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. The following descriptions of different tracks offered will give you a good idea of the different areas and options available within the department and the university as a whole.
Archaeology
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.
Biocultural Anthropology
Biocultural anthropology focuses on understanding human variation through the study of the ecological, demographic, genetic, developmental, and epidemiological dimensions of modern human adaptation and its evolutionary basis. Biocultural anthropology provides a basis for continued study of a wide array of subjects in diverse fields in the life and social sciences (e.g., anthropology, medicine, human ecology, nutrition, paleoecology, paleo-anthropology, public health, demography, population biology) and in professional schools, while heightening awareness and broadening understanding of issues that are faced by all responsible members of society.
Bio A 201, Principles of Biological Anthropology, is a prerequisite to most upper-division biocultural anthropology courses and should be taken early in your academic program. In addition, 300-level courses provide a strong foundation for related higher level courses, and in some instances are prerequisites as well. Biocultural anthropology is distinguished by its breadth as a field of study, and it is recommended that a student develop a plan of study in upper-division courses that encompasses one or two lines of inquiry. While all courses designated BIO A are part of the biocultural set, students may elect to build a course of study around one or more 300- and/or 400-level offerings centered upon human evolution, variation, health, growth and development, ecology, genetics, primatology, or paleontology.
Students interested in graduate work in biocultural or physical anthropology should develop a sound background in the basic sciences. Toward this end, the following courses are strongly recommended:
- BIOL 201,202,203 (5,5,5) Introductory Biology
- CHEM 140 (4) General Chemistry
- CHEM 150 (4) General Chemistry
- MATH 124 (5) Calculus with Analytic Geometry
Other courses of relevance include:
- PHYS 114 (4) General Physics
- ZOOL 118 (5) Survey of Physiology
- GEOL 205 (5) Physical Geology
- NUTR 300 (3) Nutrition for Today
- B STR 301 (6) General Anatomy
- GENET 351 (5) Human Genetics
- BIOL 454 (5) Evolutionary Mechanisms
- BIOL 472 (5) Principles of Ecology
- MHE 422 (3) History of Evolutionary Theory
- PSYCH 417 (5) Human Behavior as a Natural Science
- PSYCH 418 (5) Primate Social Behavior
- PSYCH/ZOOL 409 (4) Sociobiology
Sociocultural Anthropology
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.
Medical Anthropology and Global Health
Majors completing the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology may complete these requirements through the undergraduate track in Medical Anthropology and Global Health.
Many students who complete this track 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 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
Students who wish to fulfill the Medical Anthropology and Global Health
(MAGH) track should declare this track through the Undergraduate Advising Office in the Anthropology Department. In addition to the required core courses for Anthropology (BioA201, Archy 205, and Statistics), MAGH students are asked to take the following courses to complete their 55 Anthropology credits in this track:
- ANTH 215 Introduction to Medical Anthropology and Global Health (5) Chapman (ANTH 101 offered by Chapman in 2007 and 2008 could fulfill this. After next year it will only be offered at the 200-level.) Note: ANTH 215 satisfies the 200-level required course for the major.
- Complete 15 credits from 300, 400 and 500 level courses approved for the MAGH track (listed below)
- Encouraged (but not required) to take BIO A/ ANTH 472 Capstone Cases in Medical Anthropology and Global Health (3) (This class may at times be cross-listed with UCONJ/GH 502 Advanced Interdisciplinary Cases in Global
Health)
Courses Approved for the MAGH Track
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