ANTHR-BA - Anthropology (BA)

The courses offered by the Department of Anthropology 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.

In addition to gaining an excellent foundation for graduate research and study, students majoring in Anthropology can pursue careers in government, international business, international development agencies, international education, law, mass media, nonprofit organizations, and public policy.

Undergraduate training in the Department of Anthropology is designed for students who seek the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, only. Students may declare a major in Anthropology and earn the B.A. degree by completing the requirements below. The Anthropology B.A. degree program usually requires at least five quarters of enrollment. Eligible students may also pursue a Bachelor of Arts with Honors. Students interested in majoring in Anthropology should apply in Axess for the major by the time junior status is achieved at 85 units. Students are encouraged to work closely with a faculty advisor to develop a coherent plan of study.

To declare a major in Anthropology, apply in Axess for the B.A. in Anthropology and contact the department's undergraduate student services officer to prepare the Major Form and Checklist and to request a faculty advisor assignment. Meet with the assigned faculty advisor for approval of the department Major Form and Checklist and submit the required forms to the undergraduate student services officer.

Of the 65 units required for the major, 15 may be approved from related areas of study, overseas studies, and/or transfer units.

Note: all non-ANTHRO subject courses must be approved by the department via petition. Non-ANTHRO courses taken within Stanford must be approved by the student’s faculty advisor via the review of the quarterly Major Form and Checklist . Overseas studies or transfer units taken outside of Stanford must be reviewed by the faculty advisor and by further approval by the Undergraduate Committee via the Undergraduate Program/Course Petition form. Students can submit the faculty advisor reviewed petition form to the undergraduate student services officer for final approval.

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. develop confidence and expertise in oral and written communication and persuasive argumentation

2. identify and engage analytical, conceptual, and real-world problems and make appropriate inferences

3. understand and critically evaluate core knowledge within Anthropology and allied disciplines

4. learn the methods and significance of ethnography as a research approach and method

5. appreciate the relevance of anthropological research to social, political, and economic debates