Admission to Program

All undergraduate degree programs in the Department of Anthropology are open enrollment.

The Discipline

Anthropology's central aims are to describe, interpret, and make meaningful human behavior in socio-cultural systems. It also seeks to explain the similarities and differences in human behavior patterns among all peoples and cultures, both in the present and the past. Social-cultural anthropology studies human society in the present, using participant-observation, interviewing, and other techniques to understand life in a single culture, a subculture, or a multicultural system. Archaeology explores deep human history and attempts to document and understand the range of cultural patterns practiced by peoples no longer living. Archaeology accomplishes this through methods unique to the field and with techniques borrowed from other disciplines. These goals make archaeology an important part of the anthropological family of special skills and interests.

Career Opportunities

Distinctive contributions are made by both anthropology and archaeology majors, and therefore jobs are available wherever social and cultural differences or social system complexity create difficulties. Social services, businesses, schools, development projects, medicine, and law all offer significant careers, and recent concern with environmental protection has opened up others. University teaching and research positions are limited in growth, but highly qualified students can find positions after obtaining the PhD degree from first-rank schools.

For archaeology majors, both legal and societal interest in understanding and preserving the past have resulted in increased job opportunities in state and national agencies required to observe recent preservation laws and in private corporations serving this end.

Graduation Requirements

To receive a BYU bachelor's degree a student must complete, in addition to all requirements for a specific major, the following university requirements:

• The university core, consisting of requirements in general and religious education (See the University Core section of this catalog for details. For a complete listing of courses that meet university core requirements, see the current class schedule.)
• A minimum of 30 credit hours in residence
• A minimum of 120 credit hours
• A cumulative GPA of at least 2.0

Undergraduate Programs and Degrees

BA Anthropology

• Archaeology
• Sociocultural

BA Anthropology (Sociocultural double major)

• African Studies minor
• Anthropology

Graduate Programs and Degrees

MA Anthropology

General Information

• Each student wishing to major in anthropology should arrange through the department office to counsel with a faculty advisor and prepare a proposed sequence of study. Following this, the student should meet with the department chair for final approval of the program.
• Undergraduate students are allowed some, but not excessive, specialization.
• All degrees are in the field of anthropology.

Special Opportunities for Field Study

The department offers a number of unusual curriculum and field study opportunities. Students interested in Pacific Island studies are encouraged to spend a semester or two at BYU— Hawaii, where this area of study is well represented. Selected courses are regularly counted toward BYU’s major. Consult with the department chair or your faculty advisor about equivalences.

The department offers several field school opportunities. Archaeology students complete their requirement in the field school typically held in conjunction with an ongoing, local (Utah) research project and occasionally in more exotic settings (Jordan).