Anthropologists study the entire breadth of human experience from our ancient origins to our connected, global present. We take a scientific approach to understanding human cross-cultural diversity and biological variation grounded in ecological and evolutionary theory. The BA in anthropology allows students the flexibility to pursue interests, and gain theoretical and methodological experience and expertise in a variety of anthropological and related disciplines. Graduates with a BA in Anthropology have marketable skills preparing them for many careers such as developing and implementing policy through government agencies and non-governmental organizations and nonprofit entities, teaching at a variety of levels of education, public or private museum and laboratory research positions, as well as careers in archaeology, cultural resource management, tech and social media, conservation, and health care fields.
A major in anthropology can also help students achieve success in pursuing graduate level degrees in a variety of disciplines, or pursue advanced degrees in business, education, law, public health, data science, or medicine. Non-majors in our courses gain valuable perspective and can fill many of their general education requirements (Biological Science, Behavioral Science, Social Science, Humanities, Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive).
Students completing an anthropology degree are awarded a BA degree or a BA degree with Honors in Anthropology. The undergraduate program is designed to help students develop an appreciation of other cultures and other world views and to gain an understanding of how and why the diversity in human culture and biology came about. Anthropology is an exciting and broad-ranging discipline. The undergraduate curriculum requirements ensure a common foundation of understanding but allow for great flexibility for specialized training.
Coursework in this track encourages students to develop skills for careers devoted to understanding human health and biological variation from cross-cultural and evolutionary perspectives. Students are encouraged to become involved in research (see below) or internships that will advance their training. Appropriate field schools can also be valuable (e.g., paleoanthropology, primatology, bioarchaeology). The department keeps an updated list of these field schools operated by other universities. Students adopting this track are also encouraged to consider declaring a Paleobiology minor to support their coursework.
