Anthropology Requirements at UMass Boston

Requirements and Recommendations for the Major

The Anthropology program recently changed its curriculum. Immediately below are requirements for those who declared as an anthropology major or minor after September 2002. For the older curriculum, please see the section for those who declared an anthropology major minor prior to September 2002.

Requirements for the BA in Anthropology (as of September 2002)

Majors in anthropology will complete a minimum of 11 courses distributed according to the following guidelines:

Subfield introductory courses (three courses required):
Anth 105 (Introduction to Biological Anthropology)
Anth 106 (Introduction to Cultural Anthropology)
Anth 107 (Introduction to Archaeology)
Sociocultural theory (one course required)
Anth 345 (Theory in Sociocultural Anthropology)
Anth 363 (Cultural Ecology)
Area studies (one course required from the following list)
Anth 233 (Old World Prehistory)
Anth 234 (New World Prehistory)
Anth L270 (Native Peoples of North America)
Anth 271 (Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East)
Anth 272 (Peoples and Cultures of Africa)
Anth 273 (Peoples and Cultures of Mesoamerica)
Anth 274 (Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean)
Anth L476 (Current Issues in Native America)
Anth 332 (The Prehistory of New England)
Anth 334 (Ancient North America)
Anth L336 (Ancient Mesoamerica: The Aztecs and Their Predecessors)
Anth L338 (Ancient Peru: The Incas and Their Ancestors)
Methodology (one course required from the following list)
Anth 240 (Historical Archeology)
Anth 241 (Archaeological Method and Theory with Laboratory)
Anth 281 (The Structure of Human Language)
Anth 316 (Nutrition, Growth and Behavior)
Anth 317 (Human Epidemiology)
Anth 352 (Applied Social Anthropology)
Anth 385 (The Ethnography of Speaking)
Anth 410 (Forensic Osteology)
Anth 412 (Issues in Biological Anthropology)
Anth 432 (Archeological Science)
Comparative Analysis (one course is required from the following list)
Anth 210 (Biosocial Bases of Human Behavior)
Anth 211 (Human Orgins)
Anth 212 (Human Variation)
Anth L243 (Rethinking the Family)
Anth 250 (Hunter-Gather Cultures)
Anth 252 (Urban Anthropology)
Anth 285 (Language and Culture)
Anth L301 (Childhood in America)
Anth 313 (Developmental Models in Human Evolution)
Anth 350 (Elements of Social Organization)
Anth 351 (Evolution of Culture)
Anth 356 (Anthropology of Law)
Anth 357 (Culture, Disease, and Healing)
Anth 358 (Comparative Health Care Systems)
Anth 366 (Anthropology of Religion)
Anth 367 (Social and Cultural Perspectives on Witchcraft and Sorcery)
Anth 368 (Myth in Cultural Context)
Anth 450
Proseminar: Anth 425 (Contemporary Issues in Anthropology
Additional courses for the major (three courses required):
To complete their majors, students may choose from any three additional courses from the lists above as well as from the department's special topics offerings (Anth Z280 (Special Topics) and Anth 480 (Special Topics Seminar I) ). At least one of these three courses must be at the 300-level or above if the student has not already completed three such advanced departmental courses.

Only one of these three additional required courses can be drawn from the courses listed below to meet the 11-course minimum, but departmental majors are encouraged to take these or other courses beyond the minimum requirements as appropriate to their interests. Students are reminded that only one Intermediate Seminar (course with a G prefix) may be taken for credit at UMass Boston.
Anth G220 (Indigenous Peoples and Cultures in Amazonia)
Anth G221 (Controversies in Anthropology)
Anth G222 (Aztecs and Spaniards in the Conquest of Mexico)
Anth G223 (Afro-Caribbean Religions)
Anth G224 (Rise and Fall of the Maya)
Anth G230 (Archaeological Myth and Mystery)
Anth 444 (Cooperative Education for Anthropology Majors)
Anth 478 (Direct Study I)
Anth 479 (Direct Study II)
Anth 483 (Field Research in Cultural Anthropology)
Anth 485 (Field Research in Archaeology)
Anth 486 (Field Research in Linguistics)
Anth 488 (Internship in Anthropology)
Anth 490 (Independent Research I)
Anth 491 (Independent Research II)

For majors declared prior to September 2002

All majors are required to take a minimum of 10 courses in the department, to be selected according to the following guidelines:

Introductory Courses: Anth 102 (Introduction to Archaeology and Biological Anthropology) and Anth 103 (Introduction to Cultural Anthropology). One or the other of these is prerequisite to many related, advanced anthropology courses; ordinarily they should be taken during the freshman or sophomore year. Anth C100 may be counted toward the major only by those students who have taken the course before declaring their major. These students may substitute C100 for 103 with the permission of their faculty advisor. In any event, only two 100-level courses may count toward the major.
One course in Sociocultural Anthropology: either Anth 350 (Elements of Social Organization) or Anth 351 (Evolution of Culture) or Anth 363 (Cultural Ecology).
One course each from two of the other fields (total of two courses):
- Linguistic Anthropology:
  - Anth 281 (The Structure of Human Language)
  - Anth 285 (Language and Culture)
- Biological Anthropology:
- Archaeology:
  These courses are designed to introduce the student to basic concepts in each field and ordinarily should be taken before more advanced courses.
Five courses beyond the introductory level, consisting of three from one field and two from another. Courses taken to fulfill requirements II and III above may also count toward this requirement.
For purposes of meeting this requirement, courses are classified as follows:
1. Sociocultural Anthropology:
  1. Courses in social institutions:
  2. Courses in cultural types:
    - Anth 250 (Hunter-Gather Cultures)
    - Anth 252 (Urban Anthropology)
  3. Topical courses:
  4. Courses in method and theory:
  5. Courses in cultural areas of the world:*
    *No more than two of these cultural area courses may be counted toward the major.
2. Linguistic Anthropology:
3. Biological Anthropology:
4. Archaeology:

Other requirements

To complete the major, eight courses beyond the introductory level must be taken (of which three must be at or above the 300 level) and a grade point average of 2.0 or better attained in the major by the time of graduation.

Anthropology courses may be taken pass/fail for credit toward the BA degree. Courses taken pass/fail, however, with the exception of Anth 483, 484, 485, and 486 may not be used to satisfy requirements toward the anthropology major except when taken prior to declaring the major.

Options for Pursuing Special Interests

The anthropology major curriculum offers considerable elective choice, allowing students to sample widely from the diverse subfields and specializations within anthropology. One important feature of studying anthropology at the undergraduate level is that it permits a broadly-based exposure to the field. Sometimes, however, undergraduate students find that their interest in anthropology is taking a very specific direction. The department is eager to assist such students. Anthropology courses do in fact fall into a number of specific interest areas, any of which can provide a central point around which students can organize their studies. These clusters of interest include, among others:

Anthropology and Contemporary Social Issues
Applied Social Anthropology
Archaeology/Prehistory
Biological Anthropology/Human Evolution/Biosocial Bases of Behavior
Culture and the Life Cycle/Human Life Span
Linguistics/Symbols in Culture
Medical Anthropology/Cultural Factors in Health and Illness
Native American Issues

For specific courses and more information, please see the Department Guide to the Major, available at the Department Office.