COURSE CURRICULUM

The General Anthropology concentration requires students to complete a structured curriculum that provides a comprehensive understanding of human biological, cultural, and social development. The program begins with 13 units of lower division core courses that introduce the fundamental areas of anthropology. These courses include Introduction to Biological Anthropology with a laboratory component, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Introduction to Archaeology, and Language, Culture, and Critical Thinking. Together, these courses give students an overview of human evolution, cultural diversity, archaeological research, and the relationship between language and society.Students then complete 12 units of upper division core courses that develop more advanced analytical and research skills. These include Ethnographic Analysis and Language and Culture, which focus on understanding cultures through detailed observation and interpretation. Students must also choose one archaeology-focused course from options such as California Archaeology, Great Basin Archaeology, Prehistory of the Southwest, North American Prehistory, Early Mesoamerican States, or Peopling of North America. In addition, they select one biological anthropology course such as Human Paleontology, Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology, or Human Variation. Anthropology majors are also required to complete one statistics course to strengthen their research and data analysis skills.For the General Anthropology concentration, students complete 24 units of specialized upper division coursework. This includes selecting two courses from topics related to human evolution, primates, archaeology, and ecological approaches to anthropology, such as Anthropology of Hunters and Gatherers, Archaeological Method and Theory, Evolution of Human Behavior, or Bioarchaeology. Students also choose two courses from sociocultural and linguistic anthropology topics like Political Anthropology, Economic Anthropology, Urban Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, Anthropology of Globalization, or Religion and Culture. In addition, students complete 12 units of general anthropology electives selected from a wide range of advanced courses covering subjects such as world prehistory, cultural resource management, medical anthropology, human skeletal analysis, forensic anthropology, and regional cultural studies.Overall, the anthropology major requires a total of 52 units in the major. Students must also complete 43 units of general education requirements, which include courses in communication, quantitative reasoning, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, physical and biological sciences, ethnic studies, and upper division interdisciplinary learning. This curriculum provides students with a broad understanding of human diversity, culture, and evolution while developing research, analytical, and critical thinking skills applicable to many academic and professional fields.