Program Description

Literally meaning "the study of humankind," anthropology sits on the boundaries between the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities, and ponders basic questions about what it means to be human. Anthropology focuses on the diverse ways people around the world and through time have interacted with their environments, communicated with each other, organized their social lives, made sense of their world, and responded to emerging conflicts and challenges. In this program we introduce students to the importance of cultural awareness in our globally-interconnected lives, and we challenge colonial frameworks in academia and beyond. Our program prioritizes experiential learning and research both locally and internationally, through archaeological and ethnographic field programs run by our faculty. Our broad course offerings give students the opportunity to study in all fields of anthropology, including archaeology, biological and medical anthropology, forensics, cultural anthropology, linguistics, religion and belief systems, social constructs of race and ethnicity; and the capacity to build narratives of understanding and connection among people.

Learn more about the program on the Anthropology website.

Associate Degree for Transfer

This program also offers an Associate Degree for Transfer. Learn more and review the degree requirements on the Anthropology AA-T listing.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to understand and apply cultural relativism; they will be able to convey an understanding of multiple cultural perspectives.
• Students will demonstrate a core knowledge base in anthropology, appreciating and reflecting on human diversity in the past and present.
• Students will integrate their knowledge and understanding of anthropological concepts and methods to creatively and ethically solve real-world human problems at the local, regional, and global scales.
• Students will be able to articulate key concepts and events in the process of human evolution and demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities toward that end.
• Students will be able to critically assess the important role that the past plays on the present, and, conversely, the important role that the present has on the past from both local, regional, national, and worldwide perspectives.

Career Opportunities

Anthropology serves as a basic springboard for understanding and working within the global arena. Anthropology graduates find opportunities in colleges, universities, and museums as teachers and researchers, and in federal and state governments as community planners, social science and public health analysts, archaeologists, and education officers. There are also employment possibilities with the United Nations, UNESCO, and World Health organizations. International corporations with offices and plants overseas need anthropologists, as do consulting firms that deal with both private corporations and governments. With the basic anthropology courses, the student can transfer to most of the universities in the country. The student may want to add statistics and business principles to enhance employment possibilities. Please visit the Anthropology website for further information.

Award Type(s)

• AA = Associate in Arts Degree
• CA = Certificate of Achievement
• CP = Certificate of Proficiency [Non-Transcriptable]

Units Required

• Major: 36
• Certificate(s): 4-17

Additional Information

Note: Students having difficulty attaining an associate degree because of timing or availability of classes should consult with a counselor to submit a petition for course substitution.

Associate Degree Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Units
English Proficiency
Select one of the following:
ENGL 1A	COMPOSITION & READING	5
ENGL 1AH	HONORS COMPOSITION & READING	5
ESLL 26	ADVANCED COMPOSITION & READING	5
or equivalent
Ethnic Studies
Any course in the ETHN (Ethnic Studies) subject code, currently approved for Area F of CSU GE and Area 7 of IGETC
Mathematics Proficiency
College-level math course at or above the level of Intermediate Algebra

A minimum of 90 units is required¹ to include:

• Completion of one of the following general education patterns: Foothill General Education, CSU General Education Breadth Requirements or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)
• Core courses (12 units)
• Support courses (24 units)

¹

Additional elective course work may be necessary to meet the 90-unit minimum requirement for the associate degree.

Note: All courses pertaining to the major must be taken for a letter grade. In addition, a grade of "C" or better is required for all core and support courses used for the degree or certificate.

Core and Support Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Units
Core Courses
ANTH 1	INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY	4
or ANTH 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 2A	CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY	4
or ANTH 2AH	HONORS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 8	INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY	4
or ANTH 8H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY
Support Courses
Select 12 units from the following:		12
ANTH 1L	PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY
or ANTH 1HL	HONORS PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY
ANTH 2B	PATTERNS OF CULTURE
ANTH 3	WORLD PREHISTORY: THE RISE & FALL OF EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
ANTH 4	FIRST PEOPLES OF NORTH AMERICA
ANTH 5	MAGIC, SCIENCE & RELIGION
or ANTH 5H	HONORS MAGIC, SCIENCE & RELIGION
ANTH 6	PERSPECTIVES FROM AFRICA
ANTH 12	APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 13	INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 13L	FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY
ANTH 14	LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 15	MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: METHODS & PRACTICE
ANTH 16L	BASIC ARCHAEOLOGY LABORATORY
or ANTH 17L	INTERMEDIATE ARCHAEOLOGY LABORATORY
ANTH 20	NATIVE PEOPLES OF CALIFORNIA
ANTH 22	THE AZTEC, MAYA, INCA & THEIR PREDECESSORS: CIVILIZATIONS OF THE AMERICAS
GEOG 1	PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
or GEOG 2	HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
GLST 1	INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES
or GLST 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES
GLST 2	GLOBAL ISSUES
PSYC 7	STATISTICS FOR THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
or SOC 7	STATISTICS FOR THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
PSYC 10	RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS
or SOC 10	SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS
And 12 units from the following: 1		12
ANTH 51	ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY
ANTH 52	ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD METHODS
ANTH 55	APPLIED CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 56	APPLIED PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 57	APPLIED ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 67A	CULTURES OF THE WORLD: ECUADOR
ANTH 67B	CULTURES OF THE WORLD: BELIZE
ANTH 67C	CULTURES OF THE WORLD: BRITISH ISLES
ANTH 70R	INDEPENDENT STUDY IN ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 71R	INDEPENDENT STUDY IN ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 72R	INDEPENDENT STUDY IN ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 73R	INDEPENDENT STUDY IN ANTHROPOLOGY
BIOL 1C	EVOLUTION, SYSTEMATICS & ECOLOGY
BIOL 10	GENERAL BIOLOGY: BASIC PRINCIPLES
ETHN 1	INTRODUCTION TO ETHNIC STUDIES
ETHN 2	INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES
ETHN 3	INTRODUCTION TO LATINX STUDIES
ETHN 4	INTRODUCTION TO NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES
ETHN 5	INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES
GIST 11	INTRODUCTION TO MAPPING & SPATIAL REASONING
or GEOG 11	INTRODUCTION TO MAPPING & SPATIAL REASONING
GIST 12	INTRODUCTION TO GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY
or GEOG 12	INTRODUCTION TO GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY
HIST 4A	HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION TO 800 CE
HIST 8	HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA
HIST 18	INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE EASTERN CIVILIZATION
HUMN 1	CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: THE ANCIENT WORLD
or HUMN 1H	HONORS CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: THE ANCIENT WORLD
SOC 30	SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
or PSYC 30	SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
SOC 40	ASPECTS OF MARRIAGE & FAMILY
WMN 5	INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S STUDIES
Total Units		36

¹

Students may also use courses listed in the first section of support courses to fulfill the requirement for the second section of support courses.

Certificate Requirements

Certificate of Achievement in Archaeological Field Work

• Units: 14

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ANTH 8	INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY	4
or ANTH 8H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY
ANTH 52	ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD METHODS	4
And two or more units from the following:		2
ANTH 16L	BASIC ARCHAEOLOGY LABORATORY
ANTH 17L	INTERMEDIATE ARCHAEOLOGY LABORATORY
ANTH 51	ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY
ANTH 57	APPLIED ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD METHODS
And four or more units from the following (or any course(s) not used above):		4
ANTH 3	WORLD PREHISTORY: THE RISE & FALL OF EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
ANTH 4	FIRST PEOPLES OF NORTH AMERICA
ANTH 12	APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 20	NATIVE PEOPLES OF CALIFORNIA
ANTH 22	THE AZTEC, MAYA, INCA & THEIR PREDECESSORS: CIVILIZATIONS OF THE AMERICAS
ANTH 67A	CULTURES OF THE WORLD: ECUADOR
ANTH 67B	CULTURES OF THE WORLD: BELIZE
ANTH 67C	CULTURES OF THE WORLD: BRITISH ISLES
Total Units		14

Medical Anthropology Certificate of Proficiency

• Units: 16-17 [Non-Transcriptable]

There are no English or mathematics proficiency requirements for this certificate.

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ANTH 1	INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY	4
or ANTH 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 2A	CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY	4
or ANTH 2AH	HONORS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 15	MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: METHODS & PRACTICE	4
And one course from the following:		4-5
ANTH 5	MAGIC, SCIENCE & RELIGION
or ANTH 5H	HONORS MAGIC, SCIENCE & RELIGION
ANTH 12	APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 14	LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
COMM 12	INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Total Units		16-17

Applied Anthropology Certificate of Proficiency

• Units: 17 [Non-Transcriptable]

There are no English or mathematics proficiency requirements for this certificate.

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ANTH 1	INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY	4
or ANTH 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 2A	CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY	4
or ANTH 2AH	HONORS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 12	APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY	4
And one course from the following:		1
ANTH 55	APPLIED CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 56	APPLIED PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 57	APPLIED ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD METHODS
And four units from the following:		4
ANTH 13	INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 14	LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 15	MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: METHODS & PRACTICE
Total Units		17

Cultural Anthropology Certificate of Proficiency

• Units: 16 [Non-Transcriptable]

Course List

Code	Title	Units
Select 12 units from the following:		12
ANTH 2A	CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
or ANTH 2AH	HONORS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 2B	PATTERNS OF CULTURE
ANTH 4	FIRST PEOPLES OF NORTH AMERICA
ANTH 5	MAGIC, SCIENCE & RELIGION
or ANTH 5H	HONORS MAGIC, SCIENCE & RELIGION
ANTH 6	PERSPECTIVES FROM AFRICA
ANTH 12	APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 14	LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
And four units from the following:		4
Any course not used above
COMM 12	INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
GEOG 2	HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
GEOG 12	INTRODUCTION TO GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY
or GIST 12	INTRODUCTION TO GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY
GLST 1	INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES
or GLST 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES
GLST 2	GLOBAL ISSUES
HUMN 1	CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: THE ANCIENT WORLD
or HUMN 1H	HONORS CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: THE ANCIENT WORLD
HUMN 2	CULTURES, CIVILIZATIONS & IDEAS: OF EMPIRES & CONFLICT
MUS 8	MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES
or MUS 8H	HONORS MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES
SOSC 20	CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES FOR A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY
Total Units		16

Forensic Anthropology Certificate of Proficiency

• Units: 14 [Non-Transcriptable]

There are no English or mathematics proficiency requirements for this certificate.

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ANTH 1	INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY	4
or ANTH 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 1L	PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY	1
or ANTH 1HL	HONORS PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY
ANTH 13	INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY	4
ANTH 13L	FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY	1
ANTH 15	MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: METHODS & PRACTICE	4
Total Units		14

Physical Anthropology Certificate of Proficiency

• Units: 13 [Non-Transcriptable]

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ANTH 1	INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY	4
or ANTH 1H	HONORS INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 1L	PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY	1
or ANTH 1HL	HONORS PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY
And eight units from the following:		8
ANTH 13	INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 13L	FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY
ANTH 15	MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: METHODS & PRACTICE
ANTH 55	APPLIED CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 56	APPLIED PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 57	APPLIED ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD METHODS
BIOL 1C	EVOLUTION, SYSTEMATICS & ECOLOGY
BIOL 10	GENERAL BIOLOGY: BASIC PRINCIPLES
BIOL 12	HUMAN GENETICS
SOC 30	SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
or PSYC 30	SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
SOC 40	ASPECTS OF MARRIAGE & FAMILY
WMN 5	INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S STUDIES
Total Units		13

Archaeological Field School Certificate of Proficiency

• Units: 4-12 [Non-Transcriptable]

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ANTH 51	ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY	2-4
or ANTH 52	ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD METHODS
And select 2-8 units from any combination of the following courses:		2-8
ANTH 12	APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 16L	BASIC ARCHAEOLOGY LABORATORY
or ANTH 17L	INTERMEDIATE ARCHAEOLOGY LABORATORY
ANTH 55	APPLIED CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 56	APPLIED PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 57	APPLIED ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD METHODS
ANTH 67B	CULTURES OF THE WORLD: BELIZE
ANTH 67C	CULTURES OF THE WORLD: BRITISH ISLES
Total Units		4-12