Anthropology, BA

Your anthropology major provides enormous flexibility to tailor the program to your own interests and professional goals. Out of 36-40 credits of anthropology courses you’ll take, only one course is required. You choose some other courses from various groupings, but 24 credits are electives.

Depending on which courses you choose, you may study prehistoric archaeology, forensic anthropology, biological anthropology and human evolution, human genetics, world cultures, culture and global business, the African experience in the Americas, the anthropology of the Middle East, power and privilege in southeast Michigan, sexuality and culture, men and masculinities, language and society, medical anthropology, and religion and culture, among other subjects.

• Identify and apply anthropological methods and theories to solving complex social and biological problems at local, regional, and global levels
• Explain the holistic nature of anthropology and demonstrate its power as an analytical and conceptual tool to understand the human condition
• Communicate anthropological ideas effectively and concisely, verbally and in writing, for multiple audiences
• Explain anthropological research methods and theories, and apply these to the analysis and reporting of quantitative and qualitative data
• Employ cross-cultural comparisons over space and time to explain how social constructs such as race, gender, and status are created and challenged
• Gain hands-on experience in designing, conducting, and writing about applied research, community outreach, and service projects

More hands-on experiences are available in our internship, research, and study abroad programs. Check out the pages for these programs, and talk to your professors to learn more.

Your coursework will train you to apply anthropological perspective to human and environmental change in ways that apply to your career. Practical skills taught in courses include cultural awareness (how to see things in context and recognize patterns), data analysis (how to break down large amounts of complex data into themes and insights), research (including methods, project design, problem solving, and project management), ethnography (listening, communicating, story telling), as well as a range of other skills including observation, contextual inquiry, data collection, survey design, teamwork and collaboration. Students in our program gain these skills through personalized, hands on experiences including via our:

• Archaeology Lab, a project site for archaeology research programs, collections, and teaching
• Biological Anthropology Lab, a project site for our biological anthropology coursework and research
• Ethnographic Research Lab, a project site for our hired anthropology research assistants and collaborators
• Archaeological Digs at the River Raisin National Battlefield Park
• Conference and professional development for students (including at the Michigan Undergraduate Forum and the American Anthropological Association’s annual meetings)
• Beth A. Beson Anthropology Field Study Award (participate in summer field schools around the world)
• Independent Study Options
• Extensive project based learning and community engaged learning opportunities
• Personalized support of students including career advising, recommendations, and professional development.

A minor or integrative studies concentration consists of 15 credits of upper-level (numbered 300 or above) courses in anthropology (ANTH). Students majoring in a wide range of subjects may find an anthropology minor to be a valuable supplement to their major.

Minors are not automatically granted. Once you finish the required courses, you must declare the minor on a form that you submit to the CASL Advising and Academic Success office.

Field schools teaching anthropological research methods can be life-changing experiences that provide essential training for careers in anthropology as well as practical field research experience applicable to other professions. Field schools take place all over the world and provide students with training in anthropological methods in archaeology, human paleontology, bioarchaeology, ethnology, linguistics, and primatology. UM-Dearborn students have attended field schools in Australia, Jordan, Kenya, Peru, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain, France, Ireland, and various sites in the United States.  These programs are not required for an Anthropology major or minor, but we encourage you to consider the possibility of such a program.

UM-Dearborn’s Anthropology program helps provide these experiences in two ways. We offer a Field School Scholarship through the Beth A. Beson Anthropology Field Study Award that helps students subsidize the costs of attending a field school in their chosen area. The scholarship program is competitive, and preference is given to students majoring or minoring in anthropology. Anthropology faculty also run their own field schools both locally during the term and internationally over the summer that can be elected for UM-Dearborn credit (see ANTH 410).

For additional information about the Field School and Field School Scholarship, contact: Rose Wellman, Ph.D.