• First-year Focus
• Majors / Minors
• Career Paths
• Students
• Courses

Djenne Market and Mosque, Mali

Majors / Minors

Major in Anthropology

Students are expected to complete a 15-course program (11 courses in anthropology and 4 in related fields) for a major in anthropology. The department's 4 required 200-level courses provide the background in the four major sub-fields of anthropology. 370 examines the philosophical and historical roots of the discipline. Five additional 300-level courses, including an examination of appropriate methods and research design issues, develop the student's intellectual maturity in the discipline. All seniors are required to take 398 and to prepare a senior capstone paper. This requirement provides students with an opportunity to conduct original research and, in the process, gain valuable analytical, critical thinking, and writing skills.

Departmental Courses

• 211 or 212, 213, 214, and 215. Students with previous background in anthropology may petition to substitute a 300-level course for a 200-level requirement.
• 370
• 5 additional 300-level courses selected in consultation with an advisor. Normally, these courses are chosen from one of the five concentrations listed below, but students may, with the consent of their advisor, develop a focus that bridges the sub-fields of anthropology (e.g., culture and technology, health and human development, the institutionalization of power).
  • Archaeology: 322 and 4 courses chosen from 302, 316, 321 (offered in summer), 325, 327, 328, 339, 362, 382, 383, 390, 391, 396 (offered in summer).
  • Biological Anthropology: 5 courses chosen from 306, 308, 310, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 334, 362, 383, 390.
  • Cultural Anthropology: 389 and 4 courses chosen from 310, 315, 320, 330, 332, 334, 335, 340, 339, 341, 347, 350, 354, 355, 360, 361, 365, 368, 369, 372, 373, 374, 376, 377, 378, 383, 390, 395.
  • Linguistic Anthropology: 360, 361, 365, and 2 300-level courses in cultural anthropology.
  • Human Biology: See Human Biology Concentration for requirements.
• 398 (senior year)

Related Courses

Subject to the approval of the department adviser, 4 courses from other departments and programs. One of these courses must be in formal or statistical methods, and at least 2 of these courses must be 300-level courses. All 4 courses should relate to the student's independent research work and strengthen the focus that guided the selection of 300-level courses in anthropology.

Concentration in Human Biology

The human biology concentration is a good option for students interested in pursuing careers in the health sciences or graduate work in the biological sciences. The concentration combines a core foundation in basic science with an integrative perspective on the human organism, drawing on both the biological and social sciences. Course work emphasizes the study of human biology and health from a comparative and evolutionary perspective.

In their freshman and sophomore years students complete the introductory (200-level) anthropology requirements as well as the core premedical requirements (see related courses below). Junior- and senior-year course work includes 300-level courses in biological anthropology/human biology and related courses from other departments. Additionally, all seniors are required to take 398 and prepare a senior capstone paper.

      Departmental Courses

• 211 or 212, 213, 214, 215
• 370, 386
• 4 courses chosen from 306, 308, 310, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 362, 383, 390
• 398 (senior year)

• BIOL SCI 215, 216, 217
• CHEM 101, 102, and 103; or 171 and 172
• CHEM 210-1,2 or 212-1,2
• MATH 214-1,2, STAT 202, or equivalent
• PHYSICS 130-1,2,3 or 135-1,2,3

• Subject to the approval of the departmental adviser, 3 additional related courses at the 300-level from other departments. See the departmental adviser for a list of recommended courses.

Honors in Anthropology

All anthropology majors enroll in 398 and complete a senior capstone paper. Students wishing to be additionally considered for departmental honors should make inquiries no later than spring quarter of the junior year. In order to be eligible for honors, students must have a grade point average of 3.5 or above in anthropology courses and a 3.5 overall GPA in junior and senior years. Students eligible for honors will apply to undertake an honors thesis. Successful applicants will enroll in one quarter of 399 Independent Study or an appropriate graduate-level course in addition to 398 (required for all majors). 399 should be taken after enrolling in 398. Please consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies for additional honors requirements.

Students who are accepted to undertake an honors thesis and who prepare an outstanding honors thesis will be nominated for honors in anthropology to the Weinberg College Committee on Undergraduate Academic Excellence, which has the final authority to grant the honors degree. For more information, consult the Directory of Undergraduate Studies.

Minor in Anthropology

The Minor in Anthropology provides students in other fields with a framework to pursue a particular focus within the discipline. Such a focus might be within one of the sub-fields of anthropology (i.e., biological anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology), in area studies (e.g., Africa, the Middle East, the United States), or in a specific topic (e.g., ethnicity, gender, the origins of the state, urban studies). To fulfill this goal, the minor in anthropology combines two of the four 200-level courses required of majors in anthropology, one in the area of ethnography (211/212 or 215) and one in the area of origins (213 or 214), with five 300-level courses that constitute a coherent focus. The 200-level courses provide a foundation for pursuit of specialized topics.

Students pursuing the minor in anthropology must consult with the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies to establish a program and be assigned a departmental advisor.

Minor Course Requirements

• 211/212 or 215
• 213 or 214
• A coherent combination of 5 300-level courses in anthropology with a specific focus.

Sample Programs

Students majoring in biological sciences but with an interest in ecology and behavior would build a coherent minor in biological anthropology by taking 211/212 or 215; 213; and a focused course selection such as 306, 308, 310, 313, 314, 316, and 383. Students majoring in history with an interest in pre- and early history would build a coherent minor in archaeology by taking 211/212 or 215; 214; and a focused course selection such as 302, 303, 316, and 322. Students majoring in political science with an interest in noninstitutional or nongovernmental political process would build a coherent minor in cultural anthropology by taking 211/212; 213 or 214; and a focused course selection such as 311, 320, 332, 341, and 347. Other programs for the minor in anthropology can be designed to meet a student's particular needs or interests.

Minor in Global Health

The Global Health Minor is an interdisciplinary program designed to bring an international and comparative perspective to the study of human health. To learn more about the Global Health Minor, please see:

http://www.ipd.northwestern.edu/global_health

or contact one of the directors of the program:

Back to top of page