Department of Anthropology

Undergraduate Students

Majors in Anthropology

The BA major focuses on the biological and cultural variations of human populations through archaeology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology.  In addition to class work, students can receive practical training in laboratory and field work.

The BS in Biological Anthropology provides the opportunity to develop a strong foundation in research methods, quantification, and laboratory science. It prepares students with the skills and competencies needed to pursue graduate study or careers in professions associated with biological anthropology. These include human DNA research, osteology, and some forensics, but the degree does not include all prerequisites for admission to medical school.

The BS in Archaeological Science provides the opportunity to develop a strong foundation in research methods, quantification, field methods, and laboratory science. It prepares students with the skills and competencies needed to pursue careers in Cultural Resource Management. Students contemplating futures in nonacademic archaeology should consider this degree, or some of its recommended courses.

Anthropology provides a uniquely comprehensive approach to understanding human beings and human behavior. Our majors are prepared to address and solve problems that involve people in their cultural and biological contexts. They are able to do this with a perspective on human variations that is invaluable in a world where biological, social and cultural differences increasingly affect all of us. Cross-cultural sensitivity and competence of this kind are significant assets to professional workers in communications, education, business and the health professions, among other fields.

Anthropology majors will find that their undergraduate education is excellent preparation for the advanced training required for a wide variety of professions. Our majors often go on and receive specialized graduate instruction in law, journalism, public administration, and virtually all of the "human services" fields. Although many professional schools require that undergraduate applicants have some specialized courses (for example, chemistry courses for pre-med students), such course requirements are easily dovetailed with the appropriate anthropology major. Most professional schools and graduate programs seek well-rounded, broadly educated applicants who can understand the implications of the advanced, specialized training they will receive.

Students looking forward to careers in health fields often major in Biological Anthropology, which is offered as a BS degree.  Students planning careers in Cultural Resource Management (public archaeology) often take the BS major in Archaeological Science.  Still others opt for double majors in anthropology and one or another of the many other majors available at Penn State.

All majors are assigned advisors in the department. This includes students having more than one major. All majors are encouraged to take full advantage of their academic advisors, whose duties include assisting majors with course selection, career planning, and the bureaucratic complexities of a large institution.

Students interested in pursuing careers in academic anthropology or museum work find that our BA program is an excellent primer in current anthropological theory and methodology, and thus valuable preparation for graduate training in anthropology. 

The Anthropology faculty at Penn State includes well-known and widely-published experts in their respective fields. Their fields of research and teaching, in turn, range across a wide spectrum of human culture, biology, and behavior. Undergraduates can benefit from our regional specializations in the archaeology and ethnology of Mesoamerica and North America. Specialized courses are also available across nearly all of the special topics covered by the three subdisciplines. At the other end of the spectrum are pragmatic courses that link anthropology to a variety of modern concerns, from public health and business administration to social welfare, criminal justice, economic development, and urban planning. Undergraduates, no less than graduate students, receive direct benefit from ongoing research, getting research experience both directly and from the personal experience of their professors.

The Department of Anthropology encourages undergraduates to participate in research in the fields of archaeology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology.  Students can either volunteer to work on projects or receive course credit for their participation.  This is an excellent way for students to gain "hands-on" experience in anthropological research and to apply concepts learned in the classroom.

Students should contact either the undergraduate secretary or individual faculty members for opportunities to participate in ongoing research. Projects are worked out between students and faculty members.  Students receiving course credit typically enroll in ANTH 494.

Concurrent Majors

The Anthropology majors are flexible programs that can be combined as concurrent majors with many other fields of study. Concurrent majors can be an attractive option for students, especially in today's multicultural workplace. Anthropology students learn many skills such as communication and writing skills, observational skills, experimental design, interviewing experiences, statistical methods, and cross-cultural awareness. The concurrent major program is for students who want to combine two or more majors. Students must satisfy the basic requirements for the colleges and majors involved. Interested students should contact the Liberal Arts Academic Student Services Center in 138 Sparks Building.

Questions regarding the Undergraduate Anthropology Program can be directed to the Undergraduate Advisor, Jeffrey Kurland, (JAK@PSU.EDU)

Anthropology is a holistic scientific discipline having links to the humanities. Anthropologists document, describe, and explain the physical and cultural differences of societies, both past and present. Anthropology sees the individual as part of a larger social order that both impinges upon and is molded by those who belong to it. Anthropology investigates how cultures interact and relate within specific economic, political, and ecological frameworks over time.

Anthropology is divided into three subdisciplines:

Archaeology : focuses upon past societies, both ancient and historic, in order to understand and explain the processes causing cultures to change over large spans of time.

Biological Anthropology : seeks to describe and explain human biological variation today and in the past.

Demographic Anthropology : provides expertise and skills in demographic theory, methodologies, and policy analysis through a dual degree program.