Undergraduate Program

"Reach for Hope," painting by Phyllis Fast
Undergraduate Program

Undergraduate Program

The Anthropology undergraduate program provides students with a solid foundation in the contemporary theory and practice of four-field anthropology through lecture courses and instruction that encourage critical thinking and provide opportunities for independent research and fieldwork. The baccalaureate degree is offered with a focus in General Anthropology. This provides a broad-based academic background applicable to a wide range of careers in anthropology related fields, including preparation for graduate study.

BA/BS PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Our educational outcomes are to produce graduates able to demonstrate:

  • Explain current understandings about human beings and behavior including the evolution of humans, the nature of culture and cultural processes, the features of language and characteristics of linguistic use, the forms of biological diversity and the significant trajectories of change which have led to the current status of humanity.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of different scientific and theoretical approaches in anthropology, their epistemological and conceptual foundations, their strengths and limitations, and the types of topics, issues and problems they are designed to address. 
  • Apply liberal educational skills, such as independent knowledge acquisition, problem identification, critical thinking, formation and evaluation of hypotheses, and organized and effective presentation of information, to anthropological materials demonstrated through various types of presentation including scientific and technical writing, effective public speaking and electronic media presentation.
  • Demonstrate ability to apply anthropological concepts and perspectives to understanding local social and cultural practices occurring outside the classroom in the community.
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR MAJORS
An undergraduate major in Anthropology requires that students complete 36 Anthropology credits, of which at least 18 credits are to be taken at the upper division level (300 or higher). Anthropology majors can receive either BA or BS degrees, the fundamental difference relates to course tracks outside of department offerings. Briefly explained, BS-tracked students complete at least 16 credits in the natural sciences and take courses in mathematics and computer science. BA students select from a wide array of offerings in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

All majors are required to take introductory courses in three of the discipline's four principal subfields, and all must take ANTH A250 Rise of Civilization and ANTH A410 History of Anthropology. Students select also from a range of ethnographic area and topical/theoretical area courses. Our department also requires that all majors take a statistics course. Students pursuing the BS degree choose either STAT A253 Applied Statistics for the Sciences or STAT A307 Probability; students pursuing the BA degree have the additional option of taking STAT A252 Elementary Statistics.

 
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR MINORS
Students majoring in another subject can minor in Anthropology provided they meet the following requirements. A total of 18 credits is required for the minor, 6 of which must be upper division (300 or higher).

1. Select two courses (6 credits) from the following:

ANTH A101 Introduction to Anthropology (3 CR)
ANTH A202 Cultural Anthropology (3 CR)
ANTH A205 Biological Anthropology (3 CR)
ANTH A211 Fundamentals of Archaeology (3 CR)
ANTH A250 Rise of Civilization (3 CR)

2. Complete at least one course (3 credits) from either the ethnographic area or the topical/theoretical area, as specified for majors in Anthropology.

3. Complete three courses (9 credits) of Anthropology electives.