Department of Anthropology
Undergraduate Requirements
The Department of Anthropology offers programs of study leading to the BA degree and to the BA degree with honors.
Students may minor in anthropology by following one of the two plans described below.
BA in Anthropology
Ten courses are required for a major in anthropology of which at least EIGHT must be at or above the 200 level. These 10 courses must include the following:
- ANT 101, Cultural Anthropology, normally taken BEFORE the spring semester of the sophomore year
- ANT 201, Theory and Method in Anthropology, normally taken in the spring of the freshman or sophomore years (prerequisite ANT 101)
- At least two of the core courses in anthropology: ANT 202–205
- One course that fulfills the Senior Requirement:
- ANT 301–310, Advanced Topics
- ANT 390, Supervised Teaching (for ANT 101, Cultural Anthropology, only)
- ANT 393, Honors Research in Anthropology
The Honors Program
The honors program is for students who wish to deepen their concentration in anthropology through an extra 12 credits of research and coursework. Application to the honors program should be made during the junior year. Students must complete: (1) a substantial research project (a minimum of 4 credits of honors research) and (2) 8 credits of further coursework (as described below). Research projects may involve archival, library, and/or original ethnographic research; they may incorporate research conducted during study abroad or summer field schools.
Requirements
Students wishing to graduate with honors in anthropology must fulfill the normal requirements of the undergraduate major. In addition, they must do the following:
- Maintain a GPA of 3.7 or higher in courses completed at the University of Rochester for the anthropology major, including courses completed for honors as listed below.
- Submit Part I of the application no later than April 15 of the spring semester of their junior year and obtain the signature of a departmental faculty member who has agreed to supervise their honors research project. Another member of the anthropology faculty must also agree to serve as a secondary reader for the project at this time. (Application forms will be available in the departmental office, 440 Lattimore.) Faculty supervisors will assume responsibility for advising students on their research and evaluating the final project.
- Complete a third core course in anthropology (ANT 202–205). An advanced topic seminar (30x) may be substituted for one core course in the junior or senior year.
- Submit Part II of the application, including a project proposal, to the departmental faculty member who has agreed to supervise their honors research project no later than the third Friday of September, fall semester of the senior year. Acceptance into the honors program is subject to review by departmental committee. (Proposal forms will be available in the departmental office.)
- Complete a minimum of 4 credits of ANT 393, Honors Research in Anthropology. (These credits may be distributed between the fall semester and spring semester of the senior year.) Students enroll for these credits with their faculty supervisor.
- Complete 4 credits of elective anthropology at the 200 level or higher. These credits may include ANT 393 credits above the minimum of 4. Independent study credits are also acceptable.
- Submit to their faculty supervisor and secondary reader an acceptable honors research project by April 1 of the senior year and present and defend the project at a colloquium open to all faculty and students in the Department of Anthropology. Projects usually take the form of a thesis of approximately 10,000 to 15,000 words; the thesis ought to be of at least A– quality. Projects may also be completed in nonprint media, such as video, with the approval of the students' supervisor. The award of an honors degree is decided by the supervisor and second reader, in consultation with the department faculty.
Minors in Anthropology
Anthropology
Six courses in anthropology are required.
- ANT 101, Cultural Anthropology
- Two of the following courses in anthropology: ANT 201–205
- Three additional courses in anthropology, two of which must be at or above the 200 level
Medical Anthropology
Six courses are required.
- Two of the following courses in anthropology: ANT 201–205
- Three of the following courses in medical anthropology: ANT 101, 102, 216, 218, 220, 278
- Any one additional course in anthropology
Upper-Level Writing Requirement
In addition to fieldwork, writing is central to the practice of social and cultural anthropology. Instructors give particular attention to techniques of analytical and persuasive writing in the core courses required of all majors. Students are provided opportunities across the anthropology curriculum to write field notes, journals, exegetical essays, original ethnographies, and substantial research papers. Accordingly, the upper-level writing requirement is fulfilled by virtue of completing the requirements for the major in anthropology.
