deep appreciation how much more can be learned when a multidisciplinary effort is brought into the analysis.