About

Major and Minor

Anthropology Bachelor’s Program

Anthropology is the global, comparative study of human biological variation and cultural systems over all periods, from the prehistoric to the present. The undergraduate program allows students to explore this subject through the discipline’s four main areas of research: Biological Anthropology; Archaeology; Cultural Anthropology; and Linguistics. Our perspectives are worldwide, but we also study nearby communities, in trying to understand patterns of human physical differences, language, religion, marriage customs, conflict resolution or the evolution of societies themselves. Students with an undergraduate degree often go on to
graduate programs in Anthropology but also find employment in a wide variety of settings including: archeological contract companies; conducting research on urban community development; studying immigrant populations and how best to serve the health, social and educational needs of our increasingly diverse society. Students may also concentrate their studies in anthropology by choosing this as one of the two cognate disciplines required for Interdisciplinary Studies (ISS) Majors. This allows students to take introductory and advanced anthropology courses and combine them with a second cognate discipline and a specific set of ISS courses. Students majoring in other fields may find anthropology coursework an exciting and valuable supplement to their primary academic interest. A minor in anthropology has been developed with this purpose in mind. The minor program is structured to allow the student maximum flexibility in course selection within a broadly defined progression of anthropological interests. Thus, the student is able to tailor a minor in anthropology to best suit a special focus in the context of an overall curriculum.

Prerequisites:

Students wishing to transfer to USFSP should complete the A.A. degree at the community college. Students should complete two lower level, 2000 or 3000 level introductory courses in Anthropology prior to entering the university. If not taken at the community college, they must be completed before the degree is granted. Some courses required for the major may also meet General Education Requirements thereby transferring maximum hours to the university. A grade of "C" is the minimum acceptable grade. If students transfer with fewer than 60 semester hours of acceptable credit, the students must meet the university’s entering
freshman requirements including ACT or SAT test scores, GPA, and course requirements. The transfer student should also be aware of the immunization, foreign language, and continuous enrollment policies of the university. 

Anthropology Major Requirements

To complete a major in anthropology students are required to take ANT 2410, ANT 2511 (including the Lab section), ANT 3101 and ANT 3610 as intermediate level training in the main subdivisions of the field. Students also are required to take ANT 4034, one of the methods courses, and one capstone courses listed below. ANT 2000, although suggested, is not a prerequisite to intermediate level courses. ANT 2000 may, however, be included in the 37 credit hour major requirement. Students who have not taken ANT 2000 must make up the missing hours with Anthropology elective coursework. 

Required Core Courses

  • ANT 2410 Cultural Anthropology 3
  • ANT 2511 Biological Anthropology 3 (must be taken with ANT 2511L)
  • ANT 2511L Biological Anthropology Lab 1
  • ANT 3101 Archaeology 3
  • ANT 3610 Anthropological Linguistics 3
  • ANT 4034 Theories of Culture 3


Required Method Courses, 3 hours from one of the following:

The methods courses may also be counted toward the subdivision requirement, but a single such course cannot fulfill both requirements.

  • ANT 4495 Methods in Cultural Research 3
  • ANT 4114 Seminar in Archaeological Method &Theory 3
  • ANT 4442 Urban Life & Culture 3
  • ANT 4930 Visual Anthropology 3

Required Capstone Course, 3 hours from one of the following:

The capstone courses may also be counted toward the subdivision requirement, but a single such course cannot fulfill both requirements.

  • ANT 4302 Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspectives 3
  • ANT 4312 North American Indians 3
  • ANT 4935 Rethinking Anthropology 3

Beyond the required prerequisites listed above, the major in Anthropology consists of a minimum of 37 credit hours. In order to graduate, students must maintain an average best attempt 2.5 GPA in all courses counted toward the major. In addition, students must have a minimum C (2.0) grade in the senior core class ANT 4034 and in one of the following: ANT 4302, ANT 4312, or ANT 4935. A C- grade is not acceptable.

Elective Subfield Requirement

Majors are required to complete a minimum of 15 hours of 4000-level elective coursework, including courses from at least three of the four elective subfield courses shown below as well as ANT 4930, Special Topics courses.

Subfield Electives:

Archaeology
  • ANT 4114 Seminar in Archaeological Methods & Theory 3
  • ANT 4153 North American Archaeology 3
  • ANT 4158 Florida Archaeology 4
  • ANT 4163 Mesoamerican Archaeology 3
  • ANT 4176 Archaeology of Africa 3
  • ANT 4178 History & Archaeology of the African Diaspora 3
  • ANT 4180 Laboratory Methods in Archaeology 2-4
  • ANT 4824 Archaeological Field Methods 4-12
Biological Anthropology
  • ANT 4406* Ethnobotany 3
  • ANT 4467 Food, Health and Culture 3
  • ANT 4520 Forensic Anthropology 4
  • ANT 4586 Prehistoric Human Evolution 3

*Course Pending Approval

Anthropological Linguistics
  • ANT 4620 Language and Culture 3
Cultural Anthropology
  • ANT 4241 Anthropology of Religion 3
  • ANT 4302 Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective 3
  • ANT 4312 North American Indians 3
  • ANT 4316 Ethnic Diversity in the United States 3
  • ANT 4323 Mexico and Central America 3
  • ANT 4352 Peoples of Africa 3
  • ANT 4390 Visual Anthropology 3
  • ANT 4432 The Individual and Culture 3
  • ANT 4442 Urban Life and Culture 3
  • ANT 4462 Health, Illness, and Culture 3
  • ANT 4495 Methods in Cultural Research 3
  • ANT 4935 Rethinking Anthropology 3
Special Topics
  • ANT 4930 Special Topics in Anthropology 3

See your academic advisor for the department approved Special Topics course uses. Depending upon the topic, this may count toward any of the subdivisions and/or the methods requirement.

Independent Studies and Internships
  • ANT 4901 Directed Reading 1-4
  • ANT 4905 Individual Research 2-4
  • ANT 4940 Directed Internship 2-4

Students can work with a professor to undertake for-credit reading, individual research and/or internship. In all such cases, a contract is required prior to registration. It is the student's responsibility to contact the faculty member they wish to work with for Independent Studies and Internships to arrange a syllabus and contract. The student must have an “A” standing in at least one prior upper division anthropology course with the faculty member they want to supervise the independent study course or internship. Anthropology majors are urged to become competent readers and speakers of a relevant modern foreign language (which may include American Sign Language). They are also urged to enhance their English reading,
writing, speaking and critical thinking capabilities and develop their skills in computational, statistical and other forms of quantitative analysis at every opportunity. Students are encouraged to fulfill General Education and Exit requirements with courses relevant to their interests in anthropology whenever possible. In pursuit of all these goals, they should meet with the department’s Undergraduate Advisor at least once each semester to discuss such topics as academic progress, future course plans, summer field schools, job opportunities, graduate education and professional careers in anthropology.

Interdisciplinary Studies Requirements (ISS) Anthropology Concentration

In addition to the required ISS courses and those from another concentration discipline, the Anthropology Cognate is completed by taking either ANT 2000 or ANT 2410 and three additional ANT courses for major credit at the upper level. Students are expected to consult with the Anthropology Program director to select the most appropriate set of Anthropology electives relevant to their broader ISS major. See the ISS major in this catalog for further information.