Tracks Within the Anthropology Major
After completing required courses within the anthropology core, students can elect to focus on one area or take courses in different areas within the major. There are three informal tracks in which students may wish to concentrate their studies. These are:
In addition to these tracks there are also three formal options. Students must apply to be admitted to the Medical Anthropology and Global Health option and the Anthropology of Globalization option. The Archaeological Sciences option is non-competitive. The options are:
Have you ever wondered where we came from or who was here before? Have you ever found an arrowhead and wondered who made it, or how they lived? …Archaeology explores these and other subjects. Archaeology is the study of the human past. Anthropology majors take archaeology to more fully understand the development of human society.
People have always been curious about their origins and about the strange world in which they live. We know that earlier generations lived before us, and that later generations will live on in this world after us. But how did any of this come about? How did the cultural world come to be as it is? Where did the first people "come from?" Why? Who were they, and what were they like? How did they cope with the world around them? All people have stories that help explain their past. Archaeology provides another way of exploring the past, using science to provide a detailed account of human biological and cultural evolution that extends back more than two million years.
For someone interested in a career in archaeology, opportunities exist in:
- government agencies
- museums
- teaching and research
- private consulting firms
A professional archaeologist should have a background in archaeological theory, methods, artifact analysis, and be familiar with the archaeological past around the world.
To see a PDF of the track and curriculum please click here
Increasingly, scholars from diverse disciplines are recognizing the importance of the interplay of biology and culture for shaping human diversity. With the Undergraduate Track in Biocultural Anthropology, students gain the opportunity to explore the dynamic confluence of the social and biological sciences. The overarching goal of this exciting, but non-traditional, subfield of anthropology is to bring into focus the evolutionary, ecological, demographic, genetic, developmental, endocrinological, and epidemiological dimensions of human biocultural adaptation across the full range of global and historical variation. The track emphasizes the integration of multidisciplinary approaches to the study of biological and behavioral diversity in modern humans and their closest living relatives, including non-human primates and extinct human ancestors.
Upon completion of this track, students will find themselves well positioned to secure employment where critical, scientific thinking is valued or continue their studies in anthropology or a wide range of closely related subjects, such as public health and medicine, demography and population biology, human ecology and paleobiology. See below for additional advice regarding topical areas within biocultural anthropology and for students intending to pursue graduate studies in biological or biocultural anthropology.
Students pursuing this track are encouraged to start with BIO A 201, Principles of Biological Anthropology, because it provides a foundational toolkit for many of the upper-division courses in the track, and is a prerequisite for others. The upper-division BIO A courses cover the following topical areas:
Human Ecology, Biodemography, and Health:
Biological aspects of reproduction, health, stress, immune function and behavior, from mechanistic, cross-cultural, genetic, and evolutionary perspectives.
- BIO A 351 Principles of Evolutionary Medicine
- BIO A 382, Human Population Biology
- BIO A 387, Ecological Perspectives on Environmental Stress, Adaptation, and Health
- BIO A 450, Biodemography Seminar
- BIO A 455, Reproductive Ecology Laboratory Seminar
- BIO A 473, Biological Adaptability of Human Populations
- BIO A 476, Sociocultural Ecology and Health
- BIO A 482, Human Population Genetics
- BIO A 483, Human Genetics, Disease, and Culture
Human and Primate Evolution:
Paleobiology and adaptation in extinct and living non-human primates and human fossil ancestors.
- BIO A 370, Introduction to Primates
- BIO A 388, Human Fossils and Evolution I
- BIO A 389, Human Fossils and Evolution II
- BIO A 486, Primate Socioecology
- BIO A 487, Human and Comparative Osteology
- BIO A 488, Primate Evolution
- BIO A 491, Issues in Human Paleontology
Evolutionary Ecology and Social Behavior:
Bridges the theoretical foundations of biological anthropology and evolutionary biology and the complexities of human behavioral and cultural variation.
- BIO A 100 Evolution and Human Behavior
- BIO A 372 Uses and Abuses of Evolutionary Views of Human Behavior
- BIO A 470 Evolution of Human Social Behavior
- BIO A 475 Environmental Impacts of Small Scale Societies
- BIO A 477 Evolutionary Perspectives on Sex and Gender Roles
- BIO A 486 Primate Socioecology
- ANTH 457 Ecological Anthropology
Nutrition and Growth:
Biocultural perspectives on human growth, development, and nutrition.
- BIO A 387, Ecological Perspectives on Environmental Stress, Adaptation, and Health
- BIO A 465 Nutritional Anthropology
- BIO A 484 Human Life Cycle
- BIO A 485 Research in Growth and Development
- BIO A 495 Growth and Development: Infancy
- BIO A 496 Growth and Development: Adolescence and Reproductive Maturity
Additional Learning Opportunities:
In addition, Special Topics courses with the prefixes 369 and 469 are offered occasionally. Courses that have been offered in the recent past are:
- Men’s Health Across the Lifespan
- Social Networks and Health
- Evolutionary Medicine
- Evolutionary Perspectives on Parenting and Childcare
- Primate Conservation in Southeast Asia
- Ethics and Professionalism in Archeological and Biocultural Research
- Social Influences on Health
- Anthropology of Women’s Health
- Human/Primate Interface
- Primate Conservation Biology
- Biomarker Methods Research Group
- Primate Aging
- Game Theory, Evolution, and Behavior (ANTH/BIOL 320)
Students, who have completed several upper division offerings may, with instructor permission, also take select 500-level courses.
Biocultural Anthropology has a strong interdisciplinary component, meaning that there exist a number of opportunities for out-of-class enhancements to student learning (such as on-campus Seminars and Workshops) and involvement in faculty research. The program and its faculty have affiliations with:
In addition, the Department of Anthropology participates in the interdisciplinary minor in Paleobiology, providing students the opportunity to pursue the minor and Biocultural Anthropology Track concurrently.
Additional Advice for Students Intending to Pursue Graduate Studies
Students interested in graduate work in biocultural or biological anthropology should develop a sound background in the basic sciences. Toward this end, the following courses are strongly recommended:
- BIOL 180/200/220 Introductory Biology
- CHEM 110 Introduction to General Chemistry
- CHEM 120 Principles of General Chemistry
- MATH 124 Calculus with Analytic Geometry
Other courses of relevance include:
- PHYS 114 General Physics
- BIOL 118 Survey of Physiology
- BIOL 354 Foundations in Evolution and Systematics
- BIOL 356 Foundations of Ecology
- ESS 210 Physical Geology
- NUTR 300 Nutrition for Today
- B STR 301 General Anatomy
- GENOME 351 Human Genetics: The Individual and Society
- MHE 422 History of Evolutionary Theory
- PSYCH 417 Human Behavior as a Natural Science
- PSYCH 418 Primate Social Behavior
- PSYCH/BIOL 409 Sociobiology
- STAT 311 Elements of Statistical Methods
Students have a wide variety of courses to choose from in sociocultural anthropology. A number of related courses are available for students interested in specific topics within sociocultural anthropology, such as
- ANTH 228 (Identities: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality in Anthropology)
- ANTH 305 (Anthropology of the Body)
- ANTH 322 (Comparative Study of Death)
- ANTH 323 (Human Rights Law in Culture and Practice)
- ANTH 475 (Perspectives in Medical Anthropology)
Students should be aware that new courses are developed from year to year and that professors differ in their approach to courses with similar titles.
Students interested in graduate school in sociocultural anthropology are encouraged to develop a broad background in the humanities and social sciences. Students should consider additional statistics, the Anthropology Honors Program, and the possibility of graduate level (500-level) classes (these require permission from the instructor). Although not considered as part of your major unless they are cross-listed, courses in other departments are useful - for example, sociology, art history, ethnomusicology, geography, comparative religion and public health. ANTH 460 (History of Anthropology), ethnographic area courses and courses in anthropological theory are particularly useful in preparation for graduate school. Students are urged to consult with their advisors in planning their course of study.
Since many graduate schools require competence in at least one foreign language, students are advised to take language courses relevant to the parts of the world they wish to study.
Majors completing the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology may complete these requirements through the undergraduate option in Medical Anthropology and Global Health.
Many students who complete this option plan to pursue post-graduate training and careers in health-related fields such as public health, epidemiology, nursing, medicine, and global health. The liberal arts education offered through anthropology is recognized as an ideal course of preparation.
According to Newsweek Magazine, over the past 20 years, social science majors have had an increasing rate of successful admission to medical school, in comparison to their science-major counterparts. (link to see full article) Moreover, humanities students perform better on the MCAT, the standardized test for medical school admissions. A new section was added to this test in 2012, adding a larger focus on Social Sciences, reflecting the future of medical education.
“A science major is not a prerequisite for medical school, and students should not major in science simply because they believe this will increase their chances for acceptance…The schools also recognize the desirability of including in medical school classes students who have a broad variety of interests and backgrounds.”
- The Association of American Medical Colleges
“More humanities students have been applying in recent years, and medical schools like them…The schools are looking for a kind of compassion and potential doctoring ability. This makes many social-science and humanities students particularly well qualified.”
- Gwen Garrison, Association of American Medical Colleges
Anthropological training is also viewed as excellent preparation for careers in global health. This was recently highlighted in Nature Magazine’s special report on Global Health:
“International efforts to improve global health offer a wide range of career opportunities. The kind of skills required extend beyond the obvious front-line medical support…The skills in demand are management, cultural understanding, and an anthropological viewpoint.”
Approved courses for Medical Anthropology and Global Health (MAGH)
- ANTH 215 Introduction to Medical Anthropology and Global Health
- ANTH 305 Anthropology of the Body
- ANTH 308 Anthropology of Women's Health and Reproduction
- ANTH 322 Comparative Study of Death
- ANTH 361 Anthropology of Food
- ANTH 373 Labor, Identity and Knowledge in Healthcare
- ANTH 374 Narrative, Literature, and Medical Anthropology
- ANTH 375 Comparative Systems of Healing
- ANTH 376 Anthropology of Disability
- ANTH 380 Subject, Person, Place: Introduction to Social Theory
- ANTH 414 Applied and Public Anthropology
- ANTH 415 Anthropology and International Health
- ANTH 426 Culture, Controversy and Change: The Case of Femal Circumcision
- ANTH 440 Child Rearing, Culture, and Health
- ANTH 452 Explorations in Biopower
- ANTH 363 Environmental Health and Public Policy Change
- ANTH 468 Anthropology of Care
- ANTH 469 Special Studies in Anthropology (as relevant)
- ANTH 472 Case Studies in Medical Anthropology and Global Health
- ANTH 474 Social Difference and Medical Knowledge
- ANTH 475 Perspectives in Medical Anthropology
- ANTH 476 Culture, Medicine, and the Body
- ANTH 477 Medicine in America: Conflicts and Contradictions
- ANTH 479 Advanced Topics in Medical Anthropology
- ANTH 483 Africa Living with HIV/AIDS
- ANTH 574 Culture, Society, and Genomics
- ANTH 575 Cultural Construction of Illness: Seminar in Medical Anthropology
- BIO A 351 Principles of Evolutionary Medicine
- BIO A 355 Evolutionary Medicine
- BIO A 369 Men's Health Across the Lifespan
- BIO A 382 Human Population Biology
- BIO A 387 Ecological Perspectives on Environmental Stress, Adaptation, and Health
- BIO A 450 Biodemography Seminar
- BIO A 455 Reproductive Ecology Laboratory Seminar
- BIO A 465 Nutritional Anthropology
- BIO A 469 Special Topics in Biocultural Anthropology (as relevant)
- BIO A 471 Evolutionary Perspectives on Parenting and Childcare
- BIO A 473 Biological Adaptability of Human Populations
- BIO A 476 Sociocultural Ecology and Health
- BIO A 482 Human Population Genetics
- BIO A 483 Human Genetics, Disease, and Culture
- BIO A 484 Human Life Cycle
- BIO A 487 Human and Comparative Osteology
- BIO A 495 Growth and Development: Infancy
- BIO A 496 Growth and Development: Adolescence and Reproductive Maturity
- BIO A 568 Human Reproductive Ecology
Anthropology of Globalization is a new and exciting option in the Anthropology Major that explores several aspects of today’s interconnected world, including, economic exchanges, new media, human migration, and circulating knowledge. Unique to our program is a focus not only on contemporary multicultural and global exchanges, but also the deep history of such processes over the course of human evolution. Our emphasis is on how studies of social practice and historical knowledge can broaden understandings of contemporary global exchange. The track brings together several approaches. Sociocultural anthropology investigates how globalization looks from different areas of the world together with tracing particular global structures of power and mobility. This approach uses ethnographic data often collected through oral testimony and historical analysis. Archaeology puts today’s world in context by examining material traces of human life to explore the longer scale continuities and changes in power, movement, identity, and social interaction that are useful for understanding and tracing the development of modern global practices. The biocultural approach traces the global flow of people, genes and disease. The biological approach can uncover ancient pathways of human migration illuminate patterns of human diversity that influence traits such as disease risk. Taken together, sociocultural, archeological, and biocultural anthropology provide students a unique set of tools for studying multiculturalism, diversity, and global exhanges, and prepares students to effectively engage in an increasing interconnected world.
Students at the UW increasingly have their own stories of global interconnection. UW students come from countries around the world, and Seattle is now and has historically been an important stopping point in circuits of exchange across the Pacific Ocean and along the west coast of the Americas. The option in Anthropology of Globalization can allow students to understand their own experiences of globalization in the context of general processes of change and in terms of a broad view of the world.
The Anthropology of Globalization option will prepare students for a diverse range of career, including those in business, human rights and social justice, immigration rights, and non-governmental organization work, as well as for further study in anthropology, law, politics, economics, philosophy, and critical thought. In fact, a recent article in the Puget Sound Business Journal described how anthropology is becoming increasingly valued and utilized in the business world. Courses in archaeology, sociocultural anthropology and biocultural anthropology will introduce students to the study of cross-border exchange of artifacts and objects, the circulation of knowledge, beliefs, and technologies, migration movements, transnational legislation, and genes, people and disease. By thinking through these questions against a background of historical and regional differences, students will enhance their understanding of emerging forms of circulation.
Approved Courses for Anthropology of Globalization (AG):
- ANTH 280 Cultures of Global Capital
- ANTH 305 Anthropology of the Body
- ANTH 314 Ethnography, Transnationalsim, and Community in Island Southeast
Asia/Asian American
- ANTH 321 Comparative Religions
- ANTH 323 Human Rights Law in Culture and Practice
- ANTH 356 Visual Anthropology
- ANTH 360 Anthropology of Popular Culture
- ANTH 361 The Anthropology of Food
- ANTH 362 Anthropology of Tourism
- ANTH 371 Anthropology of Development
- ANTH 375 Comparative Systems of Healing
- ANTH/SISEA 407 Global Futures in East Asia
- ANTH 423 Traffic Across Cultural Boundaries
- ANTH 428 Perspectives on Ethnicity
- ANTH 429 Expressive Culture
- ANTH 442/SISEA 442/WOMEN 446 Global Asia
- ANTH 446 Class and Culture in East Asia
- ANTH 449 Social Transformation of Modern East Asia
- ANTH 450 Language and Gender
- ANTH 461 Historical Ecology
- ANTH 463 Critiques of Contemporary Capitalism
- ANTH 469 Urban Anthropology
- ANTH 469 Technology in Modern India
- ANTH 469 Discourse of U.S. Immigration
- ANTH 469 The Ethnography and Ethnoarchaeology of Borderlands
- ANTH 469 Engendering the War on Terror
- ANTH 471 Colonialism and Culture
- ANTH 473 Anthropology of Science and Technology
- ANTH 476 Culture, Medicine, and the Body
- ANTH 497 Seeking Refuge: Perspectives on U.S. Asylum and Refugee Law
- ANTH 498 Women's Rights and Politics in Islamic Society
- ARCHY 304 New World Prehistory
- ARCHY 325 Archaeology of Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific
- ARCHY 369 Mainland Southeast Asian Archaeology
- ARCHY 402 Archaeology and Social Difference
- ARCHY 403 Archaeology of Landscapes
- ARCHY 465 Public Archaeology
- ARCHY 469 The Ethnography and Ethnoarchaeology of Borderlands
- ARCHY 470 The Archaeology of Extinction
- ARCHY 476 New World States and Empires
- ARCHY 477 Archaeology of the North (Arctic/subarctic)
- BIO A 372 Uses and Abuses of Evolutionary Views of Human Behavior
- BIO A 382 Human Population Biology
- BIO A 475 Environmental Impact of Small Scale Societies
- BIO A 482 Human Population Genetics
- BIO A 483 Human Genetics, Disease, and Culture
The Archaeological Sciences option is recommended to students who are interested in an in-depth study archaeological methods and theories. More specifically, it seeks to introduce students to the rigorous study of archaeological data. The required courses in this option will equip students with specialized laboratory, analytical and field skills, and will provide them with the historical context needed for understanding contemporary issues in archaeological sciences.
Special emphasis is put on teaching students the logic and rationale behind archaeological arguments. Students who complete this option will be well-equipped to pursue careers in archaeology-related fields both in private (e.g. cultural research management firms) and public (e.g. National Park Service, Forestry Service) sectors and to pursue graduate studies in archaeology.
The Archaeological Sciences option is a transcripted option that allows students’ academic work and expertise in archaeology to be recognized on their official academic transcript, which may help them in their applications to graduate programs or to gain employment.
This option is non-competitive and open to all Anthropology majors. To qualify for this option students must fulfill the requirements for the general anthropology major to include 15 credits from ARCHY 480, 481, 482, 483, 484, 495, 561 and at least 15 credits from the courses listed below. Students should consult with the archaeology faculty and the curriculum forecast for help with planning to fulfill the option's requirements.
Approved Courses for Archaeological Sciences (ASc):
Number of credits in parentheses
Strongly recommended:
- ARCHY 303 Archaeology of Africa and Eurasia (5)
- ARCHY 304 Archaeology of the Americas (5)
- ARCHY 309 Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia (5)
- ARCHY 319 Archaeology of Australia (5)
- ARCHY 320 Prehistory of the Northwest Coast (5)
- ARCHY 325 Archaeology of Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific (5)
- ARCHY 369 Special Problems in Archaeology (3-6, max 12)
- ARCHY 372 Archaeological Field Recording Techniques (5)
- ARCHY 373 Principles of Archaeological Field Recording (3)
- ARCHY 377 Archaeology of the Arctic (5)
- ARCHY 378 Prehistory of the Arid West (5)
- ARCHY 401 Archaeology of Human Origins (5)
- ARCHY 402 Archaeology and Social Difference (5)
- ARCHY 403 The Archaeology of Landscapes (5)
- ARCHY 465 Public Archaeology (5)
- ARCHY 467 Research Ethics in Archaeology: Conservation, Accountability, and Stewardship (5)
- ARCHY 469 Special Studies in Archaeology (3-6, max. 18)
- ARCHY 470 The Archaeology of Extinction (5)
- ARCHY 486 Geoarchaeology Laboratory (5)
- ARCHY 489 Archaeology Practicum (2-9, max. 15)
- ARCHY 490 Museum Curation Practicum: Archaeology (1-5, max. 15)
- ARCHY 499 Undergraduate Research (max. 12)
Also recommended:
- ANTH 461 Historical Ecology
- BIO A 388 Human Fossils and Evolution I (5)
- BIO A 389 Human Fossils and Evolution II (5)
- BIO A 487 Human and Comparative Osteology (5)
- BIO A 491 Issues in Human Paleontology (5)
- CL AR 340 Pre-Classical Art and Archaeology (3)
- CL AR 341 Greek Art and Archaeology (3)
- CL AR 342 Roman Art and Archaeology (3)
- CL AR 343 Hellenistic Art and Archaeology (3)
- CL AR 447 The Archaeology of Early Italy (3)
- CL AR 448 The Archaeology of Italy (3)
- ESRM 413 Soil Genesis and Classification (5)
- ESRM 416 Field Survey of Wildland Soils (5)
- ESS 455 Stratigraphy (5)
- ESS 456 Depositional Environments (5)
- ESS 459 Environmental Isotope Geology (5)
- ESS 461 Geological Time (5)
- ESS 554 Paleoclimate Proxies (5)
- ESS 589 Paleoclimatology: Data, Modeling and Theory (5)
- Q SCI 381 Introduction to Probability and Statistics (5)
- Q SCI 482 Statistical Inference in Applied Research I: Hypothesis Testing and Estimation for Ecologists and Resource Managers (5)
- Q SCI 483 Statistical Inference in Applied Research II: Regression Analysis for Ecologists and Resource Managers (5)
Students may also petition the department advising office to have other courses approved for the option, such as courses offered by the Center for Statistics & the Social Sciences or study abroad courses with a substantial archaeological component. Students must present a syllabus and one-page justification with their petition. |