Course Requirements

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology

Students seeking an undergraduate degree are required to complete at least 31 credits of anthropology course work in addition to their skills requirement and supporting coursework. All courses being used to satisfy anthropology major requirements must be completed with a grade of C or above (grades of C- will not be accepted).

Foundation Courses

3 courses/ 10 credits

Method and Theory Courses

2 courses/ 6 credits

ANthropology Elective Courses

15 credits

Skills Requirement

Language and/or Quantitative

Supporting Course Work

18 credits

Satisfactory Progress Benchmarks

All students entering the major must successfully complete the following requirements within two terms:
1) Two of the following: ANTH 220, ANTH 240, or ANTH 260
2) Four CORE Distributive Studies courses 3) Fundamental Studies Math and English requirements

Foundation Courses (3)

All three foundation courses are required for the anthropology major:

ANTH220- Introduction to Biological Anthropology
ANTH240- Introduction to Archaeology
ANTH260- Introduction to Socio-cultural Anthropology and Linguistics

Method and Theory Courses (2)

Two of the following upper level method and theory courses are required for the anthropology major. Students must complete the method and theory course associated with their chosen focus area.

ANTH320- Method and Theory of Biological Anthropology (offered in fall)
ANTH340- Method and Theory of Archaeology (offered in spring)
ANTH360- Method and Theory of Socio-Cultural Anthropology (offered in spring)

If a student completes all three of the method and theory courses, one course can be used as an anthropology elective.

Anthropology Electives ( minimum of 15 credits)

Anthropology majors are required to complete at least 15 credits of anthropology electives.

9 of the 15 credits must be taken at the 300 - 400 level
A maximum of 6 credits of the following courses may be applied to this requirement: ANTH358, ANTH386, ANTH398.
Courses listed as ANTH and courses taught by anthropology Affiliate Faculty in other departments can be counted towards the anthropology electives requirement. Students are advised to check with the Undergraduate Advisor or the Director of Undergraduate Studies before enrolling in courses with affiliate faculty.
Pre-approved anthropology courses completed in departments affiliated with the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area can also be applied to the elective requirement. Students are advised to check with the Undergraduate Advisor or the Director of Undergraduate Studies before enrolling in courses through the Consortium.

Skills Course: Quantitative and/or Second Language (1)

Students are required to complete at least one of the following:

Quantitative Skills Option

Designed to give students a background in quantitative analysis and statistics, this option encourages students to develop a mathematical foundation for future academic and career goals. The option is especially important for students planning to continue their education, as quantitative skills are often included in graduate curriculum. The quantitative skills option is satisfied by the completion of one course from the following list with a grade of C or higher:

Completion of one (1) course from the following list with a grade of C or higher:

MATH111 or other higher level MATH course (Note: MATH113 does not satisfy this requirement)
STAT100
BIOM301*
ECON201
ECON321
EDMS451
GEOG306
GEOG482
PSYC200

SOCY201

*Students focusing in biological anthropology are encouraged to take Biometrics 301 (BIOM301).

Additional courses can be used to satisfy this requirement, but must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies

Second Language Skills Option

Knowledge of more than one language proves very useful in many professions and in today’s diverse society. Learning multiple languages takes on an even greater importance for students of anthropology, as strong connections exist between language and culture. The second language skills option stresses the importance of this connection and the applicability of additional languages to a student’s future academic work and/or career. This skills option can be satisfied in one of the following ways:

Successful completion of a foreign language through the first course of the intermediate level with a grade of C or higher;
Successful completion of high school level 4 in one language with a grade of B or higher;
Successful completion of a placement exam in which the student placed above the first course of the intermediate level.

Students who have completed a language through high school level four need to provide the Undergraduate Advisor with appropriate transcripts.

Supporting Course Work (minimum of 18 credits)

To fulfill the supporting coursework requirement, students may take courses from multiple departments, or choose to take courses from one department. The purpose of the supporting course sequence is to enable students to develop skills and additional academic preparation that are related to their specific interests in anthropology. Supporting courses can be used to further develop a student’s focused interest in archaeology, biological anthropology, or cultural anthropology, or they might be directed to a particular topical or skill area—such as social science research methods, human geography, environmental courses, health interests, cultural studies, gender issues, and the like.

The following rules also apply to the supporting course work requirement:

Supporting courses should relate to the student's area of focus, whether biological anthropology, archaeology, or socio-cultural anthropology.
All courses intended to satisfy the requirement must be approved by the faculty advisor prior to the semester of their graduation. Therefore, students should plan ahead with their faculty advisor.
Up to 8 credits of the 18 credit requirement may be fulfilled with anthropology courses.
A maximum of 6 credits of the following courses may be applied to this requirement: ANTH358, ANTH386, ANTH398.
Courses used to fulfill the University's Advanced Studies CORE Requirement or any other Anthropology requirements may not be applied to the Supporting Course Work section.
If a student plans to use course work from another major or minor it is the student's responsibility to ensure that work is eligible to be double counted.

Please direct questions concering the supporting course work requirement to the Undergraduate Advisor.