Mission of the Department of Anthropology (Undergraduate)

The courses offered by the Department of Anthropology (Undergraduate) are designed to: provide undergraduates with instruction in anthropology; provide undergraduate majors in Anthropology with a program of work leading to the bachelor's degree; and prepare graduate candidates for advanced degrees in Anthropology. Anthropology is devoted to the study of human beings and human societies as they exist across time and space. It is distinct from other social sciences in that it gives central attention to the full time span of human history, and to the full range of human societies and cultures, including those located in historically marginalized parts of the world. It is therefore especially attuned to questions of social, cultural, and biological diversity, to issues of power, identity, and inequality, and to understanding the dynamic processes of social, historical, ecological, and biological change over time. Education in Anthropology provides excellent preparation for living in a multicultural and globally-interconnected world, and helps to equip students for careers in fields including law, medicine, business, public service, research, ecological sustainability, and resource management. Students may pursue degrees in Anthropology at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.

The Department of Anthropology offers a wide range of approaches to the topics and area studies within the field, including archaeology, ecology, environmental anthropology, evolution, linguistics, medical anthropology, political economy, science and technology studies, and sociocultural anthropology. Methodologies for the study of micro- and macro-social processes are taught through the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The department provides students with excellent training in theory and methods to enable them to pursue graduate study in any of the above mentioned subfields of Anthropology.

Learning Outcomes (Undergraduate)

The department expects undergraduate majors in the degree program to be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes. These learning outcomes are used in evaluating students and the department's undergraduate program. Students are expected to demonstrate:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of core knowledge within the Anthropology discipline.
2. Demonstrate the ability to communicate ideas clearly and persuasively in writing.
3. Demonstrate the ability to identify analytical problems and make appropriate inferences and analytical arguments.
4. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate anthropological theory and ethnographic research.

Degree Emphasis

The department offers the following four emphases:

1. Culture and Society
2. Ecology, Environment, and Evolution
3. Medical Anthropology
4. Self-Designed Emphasis

For more information, see Anthropology Undergraduate Program Flyer and Anthropology Stanford Bulletin.