Anthropology, Bachelor of Arts

In addition to University Requirements:

• 51 units of major requirements.
• 16 units of language requirements.

• Up to 9 units of major prefix courses may be used to satisfy General Studies Requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy major requirements.

• Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 120 units.

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Purpose Statement

Anthropology integrates scientific and humanistic approaches to the study of people and culture to inform our two goals:

1. To support global citizenship through information, skills, and perspectives that build cross-cultural awareness and increase the ability to identify our own cultural assumptions, and
2. To promote an engaged anthropology that addresses the contemporary challenges of our local and global communities.

The scope of the program encompasses past, present, and future perspectives on the human condition, within the subfields of socio-cultural, linguistic, and biological anthropology, and archaeology.

The content focuses on the range of human cultural and biological diversity through Anthropology's core concepts, theories, methods, and major debates. Skills developed include; critical thinking, research methods and analysis, effective writing, and constructive dialogue.

Student-focused learning experiences include innovative coursework, research opportunities, community engagement, laboratory and field training, and internships.

The program prepares students for a range of professional careers in government, private sector, - not-for-profit, and community-based organizations in addition to graduate and professional degree

Student Learning Outcomes

• Use the anthropological perspective (non-ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, cross-cultural emphasis, diachronic approach, and holism). 
  • Define, summarize, and analyze Anthropology's core concepts, theories, methods, challenges, and major debates as they are articulated in archaeology, linguistic anthropology, biological anthropology, and sociocultural anthropology.
  • Describe how each of the four fields of Anthropology contributes to a greater understanding of the range of human cultural and biological diversity.
  • Compare various anthropological approaches common to each of the four sub fields within Anthropology.
  • Identify past and present ethical issues in Anthropology, summarize the ethical guidelines provided by the major professional Anthropological organizations, and apply these guidelines in their education and research.
  • Identify their own cultural assumptions and evaluate the ways in which these assumptions affect their beliefs, behaviors, and their own education.
  • Describe and discuss the complexities of contemporary global challenges, such as sustainability and ethnic diversity, and evaluate how focused research and action using the anthropological perspective are addressing these challenges.