Anthropology is the study of humans and our biological relatives across time and space. The field involves a global look at human cultures from prehistoric times to the present, integrating findings from the social sciences, natural sciences and humanities. Students of anthropology learn to appreciate biological, social, and cultural diversity throughout human history and to understand the meaning of human biological and cultural development.
The undergraduate degree in anthropology emphasizes knowledge and awareness of:
- Basic methods, concepts, alternative theories and approaches and modes of explanation appropriate to each of the three main subfields of the discipline (archaeology, biological anthropology and cultural anthropology).
- Basic archaeological techniques, including stratigraphy, dating and inference of human behavior from archaeological data, as well as human history from its beginning through the emergence of complex societies.
- Variation, patterning and creativity in human communities and symbolic systems, including ecological, social structural and cultural factors exemplified in a diverse array of the world's societies, including those undergoing change as a result of globalization and the impact of contemporary social and political movements.
- Theories of primate and human evolution and the basic data of the hominid fossil record, as well as biological variation in contemporary human populations.
In addition, students completing the degree in anthropology are expected to acquire the ability and skills to:
- Identify trends or patterns in anthropological data from different cultures or periods, identify an appropriate context of explanation or interpretation and formulate a testable explanation or reasonable interpretation, including the ability to identify data that constitute credible evidence for an explanation or interpretation.
- Identify and define a significant problem or topic in anthropology and analyze and interpret data in a systematic manner.
Requirements
Program Requirements
Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the required courses listed below. A minimum of 30 credit hours in anthropology is required for the degree, 18 of which must be upper-division.
All required major courses must be passed with a C- or better and cannot be taken pass/fail. Students must have a grade point average of at least 2.000 in the major in order to graduate, and no more than 45 credits in ANTH may be applied to overall graduation requirements.
Through the required coursework for the major, students will complete all 12 credits in the Social Sciences area and a minimum of 6 credits in the Natural Sciences area of the Gen Ed Distribution Requirement, and the Global Perspective component of the Gen Ed Diversity Requirement. Depending on elective courses selected within the major, students can complete the rest of the Natural Sciences area in the Gen Ed Distribution Requirement and the US Perspective component of the Gen Ed Diversity Requirement.
Additional notes for the ANTH major:
- Archaeology and Cultural Anthropology classes are within the Gen Ed Social Sciences division.
- Biological Anthropology classes are within the Gen Ed Natural Sciences division.
Required Courses and Credit Hours
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| ANTH 2010 | Introduction to Biological Anthropology 1 | 3 |
| ANTH 2100 | Introduction to Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| ANTH 2200 | The Archaeology of Human History | 3 |
| One upper-division course in cultural anthropology | 3 | |
| One upper-division course in archaeology | 3 | |
| One upper-division course in biological anthropology | 3 | |
| Electives in Anthropology | ||
| Lower or Upper-division ANTH Elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division ANTH Electives (students planning to pursue graduate work in anthropology are advised to take ANTH 4000 and ANTH 4530) | 9 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
In addition, students planning to pursue writing a senior honor's thesis or graduate work in anthropology are advised to take ANTH 4000 and an upper-division anthropology theory course.
Graduating in Four Years
Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for more information on eligibility. The concept of "adequate progress" as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress in anthropology, students should meet the following requirement:
- By the beginning of the second semester, declare the anthropology major.
Recommended Four-Year Plan of Study
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credit Hours | |
| ANTH 2010 | Introduction to Biological Anthropology 1 (counts towards Gen Ed Natural Science) | 3 |
| ANTH 2030 | Laboratory in Biological Anthropology 1 (not required of the major, but fulfills Gen Ed Natural Science Lab Requirement) | 1 |
| ANTH 2100 | Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (counts toward Gen Ed Social Sciences & fulfills Gen Ed Diversity: Global Perspective) | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: Lower-division Written Communication) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution/Diversity course (example: Arts & Humanities/Diversity: US Perspective) | 3 | |
| Elective/MAPS (if needed) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| ANTH 2020 | Human Biological Variation and Adaptation (counts toward Gen Ed Natural Science - recommended not required) | 3 |
| ANTH 2200 | The Archaeology of Human History (counts toward Gen Ed Social Sciences - May be taken sophomore year) | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: QRMS) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Natural Science | 3 | |
| Elective/MAPS (if needed) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Arts & Humanities) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Arts & Humanities) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| ANTH upper-division elective (57 credits completed or in-progress required) | 3 | |
| Free elective | 3 | |
| Free elective | 3 | |
| Free elective | 3 | |
| Free elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| ANTH upper-division course (Cultural area - counts toward Gen Ed Social Sciences)) | 3 | |
| ANTH upper-division course (Biological area - counts toward Gen Ed Natural Sciences) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: Upper-division Written Communication) | 3 | |
| Upper-division elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| ANTH upper-division course (Archaeology area - counts toward Gen Ed Social Sciences) | 3 | |
| ANTH upper-division elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division Arts & Humanities | 3 | |
| Upper-division elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| ANTH upper-division elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division elective | 3 | |
| Free elective | 3 | |
| Free elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Upper-division elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division elective | 3 | |
| Free elective | 3 | |
| Free elective | 3 | |
| Free elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 121 | |
Learning Outcomes
Through their coursework in anthropology, students will:
- Understand the concepts of cultural relativism and ethnocentrism by studying other cultures.
- Understand the range of human diversity, both biological and cultural, across space and throughout time, by examining human evolution, early complex polities, and contemporary groups.
- Analyze the ways the environment influenced/influences humans and the ways humans influenced/influences the environment, by studying the long- and short-term trajectory of human development.
- Apply anthropological knowledge to pressing social issues by debating current events.