Anthropology Major

Program Director: George Hambrecht, Ph.D.

Anthropology, the study of culture, seeks to understand humans as a whole - as social beings who are capable of symbolic communication through which they produce a rich cultural record. Anthropologists try to explain differences among cultures - differences in physical characteristics as well as in customary behavior. Anthropologists study how culture has changed through time as the human genus has spread over the earth. Anthropology is the science of the biological evolution of human species, and the disciplined scholarship of the cultural development of human beings' knowledge and customary behavior.

Anthropology at the University of Maryland offers rigorous training for many career options. A strong background in anthropology is a definite asset in preparing for a variety of academic and professional fields, ranging from the law and business, to comparative literature, philosophy and the fine arts. Whether one goes on to a Master's or a Ph.D., the anthropology B.A. prepares one for a wide range of non-academic employment, such as city and public health planning, development consulting, program evaluation, and public archaeology.  A Bachelor of Science in Anthropology degree offers more concentrated training including physical science in the areas of archaeology, ecological anthropology and medical anthropology.  Courses offered by this department may be found under the acronym ANTH.

Program Learning Outcomes

Having completed the degree program, students should have acquired the following knowledge and skills:

  1. Students shall have an integrated knowledge, awareness and understanding of a culturally and biologically diverse world.
  2. Students shall demonstrate an understanding of culture and society.
  3. Students shall demonstrate the ability to understand complex research problems, and articulate appropriate methods and theory.

Students may seek an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree. Every course used to satisfy anthropology major requirements must be completed with a grade of "C-" or higher. Students must have a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average across all courses used to satisfy major degree requirements.

AnthropOlogy Degree Requirements

All courses are three credits unless otherwise indicated.

Course Title Credits
College Requirements
Foundational Courses
Select three of the following:9-10
Introduction to Medical Anthropology and Global Health
Introduction to Ecological and Evolutionary Anthropology (4 credits)
Introduction to Archaeology
Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology and Linguistics
Method and Theory Courses
Select two of the following:6
Method & Theory in Medical Anthropology and Global Health
Method and Theory in Ecological Anthropology
Method and Theory in Archaeology
Method and Theory in Sociocultural Anthropology
Anthropology Electives
Select a minimum of 12 credits offered in Anthropolgy, not double-counted for other Anthropology requirements12
Applied Field Methods
Select a minimum of 3 credits of the following:
ANTH271
Introduction to Zooarchaeology
Material Culture Studies in Archaeology
Environmental Archaeology
Anthropology of Cultural Heritage
Researching Environment and Culture
Special Topics in Cultural Anthropology (ANTH468P - Anthropology, War & Security)
ANTH472
ANTH491
ANTH492
Advanced Field Training in Ethnography (ANTH498C - Environmental Conservation and Indigenous People in Brazil)
Field Methods in Archaeology 1
Quantitative Skills Requirement
Please refer to the 'Quantitative Skills Requirement' section below to view this requirement for the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree3-8
Supporting Course Work
Please refer to the 'Supporting Course Work' section below to view this requirement for the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree9-18
Total Credits39-54
1

Students with an archaeological focus must take this class

Quantitative Skills Requirement

Bachelor of Arts

Course Title Credits
Select one of the following:3
Introduction to Biometrics
Principles of Macroeconomics
Economic Statistics
Introduction to Educational Statistics
Introduction to Quantitative Methods for the Geographical Environmental Sciences
Statistical Methods in Psychology
Innovation, Exploration and the Evolution of Human Societies
Elementary Statistics and Probability
Introduction to Math Modeling and Probability 1
Total Credits3
1

Or a higher level MATH class is required.

Bachelor of Science

Course Title Credits
Select two of the following:7-8
Elementary Statistics and Probability
Calculus I (4 credits)
Calculus II (4 credits)
Elementary Calculus I (4 credits)
Elementary Calculus II (4 credits)
Total Credits7-8

Supporting Course Work

Bachelor of Arts

Course Title Credits
Supporting courses approved by a faculty member18
Total Credits18

Bachelor of Science

Course Title Credits
Select three of the following:9-12
Sustainability
Environment, Economics and Policy (4 credits)
Intermediate Applied Microeconomics 1
Global Poverty and Economic Development
World Hunger, Population, and Food Supplies
Food and Agricultural Policy
Natural Resources and Public Policy 1
Causes and Consequences of Global Change
The World of Biology
Principles of Molecular & Cellular Biology
and Principles of Molecular & Cellular Biology Laboratory (4 credits)
Principles of Ecology and Evolution
and Principles of Ecology and Evolution Lab (4 credits)
Amazing Green: Plants that Transformed the World (4 credits)
BSCI189
(4 credits)
Human Anatomy and Physiology I (4 credits)
Human Anatomy and Physiology II (4 credits)
Principles of Genetics (4 credits) 1
General Microbiology (4 credits)
Principles of Animal Behavior 1
Principles of Ecology (4 credits) 1
The Biology of Conservation and Extinction 1
Principles of Evolution 1
Population Ecology 1
Molecular Evolution 1
Object-Oriented Programming I (4 credits)
Object-Oriented Programming II (4 credits)
Introduction to Environmental Health
ENST440
Physical Geology
and Physical Geology Laboratory (4 credits)
Geomorphology 1
Sedimentation and Stratigraphy 1
Geophysics 1
As the World Turns: Society and Sustainability in a Time of Great Change
Economic Geography
GEOG372
Geographic Information Systems
Conceptualizing and Modeling Human-Environmental Interactions 1
Culture and Natural Resource Management
Remote Sensing: Digital Processing and Analysis 1
Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis 1
A Public Health Perspective: Introduction to Environmental Health 1
Environmental Determinants of Emerging Infectious Diseases
Introduction to Public and Community Health
Introduction to Research in Community Health
HLTH300
1
Introduction to the History of Science
Total Credits9-12
1

 Prerequisites apply. 

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