Undergraduate Program
Anthropology is the study of humankind in all its diversity: archaeological, biological and cultural. At some time, all of us have thought about our origins as a species, our evolution and the beginnings of our complex technology, society and culture. 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.
Studying anthropology is fun and practical, regardless of whether you take a single course or go on to pursue a major. If you are interested in modern cultures, ancient civilizations, human bones, our primate relatives, or many other topics related to the human 
condition in all its diversity, then Anthropology is the place for you.
Most of our courses fit into one or more groups of closely related classes or tracks. Are you interested in bones? Ancient civilizations? Cultures? Primates? Fossils? Ancient environments? The origins of modern human behavior? Click here to check out the course tracks that fit your interests. The more courses you take in any one track, the deeper your knowledge of that area will become. These tracks will give you the background needed for your career or for post-graduate education.
Our department offers three majors, ANTH, BANTH, and ARSCI, and you can also minor in Anthropology.
We’ve had students who double-majored in Anthropology and Finance in order to work in an overseas business or bank. Many go on to professional schools in medicine and law. Another group has sought careers in the UN and National Institutions like UNESCO, the Department of Health and Human Services. Some have become Contract Archeologists, who retrieve priceless and critical artifacts uncovered during the construction of highways, bridges and buildings. Several of our students have found work in the health sciences and forensics, such as the FBI forensic lab. And because of their interest in nonhuman primates, a few have ended up working in zoos. Perhaps, a majority of our graduates go to graduate school so that they may become scientists at research universities like Penn State and who devote their life to the study of humankind.
The faculty in Anthropology 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 different research areas in Anthropology. 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.
Obviously, the degree in Anthropology is a perfect fit for a variety of vocations. Your desires, needs and imagination are the only limitation. For more information visit the American Anthropological Association, the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, and the Society for American Archeology.
