Anthropology
Major and minor offered
Major Requirements
The major in anthropology consists of 9 courses and an experiential learning component. The 9 courses are distributed as follows:
Foundations of Anthropology Courses
Majors must take all four Foundations of Anthropology courses:
- ANTH 101 Human Origins
- ANTH 102 Cultural Anthropology
- ANTH 103 Introduction to Archaeology
- ANTH 104 Language and Human Experience
These courses introduce students to the core concepts and methods that define the field of anthropology.
Exploring Anthropology Courses
Majors must take three Exploring Anthropology courses. These courses allow students to examine specific themes, topics, or research areas within anthropology in more detail.
- ANTH/REL 200 Explaining Religion
- ANTH 208 Ancient Civilizations
- ANTH 215 Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology
- ANTH/GEOL 233 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- ANTH 242 Dealing with the Dead
- ANTH 243 Medicines and Meanings
- ANTH/EDUC 244 Childhood Across Cultures w/CBL
- ANTH/AFS 251 Humans and Other Animals
- ANTH/BIO/ENVS 258 Ethnobotany
- ANTH 270 Plagues and Peoples
- ANTH/REL 281 American Religious Lives
- ANTH 290 Human Skeleton
- ANTH 3080/HIST 3180 Unpacking Museums w/CBL
- ANTH/PHIL 312 Philosophy of Race
- ANTH/EDUC/GNDR 314 Great (S)expectations
- ANTH/EDUC/GNDR 326 Sexuality Education
- *and other courses and special topics courses offered within and outside of the department.
Applying Anthropology Courses
All majors must complete at least two Applying Anthropology courses. These courses allow students to build on the anthropological knowledge, theories, and methods they have learned about in lower-level courses, to delve deeply into a particular topic, and to further develop their skills in reading, writing, speaking, research, interpretation, and/or analysis. These courses must be taken within the department.
- ANTH 320 Great Debates in Anthropology
- ANTH/DMF/EDUC 321 Critical Media Literacy
- ANTH 331 Social Movements
- ANTH 355 Social Life of Ancient Things
- ANTH 365 Forensic Anthropology
- ANTH/AFS 425 Environmental Conservation in Africa
- ANTH 440 Writing Culture
- ANTH 489, 490 SYE: Senior Projects
- ANTH 498, 499 SYE: Honors in Anthropology
- ANTH/GNDR 4020 Anthropology of the Body
- ANTH 4024 Paleoepidemiology
- ANTH/EDUC 4028 Educational Ethnography w/CBL
- *and other special topics courses offered within the department.
There is no recommended sequence, but students should take the Foundations course in a subfield before taking Exploring or Applying courses in the same subfield.
Experiential Learning Component
Majors must complete at least one of the following experiential learning options:
- Study on an approved semester abroad program
- Take an approved Community-Based Learning (CBL) course
- Carry out independent anthropological research (short-term, summer, or semester)
- Attend an approved field school in archaeology, cultural anthropology, primatology, forensics, or any other field of anthropology
- Complete an internship relevant to anthropology
- Master another language (as demonstrated by study through the 200-level)
Minor Requirements
The minor in anthropology consists of 5 courses that must include:
- At least two of the four Foundations course:
- ANTH 101 Human Origins
- ANTH 102 Cultural Anthropology
- ANTH 103 Introduction to Archaeology
- ANTH 104 Language and Human Experience
- At least one Applying Anthropology course taken in the department;
- Two additional anthropology courses at any level (e.g., Foundations, Exploring, or Applying).
Honors in Anthropology
Majors whose achievements in anthropology courses have been of high quality may pursue an honors project, sponsored by an honors advisor in the department and approved by an honors committee. University guidelines specify that eligibility for honors requires a grade point average of 3.5 in all courses taken in the department.
A student should declare intent to pursue an honors project by registration during the second semester in the junior year and agree to the departmental guidelines for honors projects. These are available from the department on request.
Majors and minors in anthropology may qualify for membership in the Iota chapter of Lambda Alpha, the national collegiate honor society for anthropology. Juniors who have completed a minimum of four courses in anthropology and have maintained a 3.6 GPA in those courses and a 3.6 cumulative GPA can apply. Additional details are available from the department.
Updated 7/1/26