Majors in Anthropology

Uncover the Human Experience—See Many Perspectives

Anthropology is the only contemporary discipline that approaches human questions holistically, from historical, biological, linguistic, and cultural perspectives.

Anthropology majors are given grounding in the four main areas. If you are ambitious, you can also seek and acquire complementary skills.

Especially useful ones might include proficiency in probability and statistics, geosciences, human anatomy and physiology, fluency in foreign languages, filmmaking, GIS, and computer techniques.

The most successful students don’t follow the path of least resistance.

Anthropology, BA

• Attain a broad background in the four traditional fields of anthropology: cultural anthropology, linguistics, biological anthropology, and archaeology.
• Apply both anthropological theory and practice in core courses.
• Gain cross-cultural knowledge from the culture area studies courses.
• Engage with theory, method and information in topical courses such as medical anthropology, visual anthropology, environmental anthropology, anthropology of gender, diasporas, research methods, or social change.
• A foreign language is required and computer science skills are highly recommended.

Archaeology Track

• Prepare for federal, state or private opportunities in archaeology and cultural resource management, as well as further training in graduate school.
• Integrate long-term time frames into investigations of cultural diversity and change.
• Investigate prehistoric peoples and recent cultures through excavation and analysis.
• Understand how the past influences the present.

Applied Anthropology Track

• Combine the quantitative methodological strengths, common in other social science disciplines, with the qualitative methodological strengths of cultural anthropology.
• Attain knowledge in anthropological method and theory, which provides you with the ability to apply cross-cultural perspectives to social problems.
• Translate your knowledge into action through internships and research.
• Focus on a specific topic area of your choice.

Honors Track

• Open by departmental permission to declared Anthropology majors with a minimum 3.25 cumulative GPA and a 3.25 GPA in Anthropology courses.
• Complete an independent research project under the mentorship of a faculty member, and take graduate-style courses that emphasize problem solving, discussion, and writing.