Anthropology Major, B.A.

Mission Statement

Anthropology studies human biological and cultural diversity through time and space.  It encompasses all of humanity, as well as our closest primate relatives, from the earliest prehistoric ancestors to the varied societies inhabiting the world today.  The Anthropology Program at MSU Denver is committed to enhancing student knowledge and appreciation of human beings as both a biological and a cultural species. Emphasizing a holistic approach, the program offers courses in each of the four traditional subfields of anthropology (cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology) and provides students with proven conceptual and methodological tools for observing and studying human collectivities, both ancient and modern. Faculty and students apply anthropological concepts and perspectives to pressing social issues and problems through laboratory and field courses, internships, and community outreach programs in all four subfields. Overall, the program aims to foster appreciation of human difference, past and present, as well as to attune students to the relationship between daily individual realities and larger social institutions at the local, national, and global levels. Given this foundation, the overarching goal of MSU Denver’s Anthropology Program is to prepare students for future life experiences, whether personal, professional, or educational, in increasingly diverse and multicultural social environments, thereby enabling them to participate more fully in the emerging global economy of the 21^st century.

NOTE: All majors are required to see an anthropology advisor within two semesters of declaring anthropology as a major.

Anthropology Major Requirements

The major requires a total of 36 semester hours, including the core courses listed below. At least 12 upper-division semester hours in anthropology must be completed in residence at MSU Denver by students majoring in the field. Anthropology majors must receive a grade of “C-” or better in every class for which the credits count toward the major. Students should note that academic programs differ in the minimum grade required. Anthropology majors must also complete a minor to be awarded the Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology degree.