Anthropology

Anthropology studies people throughout the world and through time. Because it covers a wide range of topics— biological evolution, material remains of the past, and the world that humans create through their ideas and practices in present-day societies—anthropology is an especially integrative discipline. The anthropology program at UCSC offers courses that reflect the diversity of the field.

• Cultural anthropology explores the movements of people, objects, and ideas in diverse societies, including our own. Cultural anthropology courses examine such topics as race and ethnicity, medicine, science, gender, sexuality, the environment, religion, law, popular culture, and politics.

• Archaeology uses the material evidence of human activities to understand past human lives. Archaeology at UCSC focuses on past people’s interactions with one another at the local level and within their wider social and ecological contexts. Faculty research areas include the pre-colonial and early post-colonial history of East Africa and the American Southwest.

• Biological anthropology traces the human journey from its beginnings in Africa over five million years ago. Biological anthropology courses look at fossil evidence, evolutionary theory, human variation, and the behavior of primate relatives in order to analyze biological, social, and cultural changes over time.

UCSC students have the opportunity to do independent library and field research in cultural anthropology, archaeology, and biological anthropology. Laboratory courses in archaeology and biological anthropology offer practical experience in the analysis of biological and cultural materials. In cultural anthropology courses, students learn to carry out anthropological research through interviews, participant observation, surveys, the collection of oral histories, and the interpretation of archives.

Because anthropology is concerned with understanding human interaction, it is a useful major for anyone planning a career that involves working with people, especially those from diverse cultures. Some UCSC anthropology graduates are in social work, many are in teaching, and others pursue careers in law, city planning, politics, medicine, public health, cultural resource management, and journalism. Students intending to specialize in anthropology usually go on to graduate school because professional employment in the field almost always demands an advanced degree.

Most anthropology faculty have their offices in Social Sciences 1 Building. Social Sciences 1 also houses the Visual Culture Research Laboratory and laboratories for archaeology and biological anthropology where space is provided for laboratory and individual studies courses and for collections of mammalian skeletal material, casts of fossil hominids, ceramics, stone tools, and other archaeological artifacts.

The Anthropology Society, a campus club, is open to all students interested in anthropology. The Anthropology Colloquium showcases guest speakers and gives faculty and students an opportunity to discuss new approaches to anthropological questions. Students and faculty interested in archaeology also gather informally at the Archaeology/Biological Anthropology Lunch forum to share information on fieldwork and employment opportunities.

The Anthropology Department urges students to seek faculty advice early in planning for the major. Faculty hold regular office hours weekly and encourage students to come in to talk about their program or coursework. Peer advisers are also available.

The anthropology major incorporates the three anthropological subfields of anthropological archaeology, cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology, while providing undergraduates with a solid grounding in theory and methods. 

Students do not declare an emphasis or concentration within the anthropology major. All students therefore are general anthropology majors and complete the same requirements. However, students can choose to take additional courses in a specific area of anthropology while completing the upper-division anthropology electives required for the major, or by choosing to take courses above and beyond what is required for the major. 

Three Lower-Division Courses

• ANTH 1: Introduction to Biological Anthropology
• ANTH 2: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
• ANTH 3: Introduction to Archaeology

Ten Upper-Division Courses

• one course in archaeology
• one course in biological, medical or environmental anthropology
• one course in regional specialization
• one course in sociocultural anthropology
• one course in anthropological theory
• four anthropology electives (any additional upper-division anthropology courses)

One senior comprehensive requirement, which can be satisfied in one of three ways:

• Senior Seminar (usually courses numbered ANTH 194 or 196)

• Graduate Seminar (200-level course), enrollment by petition only

• Senior Thesis, plus one additional elective; enrollment by petition only

Students must also complete the Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement.

Anthropological Theory Courses

Note:  Each course may only be used to satisfy a single major requirement.  Courses cannot be double-counted for requirements within the anthropology major.

• 100     History and Theory of Biological Anthropology
• 150     Communicating Anthropology
• 152     Survey of Cultural Anthropological Theory
• 170     History of Archaeological Theory
• Sociocultural Anthropology Courses
• Note: Each course may only be used to satisfy a single major requirement. Courses cannot be double-counted for requirements within the anthropology major. Not all of these courses are offered each year.
• 119     Indigenous Visual Culture
• 120     Culture in Film
• 121     Socialism
• 122     Postsocialism
• 123     Psychological Anthropology
• 124     Anthropology of Religion
• 126     Sexuality and Society in Cross-Cultural Perspective
• 127     Ethnographies of Capitalism
• 128     Contemporary American Evangelical Culture
• 129     Other Globalizations: Cultures and Histories of Interconnection
• 131     Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective
• 132     Photography and Anthropology
• 133     Narratives of the Popular
• 134     Medical Anthropology
• 135A   Cities
• 136     The Biology of Everyday Life
• 137     Consuming Culture
• 138     Political Anthropology
• 139     Language and Culture
• 140     Art, Artist, Artifact
• 141      Developing Countries
• 142     Anthropology of Law
• 143     Performance and Power
• 144     Anthropology of Poverty and Welfare
• 145X   Special Topics in Socio-Cultural Anthropology
• 146     Anthropology and the Environment
• 147      Anthropology and the Anthropocene
• 148     Gender and Global Development
• 151     Workshop in Ethnography
• 153      Medicine/Colonialism
• 154     Multimedia Ethnography
• 157     Modernity and Its Others
• 158     Feminist Ethnographies
• 159     Race and Anthropology
• 160     Reproduction and Population Politics
• 161     The Anthropology of Food 
• 162     Anthropology of Displaced Persons
• 163     Kinship
• 164     Anthropology of Dance
• 165     Anthropological Folklore
• 166     States, Bureaucracies, and Other Cosmological Propositions

Regional Specialization Courses

Note: Each course may only be used to satisfy a single major requirement. Courses cannot be double-counted for requirements within the anthropology major. Not all of these courses are offered each year.

• 130A    Peoples and Cultures of Africa
• 130B    Brazil
• 130C   Politics and Culture in China
• 130E    Culture and Politics of Island Southeast Asia
• 130F    African Diasporas in the Americas
• 130G   Asian Americans in Ethnography and Film
• 130H   Ethnography of Russia and Eastern Europe
• 130I    Cultures of India
• 130J    Politics and Statemaking in Latin America
• 130L    Ethnographies of Latin America
• 130M   Inside Mexico
• 130N    Native Peoples of North America
• 130T    Anthropological Approaches to Islam
• 130U    Central America
• 130V    Ethnography of Russia
• 130W   Ethnography of Eastern Europe
• 130X    Special Topics in Ethnography
• 175A    African Archaeology
• 175B    African Archaeology: Development
• 175C    African Diaspora Archaeology
• 176A    North American Archeology
• 176B    Meso-American Archaeology
• 176C    Archaeology and the American Southwest
• 176D    Colonial Encounters in the Americas
• 176E    Archaeology of the Pacific Northwest
• 176F    California Archaeology

Archaeology Courses

Note:  Each course may only be used to satisfy a single major requirement. Courses cannot be double-counted for requirements within the anthropology major. Not all of these courses are offered each year.

• 171     Materials and Methods in Historical Archaeology
• 172     Archaeological Research Design
• 173     Origins of Farming
• 174     Origins of Complex Societies
• 175A    African Archaeology
• 175B    African Archaeology: Development
• 175C    African Diaspora Archaeology
• 176A    North American Archeology
• 176B    Meso-American Archaeology
• 176C    Archaeology and the American Southwest
• 176D    Colonial Encounters in the Americas
• 176E    Archaeology of the Pacific Northwest
• 176F    California Archaeology
• 177      European Conquest of the Americas
• 178      Historical Archaeology: A Global Perspective
• 180      Ceramic Analysis in Archaeology
• 182A    Lithic Technology
• 184      Zooarchaeology
• 185      Osteology of Mammals, Birds, and Fish
• 187      Cultural Heritage in Colonial Contexts
• 189      Archaeology Field Course

Biological/Medical/Environmental Anthropology Courses
Note: Each course may only be used to satisfy a single major requirement. Courses cannot be double-counted for requirements within the anthropology major.  Not all of these courses are offered each year.

• 100     History and Theory of Biological Anthropology
• 101     Human Evolution
• 104     Human Variation and Adaptation
• 105     Human Paleopathology
• 111     Human Ecology
• 134     Medical Anthropology
• 146     Anthropology and the Environment
• 147     Anthropology and the Anthropocene

Anthropology At-Large Courses
Note: Not all of these courses are offered each year.

Anthropology At-Large courses may be used as electives for completing upper-division course requirements.  These courses do not count as anthropological theory, sociocultural anthropology, regional specialization, or biological anthropology and archaeology courses.

• 110A   Public Life and Contemporary Issues
• 110B    From Indiana Jones to Stonehenge: Archaeology as Pop Culture
• 110E    Anthropology of Global Environmental Change
• 110F    Biocultural Approaches to Food
• 110G   Barrio Popular Culture
• 110H   Acoustic Culture
• 110K   Culture though Food
• 110O   Postcolonial Britain and France
• 110P    India and Indian Diaspora Through Film
• 110R    Discourses in American Religions and Their Role in Public Life
• 110T    Motherhood in American Culture
• 110W  Land and Waterscapes Entropology
• Laboratory Methods Courses

Note: Not all of these courses are offered each year

These courses are designed for students interested in pursuing graduate research or careers that require specialized training in laboratory methods and may be used as electives for completing upper-division course requirements. These courses do not count toward the anthropological theory, sociocultural anthropology, regional specialization, biological/medical/environmental anthropology, or archaeology core requirements.

• 102A    Human Skeletal Biology
• 103     Forensic Anthropology
• 103B    Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology
• 107      Methods and Research in Molecular Anthropology

Exit Requirement

Students can fulfill the senior comprehensive requirement in anthropology either by passing an advanced senior seminar (194-series course, 190ABC, or 196AB), by writing an acceptable independent senior thesis, or by passing an approved graduate-level topical seminar in anthropology.

Senior seminars are small, writing-intensive classes focusing on advanced topics in anthropology. The prerequisite for admission to a senior seminar is successful completion of courses 1, 2, and 3; senior seminars are restricted to senior anthropology majors.

Students considering an independent thesis must arrange for the sponsorship and support of a faculty member before beginning research. An independent senior thesis (not written within a senior seminar) should be based on original research and reflect the student’s understanding of fundamental theories and issues in anthropology. The thesis should be comparable in content, style, and length (generally 25–30 pages) to a professional journal article in its subfield.

Students who intend to satisfy the exit requirement by taking a graduate seminar must first get permission from the department. Not all graduate seminars are appropriate for fulfilling this requirement. Students who take a graduate-level course to fulfill the theory requirement may not use this course to satisfy the exit requirement.

All majors, including double majors, must prepare a program of study in consultation with a member of the Anthropology Department. A combined major in anthropology and Earth and planetary sciences, leading to a bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree, is also offered; for that program description, see Earth and Planetary Sciences. Students going on to graduate school should plan course schedules in close consultation with faculty advisers.

Many anthropology majors whose studies emphasize archaeology have benefited from concurrent study in the Cabrillo College Archaeological Technology Certificate Program. This vocational certification program is sponsored entirely by Cabrillo College, but credit for its summer field survey and excavation component may be transferred for credit at UCSC. Although courses in the Archaeological Technology Certificate Program do not count toward the UCSC anthropology major, students who have obtained the certificate in tandem with their bachelor’s degree in anthropology have expanded their employment and  advanced degree program opportunities. Students interested in exploring this possibility are encouraged to consult with UCSC archaeology faculty and to visit the program’s web site at http://www.cabrillo.edu/academics/anthropology/.

Senior Seminars

Note: Not all of these courses are offered each year.

• 194A   Anthropology of Dead Persons
• 194B   Chimpanzees: Biology, Behavior and Evolution
• 194C   Feminist Anthropology
• 194D   Tribes/Castes/Women
• 194E    Belief
• 194F    Memory
• 194G   Politics and Secularism
• 194H   Paleoanthropology
• 194I    Consumption and Consumerism
• 194K    Reading Ethnographies
• 194L    Archaeology of the African Diaspora
• 194M   Medical Anthropology
• 194N   Comparison of Cultures
• 194O   Masculinities
• 194P    Space, Place, and Culture
• 194Q   Race, Ethnicity, Nation
• 194R    Religion, Gender, Sexuality
• 194S    The Anthropology of Sound
• 194T    Poverty and Inequality
• 194U    Environmental Anthropology: Nature, Culture, Politics
• 194V    Picturing Cultures
• 194W   The Anthropology of Social Movements
• 194X    Women in Politics: A Third World Perspective
• 194Y    Archeology of Space and Landscape
• 194Z    Emerging Worlds
• 196C    Traveling Cultures
• 196D    Food and Medicine
• 196E    Pastoralists Past and Present
• 196F    The Anthropology of Things: Gift, Sign, Commodity, Tool
• 196G    Advanced Topics in Folkloristics
• 196H    Global History and the Longue Durée
• 196I     Hard Problems
• 196J     Imagining America
• 196K    Settler Colonialism
• 196L    Archaeology of the American Southwest
• 196M    Modernity and Its Others
• 196T    Archaeology of Technology
• 196U    Historical Anthropology

Two-credit courses do not count toward the 10 upper-division courses required for the major. Only one 5-credit individual studies course (197, 198, or 199) may be counted toward the 10 required upper-division courses. Course 107L does not count toward the 10 upper-division courses required for the major. Theory courses can only be counted toward the theory requirement or an upper-division elective.

Requirements

• To be considered for admission to UC Santa Cruz, international students must be on track to complete secondary school with superior grades/marks in academic subjects and to earn a certificate of completion that enables the student to be admitted to a university in their home country. 
• Reporting Foreign Course Work on the Application: When you apply to UC Santa Cruz, you must report ALL foreign course work as it would appear on your foreign academic record. You should not convert the grading system of your home country to U.S. grades or use an evaluation done by an agency. If your grades/marks appear as numbers, words, or percentages, please report them as such on your UC application. Each UC campus has an International Admissions Specialist who will thoroughly evaluate your international records.
• IELTS (International English Language Testing System): Overall band score of 6.5 or higher*
• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): Minimum score of 550 on the paper-based test or 80 on the Internet-based test
• SAT Writing Exam: 560 or higher

Test Requirements

All freshman applicants are expected to submit scores from one of the following tests. Even if the test is not offered in your country, we expect it:

• The ACT Assessment plus the ACT Writing Test  

--OR—

• The SAT with critical reading, mathematics, and writing scores from the same sitting. 

*Note: We no longer require SAT Subject exams. (We will still review these exam scores if applicants choose to send them to us, however, and certain SAT Subject exams may be recommended for some majors.)

SAT Subject exams accepted by UC:

• English (literature) 
• History/social studies
• Mathematics (Level 2 only; Level 1 is not accepted by the UC)
• Science
• Languages (Other than English)

Please note: In order for your test scores to be available in time for our review, all tests must be taken by December of the year before you plan to enroll.

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

Scholarships

To qualify for Federal, State, or University funding you must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen and you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Financial aid is not available for students with F1 or F2 Student Visas, J1 or J2 Exchange Visitor Visas, or G Series Visas.

Undergraduate Dean’s Scholarships and Awards

This award recognizes the academic achievement of non-resident students. Entering non-resident students will be considered for the Undergraduate Dean's Scholarships and Awards ranging from $12,000 to $40,000 (for freshmen) or $6,000 to $20,000 (for transfers), depending upon several factors from your admissions application. The award is intended to offset non-resident tuition and will be discontinued if the student becomes a California resident.