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Anthropology is the study of human beings in all walks of life, all kinds of societies, all parts of the world, and at all points in time. The discipline’s four major subfields have important connections to other social sciences, physical and biological sciences, arts, and humanities.
Using anthropology as a framework, you can understand the place of human beings in relation to their natural environment. It provides insight into our biological and cultural evolutionary background as well as our economic, social, and political organization. It also allows us to examine our social systems and the interrelations among our individual selves, our societies, and the thoughts and feelings we share with others.
Why
Study Anthropology at Iowa?
You’ll have plenty of choices for electives in anthropology. You may want to study 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, or urban anthropology. The department encourages students to study abroad.
In addition, departmental faculty are experts in the ethnology of Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean, Japan, Korea, and native North America.
Course
Work
You’ll be encouraged to take courses to achieve the broadest possible cross-cultural background in anthropology as an undergraduate. Specialization is discouraged.
BA
in Anthropology
The degree program requires 33 semester hours (s.h.) of course work in the major. Core courses introduce you to the field of anthropology and to prehistory; human origins; and language, culture, and communication. In addition, you’ll take archaeology or biological anthropology, sociocultural or linguistic anthropology, and area studies.
The department also encourages you to take courses in related fields, such as:
- Sociology
- Linguistics
- Geology
- Geography
- History
- Art history
- Psychology
- Biological
sciences
- Museum
studies
- Foreign
languages
BS in Anthropology
Students with interests in physical anthropology, archaeological lab work, and quantitative approaches within sociocultural or linguistic anthropology are encouraged to pursue the BS degree. For the BS, you’ll fulfill BA requirements, plus course work in the following areas:
- An additional quantitative or formal reasoning tool
- Participation in directed lab or field research
- Completion of allied topical course work (a related minor)
The degree program requires 40 s.h. of course work in the major, not including the hours for the minor.
Minor
To minor in anthropology, students must complete 15 s.h. in anthropology with a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 2.00. At least 12 s.h. must be taken at The University of Iowa in courses numbered 113:100 and above.
Honors
Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.33 overall and at least 3.50 for courses in the major. They also must complete an honors research seminar, a graduate-level course, and an honors research project.
Facilities
and Resources
The department has access to the Iowa Archaeological Collection through the Office of the State Archaeologist and also maintains its own collections of Midwest prehistoric and historic fauna materials. The department also maintains a documented collection of human skeletons, originally developed by Stanford University Medical School.
You’ll find well-equipped laboratories for archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology at Iowa.
The University is a charter member of the Human Relations Area Files, an extensively annotated set of source materials on the peoples of the world. Through these and other library resources, you’ll have access to source materials on more than 400 cultures.
Field
Research
Under the direction of University archaeologists, you can acquire skills in data recovery and interpretive techniques during archaeological field research in central Mexico, France, or sites here in the United States.
In recent years, students also have conducted research in Guatemala, Ghana, Nigeria, Iceland, China, Japan, Brazil, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, and the Caribbean.
Careers
Students who earn a degree in anthropology at Iowa have developed a broad liberal arts background that prepares them well for a variety of interesting and challenging careers. They have special understanding of human relations and expertise for jobs involving international or cross-cultural work, and social and ethnic diversity in the United States.
Graduates develop rewarding careers in government, international affairs, conservation, economic development, public health, 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 of health care, law, or business.
Scholarships
Refer to the Office of Student Financial Aid for
a complete list of available scholarships.
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