Majors and Minors
Anthropology and Archaeology Program Information
Anthropology and Archaeology Overall Program Details
The Department of Anthropology currently offers a variety of possible tracks for our majors including Anthropology and Archaeology. As you consider a major or minor, please keep in mind the following:
Students interested in pursuing BA degrees in Anthropology or Archaeology or the Anthropology minor should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Stephanie Sadre-Orafai sadreose@ucmail.uc.edu for information about these different programs. Current students in these programs should also meet with Dr. Sadre-Orafai to discuss course scheduling and progress to degree completion.
Anthropology
The Anthropology BA program provides students with a broad training in the methods and theory of the four subfields of the discipline: sociocultural anthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics. In addition, students may focus their major elective coursework in one of four Concentration Areas:
Human Genetics, Health, and Adaptation
Explore topics from the fields of Biological, Evolutionary, and Medical Anthropology, Genetics and Epigenetics, and Anthropology of Food and Nutrition. Prepares students for further study or work in human/medical genetics, global health, nutrition, or forensic sciences.
People-Environment Connections
Explore topics from the fields of Anthropology of Environment, Economic Anthropology, Political Ecology, Environmental Studies, Geoarchaeology, and Human Behavioral Ecology. Prepares students for further study or work in environmental policy, water & wetlands conservation, natural resources or land use management.
Local Past, Global Futures
Explore topics from the fields of Archaeology and Ethnohistory, Global Anthropology, Anthropology of Development, and Applied Anthropology. Prepares students for further study or work in migration studies, development, or international affairs.
Culture, Difference, and Identity
Explore topics from the fields of Ethnology, Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology, Material Culture and Visual Anthropology, Legal Anthropology and Anthropology of Media. Prepares students for further study or work in design, legal studies, social justice, or media and communication.
Students are also encouraged to complement their Anthropology BA with a minor in a related field, or certificate such as Critical Visions, Medical Humanities, Bioethics, Historic Preservation, or Social Justice.
Students graduating with a BA in Anthropology have a unique skill set and perspective that enables them to pursue a wide range of career options, including cultural resource management, historic preservation, environment and natural resource management, museum curation, international development, social impact assessment, public health, human and social services, community development, and market research, to name a few.] Other graduates elect to pursue MA and PhD degrees in order to prepare them for a career in research and teaching.
Archaeology
The Archaeology BA program provides students with an interdisciplinary training in archaeological methods and theory. A core requirement of this program is the completion of an archaeological field school or archaeological internship, where students will gain valuable skills needed in their future careers. Beginning in Fall 2020, students will pursue a unified curriculum while focusing their major elective coursework in one of three Concentration Areas:
Environmental and Landscape Archaeology
Explore topics from landscape and spatial archaeology, GIS, environmental anthropology, historical ecology, bioarchaeology, the development of agriculture and other anthropogenic activities and their impact on natural landscapes, and sustainability through interdisciplinary coursework in Geology, Geography, Environmental Studies, and Anthropology.
Archaeology of Social Complexity
Explore topics from prehistory in the Americas, the Mediterranean, and the Near East, the development of societal and community organization and forms of urbanism and material culture past and present through interdisciplinary coursework in Classics, History, and Anthropology.
Material Culture, Cultural Heritage, and Museum Studies
Explore topics from material culture, heritage studies, and theories of visualizing, embodying and representing cultural practices through interdisciplinary coursework in History, Architecture, Planning, and Anthropology.
Students are also encouraged to compliment their Archaeology BA with a minor in a related field or certificate such as Historic Preservation, Mediterranean Archaeology, or GIS.
Students graduating with an Archaeology BA can expect to obtain jobs in the fields of cultural resource management, historic preservation, museum curation, natural resource management, planning, and risk analysis. Other graduates elect to pursue MA and PhD degrees in order to prepare them for a career in research and teaching.
Archaeology Major Map
Anthropology Minor
Students can also complete a minor in Anthropology. The minor requires 18 credits of coursework. Students must complete 3 of the 4 Introductory courses as well as an additional 9 credit hours from anywhere in the Anthropology curriculum (3 of these credit hours must be at the 3000 level or above. Anthropology minors pair well with majors in Biology, Classics and Classical Civilization, Environmental Studies, Geography, Geology, History, Latin American studies, Sociology, Spanish, and Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Departmental Honors
To acknowledge outstanding scholarly achievement in the undergraduate anthropology program, the department has established two levels of academic excellence.
Departmental Honors is conferred on those students whose anthropology GPA ranges between 3.33 and 3.67. High Departmental Honors is reserved for those students whose anthropology GPA exceeds 3.67.