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Bachelor's Degree Programs
Anthropology

Major in Anthropology

The anthropology curriculum at IU Indianapolis emphasizes the practical application of anthropological concepts, theory, and methods. Anthropology encompasses the study of human culture, biology, and social interaction across time and place. It includes the archaeological investigation of past and present human material culture thereby broadening our understanding of the human experience across cultures and time.  Anthropology also provides a comparative perspective from which to develop an appreciation of human diversity and an understanding of different values and ethical beliefs in a complex, international world.  And, in our department, we provide  practical and experiential learning experiences in a variety of settings, including community agencies, museums, governmental institutions, health agencies, and neighborhood associations. The anthropology program also houses laboratories to assist the faculty and students with guided research in archaeology, ethnography, biological anthropology, and forensics. Field courses in archaeology and cultural anthropology, both local and international, provide students with additional opportunities for experiential learning.  Anthropology, as a discipline, is committed to using all of these strategies in order to explore the causes and consequences of human inequality across time and space.

Students completing the Anthropology Bachelor of Arts program will achieve the following:

  • Understand three of anthropology’s sub-fields (Cultural Anthropology, Biological/Physical Anthropology and Archaeology) and their central questions. Students will take courses in all three of these areas as part of the undergraduate major. 
  • Analyze human diversity in historical and contemporary contexts. All students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the broad Anthropological scope of the human condition with respect to cultural, biological, linguistic, and material diversity. 
  • Apply anthropological theories and methods to evaluate real world problems. Students will demonstrate ability to formulate anthropological research questions and to utilize anthropological methods to address real world problems. 
  • Cultivate civic mindedness through collaboration with community partners. Students will participate in courses and research projects in collaboration with a range of local stakeholders. 
  • Demonstrate an understanding of human evolution and evaluate scientific models of human origins. Students will participate in lecture-based courses on human origins as well as in lab courses in areas such as Forensics, Osteology and Bioarchaeology. 
  • Utilize anthropological methods to collect, analyze and interpret data. Through a range of methods courses, students will collect and analyze their own original data in at least one of the three sub-fields: cultural anthropology, biological anthropology or archaeology. 
  • Evaluate career trajectories in anthropology and design a portfolio that demonstrates students’ skills, knowledge and experience. All students will participate in a capstone course in which they will interview practicing anthropologists both in and outside the academy. Students will carry out an independent research project and will create an e-portfolio demonstrating knowledge and skills they have acquired through their study of anthropology.

The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Anthropology (ANTH) requires satisfactory completion of the following:

  • A minimum of 120 credit hours is required for a B.A. degree from the IU School of Liberal Arts.
  • A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (C) is required for graduation.
  • A minimum of 30 credit hours must be completed after formal admission to IU Indianapolis.
  • A minimum of 21 credit hours of major coursework must be completed in residence in the IU School of Liberal Arts at IU Indianapolis. Course work completed on an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program counts as residential credit.
  • A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each major course.
  • Once a course has been applied toward one requirement, it cannot be used to satisfy a second requirement, except where explicitly stated otherwise. In addition, except in cases of variable title courses, internships, and other special courses, no course will be counted more than once toward graduation.

IU Indianapolis General Education Core

A list of accepted courses in the IU Indianapolis General Education Core can be found here.

Core Communication (6 credits)

  • ENG-W 131: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I (3 credits) or ENG-W 140: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry: Honors (3 credits) completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) sections of ENG-G 131 have been designated for students whose first language is not English.

  • COMM-R 110: Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 credits) 

Analytical Reasoning (6 credits)

  • College math from List A (3 credits)
  • List A or List B (3 credits)

Cultural Understanding (3 credits)

  • A world language course is recommended

Life and Physical Sciences (6 credits)

  • A laboratory science component is required

Arts/Humanities and Social Sciences (9 credits)

  • Arts & Humanities (3 credits)
  • Social Science (3 credits)
  • Additional Arts & Humanities or Social Science (3 credits)

Transfer students entering IU Indianapolis from another public university in Indiana who have completed the transferable general education core at their home campus will not need to complete the IU Indianapolis General Education Core.

Liberal Arts Baccalaureate Competencies

First-Year Experience (1-3 credits)

  • SLA-S 100: First Year Success Seminar
  • Other: First Year Seminar from another school at IU Indianapolis

Transfer students with 18 or more credit hours are not required to take this course.

Writing Proficiency (3 credits), completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher, chosen from the following:

  • ENG-W 230: Writing in the Sciences
  • ENG-W 231: Professional Writing Skills
  • ENG-W 270: Argumentative Writing

Transfer students may satisfy the writing proficiency by completing course work equivalent to ENG-W 231, ENG-W 230, ENG-W 270, or GEWR-UN 200 with a grade of C (2.0) or higher at another campus or institution.

Transfer students with 80 or more transfer credits may petition for exemption from the Writing Proficiency requirement.  Petition available in the Miriam Z. Langsam Office of Student Affairs, Cavanaugh Hall room 401.

Analytical Proficiency (3 credits), chosen from the following: 

  • ECON-E 270: Introduction to Statistical Theory in Economics and Business
  • PHIL-P 208: Causality and Evidence
  • PHIL-P 262: Practical Logic
  • PHIL-P 265: Introduction to Symbolic Logic
  • POLS-Y 205: Analyzing Politics  
  • SOC-R 359: Introduction to Sociological Stats

Analytical Proficiency is in addition to the Analytical Reasoning area in the IU Indianapolis General Education Core. Analytical Proficiency courses may be shared with major requirements if applicable.

Life and Physical Sciences Laboratory

One laboratory science course is required, but may be part of the coursework taken in the IU Indianapolis General Education Core.

Arts and Humanities (3 credits) - Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement

100 or 200 level course chosen from the following disciplines

  • Africana Studies (AFRO)
  • American Studies (AMST)
  • American Sign Language (ASL) excluding World Languages courses
  • Classics (CLAS) excluding World Languages courses
  • Communication Studies (COMM-R, excluding COMM-R 110, and COMM-T only)
  • East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) excluding World Language courses
  • English-Creative Writing or Writing and Literacy (ENG-W), excluding courses in the Writing Proficiency area.
  • English Literature (ENG-L)
  • Film Studies (FILM)
  • Folklore (FOLK) excluding FOLK-F 101
  • German (GER) excluding World Language courses
  • History (HIST) excluding HIST-H 105, HIST-H 106, HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, HIST-H 114
  • Latino Studies (LATS)
  • Medical Humanities and Health Studies (MHHS)
  • Museum Studies (MSTD)
  • Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
  • Philosophy (PHIL)
  • Religious Studies (REL)
  • Spanish (SPAN) excluding World Language courses
  • Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) excluding WGSS-W 105
  • World Languages and Cultures (WLAC)

Social Sciences (3 credits) - Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement

100 or 200 level course chosen from the following disciplines

  • Africana Studies (AFRO)
  • Communication Studies (COMM-C and COMM-M only)
  • Economics (ECON)
  • English-Linguistics (ENG-Z)
  • Folklore (FOLK) 
  • Geography (GEOG)
  • Global and International Studies (INTL)
  • History (HIST) only HIST-H 105, HIST-H 106, HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, HIST-H 114
  • Journalism and Public Relations (JOUR)
  • Latino Studies (LATS)
  • Medical Humanities and Health Studies(MHHS) excluding MHHS-M 201
  • Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
  • Political Science (POLS)
  • Psychology (PSY)
  • Sociology (SOC)
  • Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS)

World Language and Perspectives (0-14 credits) - This requirement may be satisfied in one of the following ways:

  1. Completion of second-year proficiency in a single world language.
    1. Languages include: 
      1. American Sign Language (ASL)
      2. Arabic (NELC-A)
      3. Chinese (EALC-C)
      4. French (FREN)
      5. German (GER)
      6. Japanese (EALC-J)
      7. Spanish (SPAN)
    2. Second-year proficiency is demonstrated by:
      1. passing the full second-year sequence of courses in a single language or
      2. completing a third or fourth-year courses
  2. Completion of third-semester proficiency in a single world language and one course in History selected from HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, or HIST-H 114.
  3. Completion of first-year proficiency in a single world language; one history course selected from HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, or HIST-H 114; and one course selected from the Global History and Perspectives list:
    1. CLAS-C 213: Sport and Competition in the Ancient World
    2. EALC-E 232: China Past and Present: Culture in Continuing Evolution
    3. ENG-L 245: (The Empire Writes Back) Intro to Caribbean Literature
    4. GEOG-G 130: World Geography
    5. HIST-H 108: Perspectives on the World to 1800
    6. HIST-H 109: Perspectives on the World since 1800
    7. HIST-H 113: History of Western Civilization I 
    8. HIST-H 114: History of Western Civilization II
    9. INTL-I 100: Intro to International Studies
    10. LATS-L 228: An Interdisciplinary Look at U.S. Latino/a Identities
    11. POLS-Y 217: Introduction to Comparative Politics 
    12. POLS-Y 219: Introduction to International Relations
    13. REL-R 212: Comparative Religions
  4. Non-English native speaker with approved waiver.

Courses in World Language and Perspectives may also satisfy General Education Core Cultural Understanding. 

       1 Students interested in receiving credit for lower-division language courses, see the section ‘‘Special Credit for Foreign Language Study.’’

Advanced Courses

Students are required to have 42 credit hours in 300-400 level coursework including courses in their major. Of the 42 advanced credits, 9 credit hours must be 300-400 level coursework outside the first Liberal Arts major field of study and from the School of Liberal Arts. Students seeking dual degrees are exempt from completing 9 credits hours in 300-400 level coursework outside their major and from the School of Liberal Arts.

Major Requirements (33 credits)

Anthropology Core courses (12 credits)

  • ANTH-A 103: Human Origins and Prehistory
  • ANTH-A 104: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology 
  • ANTH-A 201: Survey of Applied Anthropology
  • ANTH-A 360: Development of Anthropological Thought

Advanced Courses (18 credits)

Research or Applied Methods course (3 credits) selected from:

  • ANTH-B 301: Laboratory in Bioanthropology
  • ANTH-B 426: Human Osteology
  • ANTH-B 468: Bioarchaeology
  • ANTH-B 474: Forensic Anthropology, Archaeology and Taphonomy
  • ANTH-E 404: Field Methods in Ethnography
  • ANTH-P 402: Archaeological Method and Theory
  • ANTH-P 405: Fieldwork in Archaeology
  • ANTH-P 406: Laboratory Methods in Archaeology
  • MSTD-A 405: Museum Methods

Archaeology course (3 credits) selected from:

  • ANTH-B 468: Bioarchaeology
  • ANTH-E 316: Prehistory of North America
  • ANTH-P 330: Historical Archaeology
  • ANTH-P 340: Modern Material Culture
  • ANTH-P 402: Archaeological Method and Theory
  • ANTH-P 405: Fieldwork in Archaeology
  • ANTH-P 406: Laboratory Methods in Archaeology

 Bioanthropology course (3 credits) selected from:

  • ANTH-B 301: Laboratory in Bioanthropology
  • ANTH-B 370: Human Variation
  • ANTH-B 371: The Anthropology of Human Nature
  • ANTH-B 426: Human Osteology
  • ANTH-B 468: Bioarchaeology
  • ANTH-B 474: Forensic Anthropology, Archaeology and Taphonomy
  • ANTH-B 480: Human Growth and Development

Cultural Anthropology course (3 credits) selected from:

  • ANTH-E 300: Culture Areas and Ethnic Groups (variable title)
  • ANTH-E 320: Indians of North America
  • ANTH-E 353: Global Migrations
  • ANTH-E 354: Popular Culture
  • ANTH-E 380: Urban Anthropology
  • ANTH-E 391: Women in Developing Countries
  • ANTH-E 402: Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective
  • ANTH-E 404: Field Methods in Ethnography
  • ANTH-E 411: Wealth, Exchange, and Power in Anthropological Perspective
  • ANTH-E 421: The Anthropology of Aging
  • ANTH-E 445: Medical Anthropology
  • ANTH-E 457: Ethnic Identity

Two additional 300-400 level courses (6 credits) selected from any of the courses listed above or from:

  • ANTH-A 460: Topics in Anthropology (variable title)
  • ANTH-A 494: Practicum in Applied Anthropology
  • ANTH-A 495: Independent Studies in Anthropology
  • CLAS-A 301: Classical Archaeology
  • CLAS-C 412: Art and Archaeology of the Aegean
  • CLAS-C 413: The Art and Archeology of Greece
  • CLAS-C 414: The Art and Archeology of Rome
  • MSTD-A 403: Introduction to Museum Studies
  • MSTD-A 405: Museum Methods

Capstone Course (3 credit hours):

  • ANTH-A 412: Senior Capstone (3 credit hour; Spring Semester Senior Year)

Anthropology Courses

Open electives
Candidates for a degree in the IU School of Liberal Arts must complete the IU Indianapolis General Education Core requirements, the baccalaureate competencies, and the requirements of their major department. Usually, students will still need to complete additional hours in order to reach the graduation requirement of 120 credit hours. These remaining credit hours are known as open electives.

Dual Degree Advantage

The Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies are waived for IU Indianapolis undergraduate students whose first major is outside the School of Liberal Arts and whose second major is a Bachelor of Arts degree from the IU School of Liberal Arts at IU Indianapolis. Students are only required to complete the courses in their major of choice in Liberal Arts. The IU Indianapolis General Education Core or the Indiana transferable general education core must be successfully completed. Students must complete the degree outside Liberal Arts in order to have the Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies waived for degree completion. The Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies are only waived for students who actively pursue and complete another degree program outside of Liberal Arts. Both degrees must be completed at the same time.