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2024 - 2025 College Catalog

Anthropology, BA

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View Anthropology Department website

Anthropology, the broadest of the social science disciplines, is the study of human culture and social experience through space and time-from early hominid ancestors to post-industrial societies. The major consists of a four-field approach: cultural anthropology and the study of historic and contemporary societies (ethnography, ethnology and ethnohistory), archaeology and the study of material culture (prehistoric, historic and underwater archaeology), biological anthropology (biology, human evolution and culture), and linguistic anthropology (language and culture). Course offerings address topical areas that include applied anthropology, Chesapeake archaeology, ecological and economic anthropology, kinship and social organization, food, Tourism, and historic preservation. Many courses address issues of gender, ethnicity and globalization.

Affiliations with Historic St. Mary’s City and nearby Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum/Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory provide adjunct faculty and generate rich opportunities for majors to engage in internships, independent studies, St. Mary’s Projects and hands-on professional research, laboratory work and fieldwork. Several study tour and exchange programs offer exciting possibilities for study and research abroad.

A degree in anthropology prepares students for graduate work in the social sciences and professions and provides an excellent liberal arts foundation for a wide range of career options-working in educational institutions, museums, business, private industry or government.

Learning Outcomes

  • Anthropology majors will demonstrate expertise in at least one subfield of the discipline.
  • Anthropology majors will communicate in writing an integrated understanding of anthropological concepts, information, ethics and theory.
  • Anthropology majors will communicate in speech an integrated understanding of anthropological concepts, information, ethics and theory.
  • Anthropology majors will locate, evaluate, and apply information ethically.
  • Anthropology majors will develop skills and knowledge useful in multiple professional and social contexts beyond the college classroom.

General College Requirements

General College Requirements (see Curriculum  section), including the following requirements to satisfy the major

Degree Requirements

Required Core Courses

Two Subfield Anthropology Courses

Two courses chosen from the following to incorporate two subfield anthropology courses

Required Upper Division Courses

Elective Courses

Three elective courses in anthropology at the 300- or 400-level

Capstone Experience

All students must select one of the following options as the capstone experience of their education

Minimum Grade and GPA Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 44 credit hours, and all courses presented for the major must have a grade of at least C-.

Sequence of Study

Each student will plan an individual program with an adviser to arrive at a combination of courses that will meet the requirements for the major and be most meaningful for the student’s goals and interests. The anthropology faculty strongly recommends that the student obtain an adviser from among the faculty in the student’s area of concentration by the beginning of the junior year. The following model is suggested as a possible basic program to satisfy the above requirements:

First Year:

Second Year:

Third Year:

Fourth Year:

  • St. Mary’s Project
    OR
  • ANTH

The St. Mary’s Project in Anthropology

Students must complete all upper level major requirements (ANTH 349  and ANTH 385 ) before submitting a St. Mary’s Project (SMP) proposal to the department chair for review by the department faculty.  SMP proposals must follow a format established by the Department, and are due to the Department Chair on June 1 to begin an SMP in the fall semester, or December 15 to begin an SMP in the spring semester.  Projects approved by the department and successfully completed and presented by the student will receive eight hours of credit to be counted towards the major and fulfill the capstone requirement.  Students contemplating an SMP in another discipline should follow the department’s SMP guidelines and submit their SMP proposal to the department chair for review in order to receive credit for the senior capstone experience.

Requirements for Archaeology Concentration

General College Requirements and anthropology major requirements, including the following requirements to satisfy the major with a concentration in archaeology:

Required Core Courses:

Five core courses:
At least one archaeology field school:
One additional sub-field course:
Two Elective 300-level Courses in Archaeology:
One Elective 300-Level Course in Cultural Anthropology:

All students must elect one of the following options as the capstone experience of their education:

Students must complete a minimum of 44 credit hours, and all courses presented for the major must have a grade of at least C-.

Students who plan to complete an anthropology major with a concentration in archaeology

Students who plan to complete an anthropology major with a concentration in archaeology should obtain an adviser from the faculty in the student’s area of concentration by the beginning of the junior year. The following model is suggested as a possible basic program to satisfy the above requirements:

First Year:
Second Year:
Third Year:
Fourth Year:

Requirements for Teacher Certification

A Master of Arts in Teaching program is available at St. Mary’s College of Maryland after completion of the baccalaureate degree. Students who are interested in becoming teachers should contact the chair of the Department of Educational Studies or an education adviser in their major field of study for suggested coursework in Educational Studies and their specific major. These consultations should take place during the first semester of the sophomore year.

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