Anthropology

As a discipline, anthropology studies human diversity across time and space, attempting to understand the human past, present, and future using tools and techniques from various sub-fields like biological anthropology, archaeology, and sociocultural anthropology. It utilizes a comparative approach between people/populations and among different species to understand the forces that have shaped their ways of life.

We aim to educate students to address real-world problems through a combination of classroom learning, seminars and hands-on field and laboratory research opportunities. This can include, for example, examining fossil casts or modern human bones, studying at the zoo or in villages in developing countries, and digging for artifacts in the fields or just facts in the library.

Our faculty pursues research in disease diagnostics and other biomarkers, Global and One Health, evolutionary medicine, human biology, child development, applied anthropology, ecological anthropology, forensic anthropology, fossil excavation, modern Mayan cultures, DNA analyses, and both historic and prehistoric archaeology. Research sites include Central and Latin America, the Caribbean, West, East, and South Africa, near Eastern Mediterranean, South Pacific, and Texas. All of these projects offer excellent opportunities for students to participate in primary research working alongside their professors.

The Department currently offers the following undergraduate degrees:

• BS in Anthropology, concentration in General Anthropology
• BS in Anthropology, concentration in Forensic Anthropology
• BS in Anthropology, concentration in Health
• BA in Anthropology, concentration in Archaeology
• BA in Anthropology, concentration in Environmental Anthropology
• Secondary major in Anthropology
• Minor in Forensic Science, Archaeology or Anthropology

Graduates frequently go on to complete advanced studies in archaeology, biological anthropology, applied anthropology, medical anthropology, history, museum studies, geology, social work, medicine, public health, law, law enforcement, forensics, education, and others. Because Anthropology is a subject of constant change, it equips people with the transferable skills necessary to fulfill a variety of jobs, from government, private, and non-profit positions in healthcare, education, conservation, among many others. 

For more information: Anthropology