Anthropology is a broad and diverse discipline that seeks to better understand the human species in terms of our cultural, behavioral, and biological development through time. Toward this end, the field of anthropology includes comparisons with our closest living relatives - the lemurs, monkeys, and apes that, together with us, constitute the zoological Order Primates. The wide scope of anthropolo
gy has resulted in the identification of three sub-disciplines: social anthropology, archaeology, and physical anthropology. Archaeology represents the study of human cultural and behavioral variation over time. Physical anthropology examines the biological evidence for human and non-human primate evolution. This, itself, encompasses a very broad range of topics, including the study of the behavioral ecology and anatomy of living non-human primates, and the fossil record for primate and human evolution. The objective of the Anthropology major is to train the student in all three sub-disciplines while allowing the student to concentrate in a specific sub-discipline. Students with a degree in anthropology take several postgraduate paths. Some continue their anthropology training in graduate schools, many at the finest graduate schools in the country. Others pursue, for example, medical school or conservation studies. The undergraduate program introduces the student to the general field of anthropology, its branches, its theories and methods, and its relation to the other social sciences, the humanities, and the natural sciences. The curriculum emphasizes the fields of cultural and social anthropology, archaeology, and physical anthropology. Students often have the opportunity to pursue coursework in any of the three fields in different cultural settings and field opportunities. Interested students should contact the director of undergraduate studies for details.
