The Anthropology major consists of 12 courses:

• three introductory courses
  • Cultures in a Global Society (ANTH 101)
  • Human Evolution (ANTH 105)
  • Introduction to Archaeology (ANTH 108)
• two core courses
  • Core Perspectives in Anthropology (ANTH 200)
  • Research Design and Conduct (ANTH 201)
• six Anthropology electives (or approved alternatives)
• the Senior Seminar (ANTH 452)

The introductory courses provide our majors with a sense of the scope of anthropological inquiry, while the core courses, which should be taken in the sophomore or junior year, offer a more advanced focus on method and theory. The electives can be tailored to each student’s interests, for example, in ancient societies, immigrants and refugees, forensics, environmental anthropology, or cultural heritage. In addition to these required and elective courses, we encourage our majors to study abroad and pursue internships in relevant fields. In their senior year, students develop a Capstone Project based on either student-faculty research or an internship experience. The Senior Seminar, held in their final semester, allows students to workshop their Capstone Projects to produce a professional-quality paper, poster, or talk. Some students choose to develop their Capstone Project into a Senior Thesis.

The following courses fulfill CUA’s Foundations in Natural Science requirements:
ANTH 105, ANTH 108, ANTH 204, ANTH 206, ANTH 352, ANTH 354

The following courses fulfill CUA’s Explorations in Social Science requirements:
ANTH 101, ANTH 201,  ANTH 240, ANTH 260

Courses in other departments that are acceptable as major electives for Anthropology concentrators:

MDIA 352 - Museum Studies, MDIA 360 - Popular Culture, MDIA 471 - Food and Media

For Anthropology majors in the University Honors Program, HSSS courses satisfy Social Science distribution requirements.

Anthropology majors may also add interdisciplinary minors offered by the School of Arts & Sciences. 

For additional information, please contact Dr. Joshua Samuels, Anthropology’s Director of Undergraduate Studies (samuels@cua.edu).