B.A. in Anthropology

Major GPA Requirements [pdf]

Anthropology is the study of humankind's past, present, and future. Our department provides students with an integrated anthropological experience through coursework in archeology, cultural anthropology, and physical anthropology. This broad training prepares our students for a wide range of careers in diverse fields including project management, health care, education, immigrant services, heritage management, museum curation, business and industry, and much more. Anthropology majors learn many useful skills including cultural competency, critical thinking, research design, and professional writing--skills that are increasing in demand in private, public, and non-profit organizations. In fact, USA Today recently rated anthropology as one of today's best science careers. There's never been a better time to be an anthropologist!

Requirements

Core Requirements (15 units)

All anthropology majors take

  • ANTH 011 Cultural Anthropology
  • ANTH 012 Human Evolution
  • ANTH 013 Archaeology
  • ANTH 131 Theories of Culture
  • ANTH 191 Frontiers of Anthropology (senior seminar) 

Research Methods (3 units)

Choose one of the following courses:

  • ANTH 149 Ethnographic Methods
  • ANTH155 Human Osteology
  • ANTH 167 Archaeological Laboratory Methods
  • ANTH 168 Archaeological Methods
  • ANTH 169 Archaeological Fieldwork

Cultural Anthropology (6 units)

Choose two of the following courses:

  • ANTH 105 Applied Anthropology
  • ANTH 107 Eating Culture
  • ANTH 108 Medical Anthropology
  • ANTH 125 Urban Anthropology
  • ANTH 129 Environmental Anthropology
  • ANTH 130 Kith, Kin, and Community
  • ANTH 132 Creating Built Worlds
  • ANTH 133 Organizational Cultures
  • ANTH 134 Systemic Leadership
  • ANTH 135 Behavioral Systems
  • ANTH 136 Thought Control
  • ANTH 142 Culture in Mind
  • ANTH 143 Culture and Adaptation
  • ANTH 144 Economic Anthropology
  • ANTH 149 Ethnographic Methods
  • ANTH 173 Multimedia Anthropology
  • ANTH 175 Anthropology of Native America
  • ANTH 176 Indians of California
  • ANTH 177 Anthropology of Asia
  • ANTH 178 Anthropology of Latin America

Archaeology (6 units)

Choose two of the following courses:

  • ANTH 161 Old World Civilizations
  • ANTH 162 Inca/Aztec/Maya Civilizations
  • ANTH 164 Prehistoric North America
  • ANTH 165 Historical Archaeology
  • ANTH 168 Archaeological Methods
  • ANTH 169 Archaeological Fieldwork

Physical Anthropology (6 units)

Choose two of the following courses:

  • ANTH 151 Modernity and Disease
  • ANTH 152 Becoming Human
  • ANTH 153 Human Variation and Behavior
  • ANTH 154 Monkeys, Apes, Humans
  • ANTH 155 Human Osteology
  • ANTH 156 Bioarchaeology
  • ANTH 157 Forensic Anthropology
  • ANTH 159 Mummies

Major Electives (6 units)

Choose two additional upper-division anthropology courses. Your major electives can be split between the fields of cultural anthropology, archaeology, and physical anthropology or you may take both in any one of the fields. Faculty advisors can help you make the decision that is best for you.

Please note that ANTH 180 Individual Studies, ANTH 184 Directed Reading, ANTH 187 Special Topics, and ANTH 195 Practicum may fulfill a cultural anthropology, archaeology, or physical anthropology requirement with advisor approval.

Support for the Major (3 units, in addition to the 42 units required for the major)

  • SOCS/SOCI 15 Statistical Applications in the Social Sciences
  • SOCI 102 Introduction to Statistics
  • STAT 95 Elementary Statistics
  • or GEOG 012 Global Geography

NOTE: No Area R, S, or V courses will count towards the Anthropology degree.