Anthropology, B.A.

Universal Curriculum Requirements

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To be awarded a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences, students are required to complete universal curriculum requirements in addition to the program requirements provided below. The school universal curriculum requirements can be found on the school Degree Programs page .

Prerequisites for Declaring the Major

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In order to declare the major, a student must have completed one anthropology course.

Program Requirements

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Eleven courses (33 credits) taken within a program approved by a departmental undergraduate advisor are required for a major. These eleven courses may include courses taken before declaration of the major, and up to two from outside the Department of Anthropology. Courses taken outside the anthropology department, including courses transferred from other institutions or study-abroad programs, may count toward the area requirements for the major.  These credits are subject to approval by a major advisor.  The maximum number of credits is limited to six and a minimum of three is typically approved, but normally they may not count toward the above 3000-level requirement for the major. In order to declare a major, a student must have completed one anthropology course.

Grades lower than C- (in anthropology) will not count toward the major. No course for the major may be taken on a CR/NC basis. Normally at least 18 credits must be taken after declaration of the major. The major requires a distribution of courses in the following areas: 

1. At least one Gateway course: 1010 Introduction to Anthropology, 2120 The Concept of Culture, 2160 Culture and the Environment, 2400 Language and Culture, 2415 Language in Human Evolution, 2450 Language and the Environment, 2800 Introduction to Archaeology, 2820 The Emergence of Cities and States
2. At least one Foundation course: Two of the following three anthropological foundations courses: 1010, 3010 History and Theory of Anthropology, , and/or 3020 Using Anthropology.
   1. The faculty recommends that majorsstudents take all both, three, but they must take onetwo. Students interested in pursuing the DMP normally take both 3010 and 3020.
3. One Capstone course: 4591 Majors Seminar, during the third or fourth year. course at the 2000-level (or above) in each of these areas within anthropology: socio-cultural anthropology; archaeology; and linguistics;
4. ANTH 4591 during the third or fourth year;Distributional Electives: one course at the 2000-level or above in each of these areas within anthropology: socio-cultural, archaeology, and linguistic.
5. Upper-level Electives: At least three courses at or above the 3000 level, in addition to the Foundation and Capstone courses 3010 and/or 3020 and 4591; tThese courses must be taken in the Department of Anthropology at University of Virginia.  They may overlap with the Distributional Electives.

Students frequently find that anthropology provides a cognate discipline which can be paired with other studies in the humanities and sciences. Many of these students choose to double-major in anthropology and another discipline. Up to six credits in another department major may be counted toward an anthropology major if they are consistent with a student’s overall program. Specific courses, therefore, may be counted toward both majors, but the student must receive approval from a departmental advisor in advance.

Exceptions to any of these requirements are made only upon written petition to the Undergraduate Committee of the Department of Anthropology. No petitions are accepted after the completion of a student’s seventh semester.

A number of informal activities are associated with the department. Among these is the Virginia Anthropology Society of the University of Virginia. Majors are encouraged to attend meetings of the group and to attend lectures and symposia sponsored by the department.

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The major requires a distribution of courses in the following areas:

B.A. in Anthropology with a Specialist Concentration

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Students who major in anthropology have the option to work toward one of three specialized concentrations within the major, which will appear on their University transcript. To complete a concentration, students must complete all other requirements for the major, and fulfill the specific concentration requirements as listed below. A student may choose to specialize in one concentration only.

Specific classes that can be counted toward each concentration can be found in the Appendix below, and on the Department website. Students should consult with concentration faculty when choosing courses, as these lists will be updated periodically, and not all classes will be offered in every semester.

• When selecting Concentration courses, students should keep in mind that a maximum of only two courses (6 credits) from beyond Anthropology (courses with other than an ANTH prefix) can be counted toward the Anthropology major. 
• To declare a concentration, students should meet with the faculty advisor for that concentration. Contact information can be found on the Department website, or from the Director of Undergraduate Programs in Anthropology.

The three concentrations are as follows:

B.A. in Anthropology with Concentration in Culture and Communication

The Culture and Communication concentration in Anthropology offers students a program of study focused on communicative practices across a diversity of world cultures, modalities of embodied discourse, and the technologically mediated channels that increasingly connect people around the globe. Work in this area ranges from the micro-scale of everyday dialogue to the transnational scale of commerce, migrations, politics, and development. The program prepares students to bring critical thinking and holistic conceptual tools to an increasingly globalized workplace. There communicative practices vary across almost every conceivable dimension and attention to cultural differences can mean the difference between communication and miscommunication, justice and injustice, and even life and death.

Culture and Communication introduces students to theoretical approaches from linguistic anthropology, cognitive anthropology, and other anthropological subfields. It builds on interdisciplinary ties that include sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, conversation analysis, exchange theory, art, media, and mediated discourse analysis. It thus prepes students to understand the impact of differing modes of expression, cultural styles, and interactional genres on the accomplishment of group tasks, the creation of human connections, and the building of a globally interconnected world.

Requirements:

1. Fulfill all non-elective requirements for the B.A. in Anthropology, including the Linguistic Anthropology distribution requirement.
2. When choosing electives toward your Anthropology major, include a total of four, as follows:

   1. 2-4 classes from Culture and Communication Concentration Course List A

   2. up to 2 classes from Culture and Communication Course List B

B.A. in Anthropology with Concentration in Indigenous Worlds

Students in this concentration will be exposed to ethnographic studies and anthropological theories devoted to “the Indigenous.” For anthropologists, this term commonly refers to the knowledges and worldviews of the many peoples who are our disciplinary interlocutors around the globe. In American contexts, “Indigenous” usually refers to First Peoples of the Western hemisphere, and includes Native American Studies. At the transnational scale, indigenous peoples’ movements are political realities, converging at sites like the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and World Conservation Congress. This concentration takes an unbounded approach, engaging with all these perspectives and scales, and many others, without reducing “the Indigenous” to any of them. Students will be given the opportunity to engage with the vast array of possibilities for being human, studying for example both colonial-era encounters, and contemporary Indigenous relationships to issues such as sustainable livelihoods, public health, and environmental care. This concentration offers unique opportunities for interdisciplinary learning across two areas of distinction at UVA: Indigenous arts and curation, and the environmental humanities.

Requirements:

1. Fulfill all non-elective requirements for the B.A. in Anthropology.

2. When choosing electives toward your Anthropology major, include the following:

   1. 3 classes from Indigenous Worlds Concentration Course List A

   2. 2 classes from Indigenous Worlds Concentration Course List B

B.A. in Anthropology with a Concentration in Medical Anthropology, Ethics, and Care

Students in this concentration will study a diverse range of factors that impact the body, and the ways that people understand, experience, and respond to states of health and illness.  Students will critically examine the complex ethical orientations that shape the manners in which people care for or abandon one another in various conditions of exposure, vulnerability, and well-being.  Anthropological knowledge and practice offer a unique resource for questioning our own assumptions on these and other matters. Students in this concentration will use such knowledge to address some of the most difficult problems we face today, and in so doing, help create the world anew.

Requirements:

1. Fulfill all non-elective requirements for the B.A. in Anthropology.

2. When choosing electives toward your Anthropology major, include the following:

   1. ANTH 2280 Medical Anthropology
   2. 4 additional courses chosen from the Medical Anthropology Concentration Course List

Independent Study in Anthropology

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For students who want to work on an individual research project, ANTH 4993 allows considerable flexibility. There is no formal limitation on the kind of project as long as, a faculty member is willing to direct it, but the project should not duplicate what is already available in a regular course. Applicants should have their projects roughly defined when they apply to the faculty member. The normal requirements for ANTH 4993 are a reading list comparable in substance to those in regular courses and a term paper and oral examination at the end of the semester.

Distinguished Majors Program in Anthropology

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Students with superior academic performance are encouraged to apply for the departmental Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) in which they write a thesis demonstrating independent study of high quality. The requirements for admission to the DMP are:

1. satisfaction of all College requirements as stated in this Record with a GPA of at least 3.25 in all university courses;
2. a GPA of at least 3.400 in all courses taken as part of the anthropology major;
3. Permission of an advisor, who may be any member of the departmental faculty willing to take on the responsibility of supervising the thesis and is normally someone to whom the students have already demonstrated their ability in an upper-level course;
4. application for admission (normally in the spring semester of the Third Year) to the Director of the Distinguished Majors Program, by declaring their DMP graduation semester/year, and by including their relevant course transcripts showing their two cumulative GPAs, along with the selected thesis topic, and the names of the first and second faculty thesis advisors.

On admission, student registers with the primary faculty advisor for ANTH 4998 in the first semester of the Program, and for ANTH 4999 in the second semester for revising and finalizing the thesis in consultation with the two faculty readers. A DMP thesis involving field research on human subjects requires the University’s IRB Approval. This should be acquired before beginning the fieldwork, with the help of the primary faculty advisor. In consultation with the Director of the Distinguished Majors Program.

In the final semester of the Program, the student takes into account the criticisms and suggestions of the two advisors and other interested faculty members, and submits a finished thesis of approximately 10,000 words to the two advisors three weeks before the Grades Due date for the semester. For regular Spring Graduation, the thesis is to be submitted by April 15. The level of distinction awarded in a thesis is approved by both the faculty advisors.

At the end of the spring semester each year, an oral Presentation of all DMP theses will be held in Brooks Hall Commons. Each Distinguished Major and his/her committee members will be present. Theses Presentations will be open to the public. Friends and faculty are invited.

Any prospective and current DMP students wishing help in entering, setting up or conducting their Program should contact the DMP director (see Department website), and be in contact with their major advisor and the Director of Undergraduate Programs.

Course Lists

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Courses at the 1000 and 2000 levels have no prerequisites or expectations of experience and are open to all students. Courses at the 3000 and 4000 level are advanced undergraduate courses and often assume that students have previous coursework in anthropology. These are general prerequisites and individual professors may consider other courses within or outside the department to be sufficient preparation. Courses at the 5000 level have third- or fourth-year status and prior course work in anthropology as a general prerequisite. These courses are designed primarily for majors and graduate students, but are open by permission to other qualified, sufficiently motivated undergraduates.

 

Additional Information

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For more information, contact the Director of the Undergraduate Program (see Department website), Department of Anthropology, Brooks Hall, P.O. Box 400120, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4120; (434) 924-7044; Fax: (434) 924-1350; http://anthropology.virginia.edu/