BA Degree Requirements

Students who earn a B.A. in anthropology receive a broad liberal arts and sciences education that provides excellent preparation for a variety of careers. They gain special understanding of human relations and expertise for jobs involving international or cross-cultural work, and social and ethnic diversity in the United States. Upon graduation, anthropology majors embark on careers in government work, international affairs, gerontology, urban and regional planning, social work, museum work, and education. Many become Peace Corps or Vista volunteers or work for international nongovernmental organizations. Others pursue graduate study in anthropology, other social science disciplines, or professional schools (health care, law, business).

Requirements for the B.A. in Anthropology have changed. Students who enter the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on or after the first day of fall semester 2003, and those who enter the major on or after the first day of classes fall semester 2003, must complete the requirements shown below. Students who entered the major before fall 2003 may choose to complete the old requirements (see the 2002-2004 General Catalog), but they must complete all requirements and graduate by August 2007.

The major requires at least 33 s.h. of course work in anthropology, of which at least 15 must be earned at The University of Iowa.
Requirements include the following.

One of these:

113:003 Introduction to the Study of Culture and Society

 3 s.h.
113:010 Anthropology and Contemporary World Problems 3 s.h.

All of these:

113:012 Introduction to Prehistory 3 s.h
113:013 Human Origin 3 s.h
113:014 Language, Culture, and Communication 3 s.h
113:050 Issues in Anthropology 3 s.h


One 100-level course in archaeology (areal or topical) or biological anthropology
One 100-level course in sociocultural or linguistic anthropology
One 100-level course in area studies

Anthropology electives offer a wide range of choices, including courses dealing with language and culture, medical anthropology, religious activity in folk and tribal settings, gender, biological anthropology, identity, expressive culture (art, verbal arts, literature, music, and dance), human prehistory, human evolution, environment and culture, and urban anthropology. Department faculty members offer ethnology courses on Latin America, Oceania, Japan, the Caribbean, the Middle East, South Asia, and Native North America.

The undergraduate program is designed to give students the broadest possible cross-cultural background; specialization is discouraged. Course work is encouraged in related disciplines such as sociology, linguistics, geoscience, geography, history, art history, psychology, biological sciences, museum studies, and foreign languages. Students also are encouraged to participate in archaeological field and laboratory research and in biological and linguistic anthropology research.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences