Curriculum

This is a 180-credit undergraduate program at the end of which you will earn either a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. Once you are admitted, you will work with an academic advisor to construct a detailed plan for the completion of your degree.

Four options to focus your anthropology studies

• Archaeology option: Focus is on the material remains of past cultures and their environments. Gain essential field and laboratory skills necessary to collect, analyze, and curate archaeological materials, as well as meet the ethical issues and legal responsibilities concerning cultural resource management.
  The archaeology options requires 12 credits of field school experience. The experience can be completed through a program convenient to your location or through one of the OSU field school options.
• Biocultural option: Explore the ways evolutionary biology, political-economy, ecology, and culture interact to influence human health and behavior, over time and in cross-cultural perspective. This option prepares students to engage in ethical field and laboratory work, and data analyses, to ultimately understand the intersections of biomarkers and other indicators of human health status, demographic processes, social relationships, cultural norms, and political and economic inequalities.
• Cultural/linguistic option: Examine the diversity of living cultures, in terms of their subsistence practices, sacred and secular rituals, economies, technology, arts, language, and social institutions. This concentration prepares the student to engage in ethnographic research and to follow ethical and professional standards for cultural sensitivity in interpersonal and cross-cultural interactions.
• General: Customize your program to focus on your area of interest.

The degree requirements consist of five main areas:

1. Baccalaureate core: 48 credits plus a Writing Intensive Course (WIC) of at least 3 credits
2. College of Liberal Arts core: 15 credits
3. B.A. or B.S. requirements: 15 – 24 credits
4. Anthropology major: 60 credits
5. Electives: as needed to meet the 180 credit minimum to graduate

Total: 180 credits, including at least 60 upper-division credits

Learn how a study abroad experience transformed Rachel Hensley's academic experience.

To view the anthropology major requirements, please visit Oregon State’s official academic catalog. And please check out the following pages if you need additional information about the baccalaureate core or the College of Liberal Arts core.

Sample course topics

• Evolution of people
• Peoples of the world
• Cultures in conflict
• Wealth and poverty
• Forensic anthropology
• Biological and cultural constructions of race
• Natural resources and community values
• North America after the ice age

Transfer credits

Some of the degree requirements can be transferred from other colleges and universities. Please note that a minimum of 45 credits of the last 75 must be completed at Oregon State (online or on campus) to meet the academic residency requirement. Previously earned credits will need to be reviewed upon admittance into OSU for appropriate articulation. Additional information about transferring credits is available through the Single Course Search tool provided by OSU's Office of Admissions.

Add a minor

OSU Ecampus students have the ability to add a minor to their degree program. OSU offers a diverse selection of minors online. Combine anthropology and a business minor or anthropology plus an environmental sciences minor to create an even more powerful resume fit for today's job market.