Academic Bulletin

College of Arts & Sciences - Undergraduate

ANTHROPOLOGY - Dept. Codes: APY
www.as.miami.edu/anthropology

Educational Objectives | Degree Programs | Major | Minor | Departmental Honors

Introduction

Anthropology is the scientific study of humankind, from its beginnings to the present. Of the many sciences that study aspects of humans and their behavior, only anthropology attempts to understand and integrate the entire panorama of human biology and culture in all times and places.

The Anthropology Department offers a wide range of courses for students in pursuit of the Bachelor of Arts degree, from the basic four fields of cultural anthropology, linguistics, physical anthropology, and archaeology, to advanced study of topics such as underwater archaeology, medical anthropology, Caribbean cultures, primatology, and Iron Age Europe.

The science of anthropology holds that to understand the principles of human behavior, we must compare our own behaviors with those of people from other times and places around the world.  These comparisons demand evolutionary, cross-cultural studies of human behavior, constantly changing, ever intriguing us.

The field is especially suited to a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural urban center such as Miami, and the research programs of the department faculty reflect the compositions and concerns of the larger community.

Anthropological knowledge has taken an increasing role in the solution of practical problems in public health, cultural resource management, economic development in the Third World, business relations with immigrant and overseas populations, State and Federal programs, and many other areas. Anthropology majors may become professionals in the field by continuing their training in one of the many excellent graduate programs around the country.      

Educational Objectives

Students who graduate from our program in anthropology will have achieved:
1. Basic familiarity with each of the four subfields of our discipline: archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and physical or biological anthropology.
2. Extended familiarity with one or more of these subfields in terms of knowledge of content, e.g. area ethnology in Latin America and/or the Caribbean, topical knowledge such as Drugs and Culture, Ritual and Sacrifice, Sex and Culture, Food, Primate Behavior, Iron Age Civilizations, or World Languages, or methodological skills involving field research in one or more of the subfields.
3. The ability to articulate the anthropological view of the human condition in terms of an operational definition of culture and a holistic perspective on how humans behave.
4. Sufficient skill in research to be able to produce a research paper on an anthropological topic.

Degree Programs

The Department of Anthropology offers a major and a minor in the University's array of Bachelor of Arts Degrees.

Major

• A major in Anthropology consists of 30 credits in Anthropology, passed with a grade of C- or higher with an overall GPA of 2.0.
• APY 201, 202, 203, 204 (or approved alternatives), and a minimum of four anthropology courses at the 300 level or higher are required. APY 208 may count as one of the six courses taken in addition to the four basic courses.
• The remainder of the program will be developed with the student's departmental advisor.

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Minor

A minor in Anthropology consists of 15 or more credits, passed with a grade of C- or higher with an overall GPA of 2.0 including any two 200-level anthropology courses. 

Any two of the following courses in other departments may be applied to the major in Anthropology; any one to the minor:

ARH 239, 241, 242, 243, 249, 250, 330, 332
MCY 554
COS 545
MAF 515, 526 
MAF 501 or MAF 505.

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Departmental Honors

A student with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher may earn honors in anthropology by writing a qualifying thesis paper under the direction of a member of the faculty in the Department of Anthropology.

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