Major
With effect from the class of 2012, a major in
anthropology consists of ten courses, to include either Anthropology
101 or 111 (a prerequisite for all other anthropology courses except
112, 115 and 340), Anthropology 230 (which should ideally be taken in
the sophomore year or before the student studies abroad), Anthropology
487, the senior seminar (490) and other anthropology courses chosen in
consultation with a departmental advisor. Majors are strongly urged to
take at least one ethnographic area course. If a student cannot
complete the course successfully in two attempts, he or she must
petition the department chair for permission to attempt it a third
time. For earlier classes, the major consists of nine courses,
including the required courses listed above.
In addition, a student majoring in anthropology must
complete one semester of study abroad after successfully completing a
course in research methods (either 230 or a similar course approved by
the department). The program chosen by the student should have a
substantial fieldwork-based component or the opportunity to engage in
significant independent research. Where appropriate, a student may,
with the permission of the department chair, count one course taken on
study abroad towards the major, with the exception noted below.
A maximum of two courses in anthropology taken at
other universities or institutions of tertiary education (including
foreign universities) may be counted towards the major at the
discretion of the department chair. An exception to this limit may be
made at the discretion of the chair for students who have a particular
interest in archaeology or biological anthropology and who wish to
avail themselves of additional courses in these areas offered at other
universities.
If circumstances warrant, a student may petition the
department to waive a requirement, provided an alternative acceptable
to the department is proposed.
Internships and independent study do not in general count towards the fulfillment of the course requirements in the major.
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Minor
Minor Requirements: A Minor in Anthropology
consists of five courses chosen with the assistance of the student's
departmental advisor. One of the courses must be Anthropology 111 or
101.
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Honors
The Anthropology Department strongly supports students
with a demonstrated record of excellence who wish to pursue a
departmental honors project in their senior year. The department urges
students to pursue interest in any field of anthropology for which the
department and college have adequate sources of material and expertise.
The department encourages students to begin planning
for the honors as early as possible in their studies in order to meet
the requirements for the program and to begin preliminary work as soon
as practical.
The following are the general requirements for honors in anthropology:
I. Grades: A general GPA of at least 3.3 and an Anthropology GPA of at least 3.5
II. Courses
A. Honors students must complete all the regular requirements for the anthropology program degree.
B. Before starting the honors project, the
student should have at least six courses in anthropology including the
introductory course and one methods course.
C. Before finishing the honors project, the
student should have completed nine courses in anthropology of which not
more than one course (four credits) is an independent research course.
These courses should include:
1. at least one senior-level theory course.
2. the Capstone Seminar. Honor's students participate fully in the senior, capstone seminar.
3. any courses that the anthropology faculty
deems appropriate for that student's particular project. These may
include courses outside the department in addition to the nine required
classes inside the department.
III. Application Procedure and Timetable:
A. April 15 of the Junior Year:
The applicant should submit a three to five page proposal to the anthropology faculty containing the following information:
1. Statement of the project topic or thesis
2. Methods and overview of the research
a. the type of research to be done,
(e.g. ethnographic, library, archival, etc.)
b. of where it is to be done,
(e.g. on campus, in an Andean village, at Oxford University, etc.)
c. summary of how much has already been done.
3. Explanation of the importance of the project and how it fits into the student's education
4. Timetable for the research and write-up
5. Selection of a primary faculty advisor and other advisors (on or off campus) who may be utilized
6. Bibliography
B. September 15 of the Senior Year:
One page progress report to the faculty.
Two to three page bibliography
C. January 15 of the Senior Year:
Five to ten page overview and summary of the paper to
be submitted to the faculty. This will be considered by the faculty
with a response from the faculty terminating the project or giving
permission to continue the project.
D. April 15 of the Senior Year
Copies of the full paper should be submitted to each
faculty member. The full presentation of the paper and hearing before
the departmental faculty should be scheduled sometime during the
following week.
E. May of the Senior Year
Award of Honors
IV. Final Honors Product
The final product will usually consist of a paper of
professional quality of approximately 70-100 pages (or double the
typical Capstone paper). This paper may be based upon original research
such as ethnographic data, archaeological work, a study abroad project,
or a comparative study of information related to a topic in several
societies. It may also be an original library project related to
anthropological theory, analyzing a particular problem or issue, or
some other topic of relevance to anthropology.
In addition to the presentation of the project before
the faculty, the student will be asked to make a public presentation to
fellow students in the department. In special cases when the department has the appropriate faculty,
products that complement the written paper may be considered as a part of the final project, such as a film or museum
exhibit.
The student will work with one primary faculty
sponsor of the honors project, but ultimate oversight and the final
awarding of the honors must be done by a majority vote of the full-time
anthropology faculty (excluding any who may be on leave at the time).
Each year the faculty honors oversight committee will be chaired by the
faculty member teaching the Capstone Seminar for that semester.
Proposals, reviews, and the final paper should be submitted to the
committee through the person chairing it for that year.
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