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Anthropology Major

Minimum Requirement 14 c.u.

1. Students may declare the major in Anthropology as early as their freshman year and preferably before the end of the second term of the sophomore year. They should discuss the major with the Undergraduate Chair by making an appointment through the departmental office at (215) 898-7461. The departmental office is located on 3^rd floor of the University Museum, Academic Wing. All majors are expected to become familiar with the general field of Anthropology as well as the relationship between its subdisciplines. A major may also choose a Human Biology concentration, which has special requirements and options as described below.

2. Courses taught within the Department, or those cross-listed with it, are assigned to one of the three areas: Archaeology, Bio-Physical, or Cultural/Linguistic Anthropology. For the major, which consists of 14 units, all students must take ANTH 001, 002, and 003 and one 100+ level course in each of Bio-Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, and two 100+ level courses in Cultural/Linguistic Anthropology. All courses must be taken for a grade. The remaining 7 units may be taken from one or any combination of these areas, although students are encouraged to take as many courses as possible in all three. Students should also consider taking statistics and a course in research methods appropriate to their field of concentration.

3. Certain non-Anthropology courses (and those not cross-listed with Anthropology) can be applied to the major with the approval of the Undergraduate Chair and the student's faculty advisor. A maximum of 3 such outside courses can be applied to the major (except in the Human Biology concentration).

4. While the Undergraduate Chair can serve as an advisor to all majors, students are encouraged to approach individual faculty members in the various subdisciplines of Anthropology for help in planning their curriculum and to serve as advisors for independent studies. The department also supports a peer-mentoring program through the student-run Undergraduate Advisory Board (UAB).

5. The department offers one special major program that is tailored for pre-med students and others interested in the biomedical sciences. This program, called the Human Biology concentration, requires students to take Anthropology 1, 2, and 3, but waives the requirement of the upper-level courses in Archaeology and Cultural/Linguistics, though such courses may be taken as electives. The 14 required courses in the Human Biology concentration are distributed among four blocks:

The first block consists of ANTH 001, 002, and 003.

The second block consists of the course in Human Biology plus two additional courses from a menu of fundamental bio-physical courses.

The third block requires the Medical Anthropology course plus three additional courses from a menu of courses offering anthropological perspectives on health, nutrition, and medicine.

The fourth block of four courses offers a choice of electives, including any other Anthropology courses plus many courses outside of Anthropology that bear an association to human bio-physical understanding. Please consult the department office or the Undergraduate Chair for details of specific required and optional courses.

6. Students planning graduate work are encouraged to acquire competence in two languages, such as French, German, Russian, and Spanish.

7. Senior Thesis and Honors Program. Any Anthropology major may write a Senior Thesis. Students wishing to graduate with "Honors in Anthropology" must have a G.P.A. of 3.5 for all classes applied to the major and they must have completed a Senior Thesis (Anthropology 300). An Anthropology Prize competition is conducted annually to select the best Anthropology Senior Thesis submitted that year at U. Penn.

Anthropology Minor
The Anthropology minor consists of 6 units taken for a grade, and students are encouraged to choose among all four fields (subdisciplines).  However, no more than four courses in any one field, or subdiscipline, can be applied to the minor.

The Undergraduate Handbook provides further information on the Anthropology Major and Minor.