Undergraduate Program

Anthropology major Erin Thesing won an Undergraduate Research Award to study the social integration and identity shaping of adolescent refugees in a small New Hampshire high school. Learn more about Erin and her experience undertaking another project--this one in Flint, Michigan.

Anthropology asks the question: What does it mean to be human? 

Students explore the unity and diversity of human experience. Through courses that cover a wide range of societies throughout the world, we investigate the human condition, past and present. Introductory courses provide an overview of the fields of anthropology: social and cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, and linguistics. More advanced courses provide the opportunity for students to pursue intensive study of particular topics in cross-cultural perspective. The department emphasizes critical thinking and writing skills and encourages close faculty/student contact in seminar courses at the upper level. Students have the opportunity to take courses in other departments that complement specific foci in anthropology.

Because anthropology engenders a broad overview of diverse peoples and cultures, majors are well-prepared to live in a rapidly changing world. The major both prepares students for graduate-level studies and serves as a foundation for a wide range of careers. With backgrounds in anthropology, our students become teachers, social workers, public policy experts, forensic investigators, health practitioners, primatologists, international business executives, and community and economic development specialists, as well as pursuing various other careers.

The Anthropology Department offers both a major and a minor in Anthropology. Please see the links at the right for more information about undergraduate opportunities.