Anthropology, B.A.
School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences
Program Overview
If you are excited by the idea of rummaging for million-year-old fossils; talking to people about food, television, or health care; or finding out when people built the first cities of Europe or migrated to the Caribbean, you’ll be right at home in the Department of Anthropology. Using a four-field approach—sociocultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology—this degree combines the sciences with the humanities to understand the biological, social, and cultural factors contributing to human behavior, past and present.
Major Details
The program information listed here reflects the approved curriculum for the 2024–25 academic year per the Brooklyn College Bulletin. Bulletins from past academic years can be found here.
Major Requirements (36–39 Credits)
I. Three of the following introductory courses (9 credits):
Anthropology 1100 Culture and Society, 1200 Human Origins, 1300 People and Language, 1400 Digging the Past.
II. At least one of the following field or laboratory courses (3–4 credits):
Field courses: Anthropology 3015 Anthropology Abroad, 3016 Fieldwork in Anthropology, 3470 Summer Archaeological Field School, 3475 Archaeological Field School: Site Supervision, 3480 Intersession Archaeological Field School, 4110 Summer Ethnographic Field School, 4635 Seminar in Museum Techniques.
Laboratory courses: Anthropology 3156 India Global Health: Ethnography, 3180 Visual Anthropology, 3190 Anthropology of Media, 3240 Osteology, 3301 Language and Culture, 3440 Zooarchaeology, 3460 Historical Archaeology.
III. One of the following methods courses (4 credits; fulfills the writing intensive requirement):
Anthropology 3120W Ethnography, 3245W Research Methods in Anthropology.
IV. All of the following courses (7 credits):
Anthropology 4601 Anthropological Theory, 4000 Senior Seminar in Anthropology, 4001 Selected Topics in Anthropology, Co-requisite with Anthropology 4000.
V. Fifteen elective credits (15 credits): in courses numbered 3000 and above (3 credits may be in a course numbered 2000 and above).
Elective courses for the four subfields of anthropology:
- Cultural anthropology: Anthropology 3126, 3145, 3150, 3155, 3160, 3162, 3165, 3170, 3180, 3185, 3190, 3199
- Biological anthropology: Anthropology 3230, 3235, 3250, 3260
- Linguistic anthropology: Anthropology 3301, 3310, 3360, 3390, 3392, 3395
- Archaeology: Anthropology 3410, 3412, 3415, 3420, 3430, 3445, 3460
The department chair, with the approval of the department curriculum committee, may allow substitutions for one or more of these requirements consistent with the educational goals of the program.
Majors should consult a department adviser each year in planning their programs.
After completing the introductory course sequence, students should take a field or laboratory course. Majors should take 4601 Anthropological Theory and either 3120W Ethnography or 3245W Research Methods in Anthropology in the fall of their senior year; and 4000 Senior Seminar and its co-requisite 4001 in the spring of their senior year.
Honors in Anthropology
GPA of 3.50 or higher in anthropology. Honors in two courses (with a grade of B or higher): one an upper-level (3000 or above) elective course and the other Senior Seminar (ANTH 4000).
Student Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate the understanding of the relationship between and importance of the four subfields of anthropology for the field as a whole.
- Demonstrate the understanding of human diversity and unity of humans.
- Demonstrate the appreciation of individual and social diversity
- Demonstrate critical thinking in writing and communication through papers and class discussions.
- Independently investigate anthropological phenomena using various subfield specific research methods.
- Learn to identify and formulate an argument, comprehend anthropological literature, and design and carry out research in order to facilitate interpretation of data.
Contact
Naomi Schiller
3301H James Hall
E: nschiller@brooklyn.cuny.edu
P: 718.951.5000, ext. 6641
Or contact:
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
222 West Quad Center
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11210
E: adminqry@brooklyn.cuny.edu
To make an appointment with an undergraduate admissions counselor, visit:
The Support You’ll Find
Brooklyn College is an integral part of the cultural and artistic energy of New York City. Our faculty members in the Department of Anthropology offer incomparable expertise and tremendous talent, and each brings a unique perspective to their teaching and mentoring in and out of the classroom.
Internships and Employers
Through job fairs, the internship database, and internship panels, the Magner Career Center gives students in the anthropology B.A. program access to career opportunities at a wide variety of employers, including:
- American Anthropological Association
- Grand Street Settlement
- Jumpstart
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- New York City Department of Education
- New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
- New York State Department of Civil Service
- Safe Horizon
- State Forest Service
- State University of New York
- The Tenement Museum
- UNICEF
- WNET-PBS
