2021-2022 Humboldt State University Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Humboldt State University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Anthropology, B.A.


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Concerned with the world’s diverse cultures, anthropology provides education and experience to help students understand the perspectives of peoples in other places, settings, and times. It develops critical and analytical skills and empathic understanding. Students can pursue a wide number of anthropological fields: social and cultural, archaeological, linguistic, and biological.

Humboldt State’s unique setting in proximity to nine Native American tribes presents a rare opportunity for learning about the first Nations of North America and their contemporary relationships to other cultures of the U.S. Our region’s cultural richness includes immigrant communities and families as well as students and faculty of diverse nationalities at HSU. Combined with our department’s emphasis on international and applied experience, this context allows our students to obtain an academic and experiential education in the study of culture.

Anthropology provides an excellent liberal arts background, benefiting many careers. Wherever cross-cultural relations are present, or wherever culturally broad perspectives are valuable (education, social services, medicine, business, legal services, and journalism), anthropologists can make strong contributions.

Humboldt’s program provides a strong foundation for graduate study. Graduates have established careers in archaeology, linguistics, international development, foreign affairs, health services, multicultural education, environmental planning and research, biological and medical research, cultural resource management, and professional anthropology.

At the high school level, students can prepare for a major in Anthropology through the study of college preparatory courses, especially including second-language learning, social sciences, mathematics, and biology. At the university level we encourage students to continue with a carefully-planned breadth of education in these areas.

Learn more about our program on the Department of Anthropology website.

A bachelor’s degree requires a total of 120 units. For a description of degree requirements to be fulfilled in addition to those listed below for the major, please see “Bachelor’s Degree Requirements ”. 

Requirements for the Major (46 units)

Review your degree plan with your advisor each semester, and ask how to best apply international study and field school work toward the requirements of your major.

Applied Leadership Experience


Complete one course.

Emphases (15 Units)


Complete one of the following emphases and associated breadth areas to fulfill the requirements of the major.

Archaeology Emphasis


Complete at least three courses (at least 9 Units) from the following:
Breadth

Complete one course (minimum 3 Units) from the Biological Anthropology group and one course (minimum 3 Units) from the Sociocultural & Linguistic Anthropology group.

Biological Anthropology Emphasis


Complete at least three courses (at least 9 Units) from the following:
Breadth

Complete one course (minimum 3 Units) from the Archaeology group and one course (minimum 3 Units) from the Sociocultural & Linguistic Anthropology group.

Sociocultural & Linguistic Anthropology Emphasis


Complete at least three courses (at least 9 Units) from the following:
Breadth

Complete one course (minimum 3 Units) from the Archaeology group and one course (minimum 3 Units) from the Biological Anthropology group.

Anthropology Program Learning Outcomes


Students completing this program will have demonstrated:

  • understanding of the diversity of cultural values reflected in different patterns of social and political organization and systems of communication (symbolic and linguistic)
  • the ability to think critically and to apply the scientific method in the various sub-fields of the discipline (cultural, biological, archaeology, linguistics, and applied)
  • understanding of the complex and interrelated processes of change (biological and cultural evolution, diffusion, colonialism, globalization) both within cultures and across cultural boundaries
  • a solid grasp of the relevance of anthropology to present-day policy and social issues such as human rights, health, historical preservation, conservation, economic development, language use, and cultural practices.
  • skills (critical thinking, communication, information literacy and research and technical skills) needed to apply anthropology in practical and professional settings.

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