The anthropology  major provides students the opportunity to undertake a broad based study of the anthropological approaches to understanding past and present human cultural structures. This major is particularly suitable for those interested in teaching professions, continued graduate study or international aid agencies.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

1. Understand the principles and areas of work in the five sub-disciplines within the anthropological discipline:
   • Physical/Biological Anthropology: demonstrate an understanding of the process of human, i.e., bio cultural, evolution and the major events associated with these processes both past and present.
   • Archaeology: demonstrate a basic understanding of how human behavior is gleaned from archaeological sites and their contexts and how human heritage contributes valuable information about people of the past to present-day audiences.
   • Sociocultural Anthropology: demonstrate an understanding of cultural relativism, the dangers of ethnocentrism, and the basic tenets of the process of carrying out field research with present-day cultures.
   • Linguistic Anthropology: acquire a basic understanding of human communication systems and how they function in the larger cultural milieu.
   • Action Anthropology: Understand the philosophies behind the rise of this most recent field and the basic tenets of how the application of anthropological training can intersect with, and may offer constructive suggestions for, present-day cultures in trouble.
2. Understand the process of "doing fieldwork," i.e., methodologically, and/or carry out one's research agenda in any of the five sub-disciplines.
3. Acquire a thorough knowledge of the major anthropological theoretical frameworks within the discipline as utilized in the past and present.
4. Understand the fundamental processes involved in addressing a research topic or building a hypothesis as the basis for proceeding with anthropological fieldwork (in any subfield).
5. Demonstrate the ability to communicate their own ideas, and the ideas of others, clearly and effectively in writing.