Undergraduate Program
Anthropology combines the biological, historical, and social sciences in a unique study of humankind. It is the only discipline that examines and attempts to understand humankind as a whole. The undergraduate program includes physical anthropology, archaeology, and cultural anthropology.
Physical anthropology studies the origins, adaptations, and evolution of our own species and of our primate relatives. Archaeology studies the historical development of human cultures by analyzing cultural remains. Cultural anthropology studies the innate, shared, and transmitted products of social groups. Its approach is descriptive, historical, and comparative.
Students have the option of specializing in one of the three subfields. Detailed descriptive materials concerning departmental programs, as well as information regarding job opportunities, are available in the departmental office.
The department offers a premedical/predental concentration, which may be used in preparation for application to those professional schools.
Advisement
Upon admission to the department,
students are assigned advisors based upon their interests and plans. They
will devise a plan of study in consultation with their advisors and will
continue to discuss the development of their major by meeting with advisors
at least once a semester.
Students are encouraged to specialize, and may choose to concentrate in
one of the subdisciplines or construct a major that reflects a unifying
theme or perspective that crosses subdisciplinary boundaries.
Transfer Policy
Students wishing to transfer into the University at Buffalo must be accepted by the university prior to acceptance by the Department of Anthropology. Criteria for acceptance into the department is the same for transfer students as it is for UB students.
Evaluation of courses taken at another school for departmental major credit is done by the department. Usually the Undergraduate Academic Services advisor, who sees transfer students initially, refers students to the department. Students should bring course descriptions, syllabi, and any other available information that will help the department evaluate anthropology courses for which students are requesting major credit.
Honors
Honors in anthropology is achieved by maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA in anthropology and by satisfactorily completing an intensive two-semester research project. The research project requires regular consultation with one or several faculty members. Qualified students wishing to achieve honors in anthropology must first gain consent from the faculty member who will supervise their projects. Interested students must then apply in writing to the department by the end of their junior year, and certainly no later than the end of the course registration period in the first semester of their senior year. Honors students register for 3 credit hours of Independent Study (AP 499) each semester of their senior year.
The project is evaluated by the faculty advisor(s) and by the Undergraduate Committee. The decision whether to award honors is based on the project, grades, and other achievements. If the student has a GPA of 3.75 or higher, honors with distinction may be granted.
Note: For students graduating in May, the finished research project must be submitted to the advisor no later than March 15; for students graduating in February, it must be submitted to the advisor no later than November 1.
Special Features
The undergraduate program in anthropology provides many options for students with specific interests. The premedical/predental concentration is recommended for anthropology majors who are also pursuing the university’s premedical or predental requirements in preparation for application to graduate school in one of the health professions.
The department offers an archaeological field school each summer. This six-week, 6-credit course provides field instruction in archaeological research and techniques of site survey and excavation.
The Marian E. White Anthropology Research Museum is an integral part of the department’s research and teaching program. Its primary purpose is to preserve, organize, catalog, and curate archaeological materials gathered by the field school and the Archaeological Survey, by faculty research, and through donations of collections. There is an extensive noncirculating library. Internships are available in the museum and survey.
UB is one of a select group of universities with access to the Human Relations Area Files, a current, comprehensive database of worldwide cultures. This invaluable resource is an important tool in analyzing the wide variety of social features that are present in different cultures. It is also used for research and training in cross-cultural studies.
Joint Majors
The anthropology department encourages students to propose joint majors with other departments offering B.A. degrees in the arts and sciences. The joint major is an opportunity for students to develop an individualized degree program spanning two departments, while taking a smaller number of total credits than a dual major would require. Joint majors will take the same basic courses as other majors, save that they need to complete no fewer than five elective courses in anthropology, including at least one area study and one theoretical elective. Courses chosen will be appropriate to the overall proposal for the joint major. Interested students should propose this program of study in consultation with their anthropology advisor.