Anthropology
Office: Social Science Building
http://anthro.ucsd.edu
Anthropology Faculty
Courses
Anthropology is a humanistic social science dedicated to understanding
the worldwide diversity of social institutions and cultural traditions.
Because there is increasing awareness of the importance of sociocultural
factors in domestic and international relations, a bachelors
degree in anthropology has become accepted as a valuable preparation
for careers
in law, medicine, education, business, government, and various areas
of public service. Anthropology majors can qualify for a California
teaching credential from UCSD through the Teacher Education Program.
The department offers a full range of courses in cultural, social,
linguistic, psychological,
and biological anthropology, as well as archaeology. Courses include
offerings which focus on specific societies or regions of the world
as well as more theoretically oriented materials. The department offers
undergraduate minor and major programs, a senior thesis program, an
undergraduate internship program, and a graduate program leading to
the doctoral degree. Students may also enroll in a Field School when
available.
The Undergraduate Program
Lower-Division
Lower-division offerings in anthropology are concentrated mainly in
the core series, ANLD 1, 2, 3. These courses are designed to provide
a comprehensive orientation to the ideas and methods of anthropological
investigation and a familiarity with case materials from a number of
different societies and historical periods.
Students who intend to major or minor in archaeological anthropology
are advised to take ANLD 3.
Students who intend to major or minor in biological anthropology must
take ANLD 2 (or equivalent), which is prerequisite to most upper-division
biological anthropology courses.
ANLD 23, which may not be offered every year, satisfies the campus-wide
requirement for a course in American Cultures.
Students who have already completed ANPR 105, 106, and 107 may not
receive academic credit for ANLD 1.
Other lower-division courses are offered from time to time and will
vary from year to year.
The Minor
Students may choose a minor in general anthropology, archaeological
anthropology, or biological anthropology. Each consists of seven anthropology
courses. At least five courses must be upper-division; at least four
should be taken at UCSD. The list of courses offered for each minor
is available from the undergraduate coordinator. Transfer credits from
other anthropology departments are usually accepted. Education Abroad
Program credits are acceptable at the discretion of the undergraduate
adviser.
The Major
To receive a B.A. degree with a major in anthropology, the student
must meet the requirements of Revelle, John Muir, Thurgood Marshall,
Earl Warren, Eleanor Roosevelt College, or Sixth College including the
following requirements of the Department of Anthropology:
- A minimum of twelve four-unit upper-division courses in the Department
of Anthropology must be completed.
- ANPR 105, 106, and 107 must be completed (included as three of
the twelve courses required under No. 1, above). All or some of the
courses in this sequence are prerequisites for some other upper-division
courses. This sequence consists of:
105 Social Anthropology
106 Cultural Anthropology
107 Psychological Anthropology
- No courses taken in fulfillment of the above requirements may be
taken on a Pass/Not Pass (P/NP) basis. (An exception is made for some
courses accepted from other schools and for one independent
study course (199), or one directed group study course (198),
and a combination of one internship seminar (ANBI 187A,
C or ANPR 187B) with the corresponding academic internship project
(AIP 197). However, this exception does not extend to ANPR 105, 106
and 107, or to transfer credits accepted in lieu of them. These must
be taken for a letter grade.)
- For the B.A. degree, a minimum average of 2.0 is required, both
as an overall average in all anthropology courses and in the ANPR
105-106-107 sequence considered separately.
- At least seven of the upper-division courses submitted for the
major must be taken at the University of California, San Diego. The
seven normally must include ANPR 105, 106, and 107. A transfer course
may be accepted in lieu of one of these core courses,
if, in the opinion of the undergraduate adviser, the content is substantially
the same. In no case will transfer credit be accepted in lieu of more
than one of these courses.
- Majors are required to obtain a background in basic statistical
techniques. Cognitive Science 14, Psychology 60, Math 11, and BIEB
100 are recommended as courses to fulfill this requirement.
The Major in Anthropology with Concentration in Archaeology
The department offers an additional B.A. degree, Anthropology
with Concentration in Archaeology. This degree requires the following:
- The Anthropology Core Sequence: ANPR 105, 106, 107.
- The Archaeology Core Sequence: ANGN 181, 182, 183.
- An additional upper-division course in sociocultural anthropology.
- Five elective courses, three of which must be in archaeology, and
the remaining two can be either from offerings in archaeology or in
related disciplines. A handout listing these courses is available
from the departments undergraduate coordinator. Students are
encouraged to participate in the departments Archaeological
Field School (ANPR 194) opportunities in the eastern Mediterranean
region and San Diego county.
The Major in Anthropology with Concentration in Biological Anthropology
The department offers another B.A. degree, Anthropology with
Concentration in Biological Anthropology. This degree requires
the following:
- The Core Sequence: ANPR 105, 106, 107.
- Five four-unit anthropology courses identified as biological anthropology
courses; ENVR 110 may be substituted for one of these. A handout listing
these courses is available from the departments undergraduate
coordinator.
- Four four-unit courses in the Department of Biology; ECON 131 may
be substituted for one of these. Courses which are applicable are
also listed in the biological anthropology handout.
- Items 3 through 6 in the above section (The Major in Anthropology)
also apply to the major in anthropology with concentration in biological
anthropology.
Senior Thesis Program
The senior thesis is prepared during two successive quarters of ANPR
196, senior thesis research, and is counted as two of the twelve upper-division
courses required for a major. Students are admitted to the program
by invitation of the faculty. Under normal circumstances, eligibility
for
the program requires the student (1) to have completed eight upper-division
courses, including the core sequence, and (2) to have achieved grade
point averages of at least 3.6 both overall and in the anthropology
major by the end of the junior year. Some of these requirements may
be waived by vote of the faculty. During the first quarter of the program
(fall quarter), students select their research topic and write a preliminary
paper. Those who receive a B+ or better will be invited to continue
in the program and complete a thesis on the chosen topic by the end
of the winter quarter. The thesis will be evaluated by a committee
consisting of the thesis adviser and one other faculty member appointed
by the
department chair in consultation with the thesis coordinator. The thesis
adviser has the sole responsibility for the grade the student receives
in the winter quarter. The reading committee advises the faculty on
the merit of the thesis for departmental honors. A senior thesis is
required in order to be considered for department honors at commencement.
Students who wish to be considered for the Senior Thesis Program should
notify the departments undergraduate adviser by the second week
of the spring quarter prior to the senior year.
Internship Program
The department sponsors an internship program that allows students
to gain academic credit for supervised work in the Museum of Man, the
San Diego Zoo, or the Wild Animal Park. The three tracks of the program
allow internship experience in (1) biological anthropology, (2) ethnology
and archaeology at the museum, or (3) primate behavior and conservation
at the Zoo or Wild Animal Park. A combination of on-campus and on-site
supervision makes these courses intellectually provocative but practical
and applied. They are an especially valuable complement to a major or
minor in anthropology. One four-unit internship (AIP 197) taken with
the corresponding two-unit internship seminar (ANBI 187A, C and ANPR
187B) can be counted as one of the twelve upper-division courses for
the anthropology major or minor. Applications to these programs are
accepted during the first seven weeks of the quarter before the one
in which the internship is to be done.
Academic Enrichment Programs
Faculty Mentor Program
The program offers research experience to any junior or senior with
a GPA of 2.7 or higher who wants to prepare for graduate or professional
school. Participants work as research assistants to UCSD faculty members
during the winter and spring quarters. Students present their research
papers at the Faculty Mentor Research Sympo-sium at the conclusion of
the program in the spring.
Summer Research Program
The program offers full-time research experience to underrepresented
(i.e., minorities, women, and low-income, first-generation college)
students who are interested in preparing for careers in research or
university teaching. Juniors and seniors who have a 3.0 GPA or above
and plan to attend graduate or professional school are eligible to
participate.
Education Abroad Program
One of the best ways to understand the concept of culture
is to live in a different culture for a time. Anthropology majors are
encouraged to participate in the UC Education Program (EAP) or UCSDs
Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP). Students considering this option
should discuss their plans with the faculty undergraduate adviser before
going abroad, and courses taken abroad must be approved for credit to
the major by the adviser upon return. More information on EAP and OAP
is provided under the Education Abroad Program in the UCSD General Catalog.
Interested students should contact the EAP staff in the International
Center.
The Graduate Program
The Department of Anthropology offers graduate training in social,
cultural, linguistic, and psychological anthropology; anthropological
archaeology; and biological anthropology. The graduate program is designed
to provide the theoretical background and the methodological skills
necessary for a career in research and teaching anthropology at the
university level, and for the application of anthropological knowledge
to contemporary problems. It is assumed that all students enter with
the goal of proceeding to the doctoral degree.
Admission to the graduate
program occurs in the fall quarter only.
Any decision to waive a requirement
for either the master's
degree or the Ph.D. must be made by a majority of the faculty.
Graduate Advising
One member of the departmental faculty functions as the graduate
adviser and is referred to as the Director of Graduate Studies. The
role of graduate adviser is to inform students about the graduate program,
approve individual registration forms, and give assistance with respect
to administrative matters.
First-Year Mentors
Each first-year student is assigned a faculty mentor
in the student’s subdiscipline.
Students are encouraged to meet regularly with their mentors for course planning
and guidance in meeting specific requirements and recommendations for their
subdiscipline.
After completion of the requirements for the master’s
degree, the chair of the student’s doctoral committee serves
as the student's major
adviser.
Evaluation
In the spring of each year, the faculty evaluate each students
overall performance in course work, apprentice teaching, and research
progress. A written assessment is given to the student after the evaluation.
If a students work is found to be inadequate, the faculty may
determine that the student should not continue in the graduate program.
The Master of Arts Degree
Students entering the doctoral program must complete a masters
degree before continuing toward the doctorate. Entering students who
already have a masters degree in anthropology are not permitted
by university regulations to receive a second social science or related-field
masters degree, but are required by the department to complete
the requirements for the masters degree. Rare exceptions may
be made on a case-by-case basis by the consent of the majority of
the faculty
and approval of the Office of Graduate Studies and Research.
Requirements for Masters Degree
Required Courses:
230
|
Departmental Colloquium (4 quarters, 1 unit each)
|
281A-B
|
Introductory Seminars (1 unit each)
|
295
|
Masters Thesis Preparation (112 units)
|
Four core courses, as specified in the following sections.
Core Course
Offerings
Six core courses are offered in the graduate program in
anthropology:
ANGR 280A. Core Seminar in Social Anthropology (4 units)
ANGR 280B. Core Seminar in Cultural Anthropology (4 units)
ANGR 280C. Core Seminar in Psychological Anthropology (4 units)
ANGR 280D. Core Seminar in Anthropological Archaeology (4 units)
ANGR 280E. Core Seminar in Biological Anthropology (4 units)
ANGR 263. The Anthropology of Language and Discourse (4 units)
(Note:
Although not in the 280 series, ANGR 263 is a core seminar. It
is also open to graduate students from other departments,
with instructor’s
permission. It may be offered in alternate years.)
All students
must take at least four of these six core courses by the end of
their second year in the program (and preferably
during
the first year) as a
requirement for receiving the master’s degree or for equivalent
advancement in the program. The subfields specify particular choices
among these core offerings
for the students admitted to their respective tracks, as detailed below.
The department strongly encourages all students in all subfields to take
additional
core courses as elective seminars to complete their program.
Anthropological
Archaeology core
requirements:
280A (Social Anthropology); and
280D (Anthropological Archaeology); and
280E (Biological Anthropology); and
One of the remaining three core courses in anthropology.
Biological
Anthropology core requirements:
280E (Biological Anthropology);
and
280D (Anthropological Archaeology); and
Two of the remaining four core courses in anthropology, selected
in consultation with the student’s assigned mentor.
Sociocultural
Anthropology, Psychological Anthropology, and Linguistic Anthropology
All
students in Sociocultural Anthropology and its allied fields of Psychological
and Linguistic Anthropology will take at least
four core
courses, selected
as follows and with the consent of the individual student’s
faculty mentor. Students identifying two or more areas of concentration
must satisfy the requirements
of each of these areas.
Core requirements for students in the
General Sociocultural track:
280A (Social Anthropology); and
280B (Cultural Anthropology); and
280C (Psychological Anthropology) or 263 (The Anthropology
of Language and Discourse); and
280D (Anthropological Archaeology) or 280E (Biological Anthropology).
Core
requirements for students in the Psychological Anthropology track:
280C
(Psychological Anthropology); and
280D (Anthropological Archaeology) or 280E (Biological Anthropology);
and
Two of the following:
280A (Social Anthropology),
280B (Cultural Anthropology),
263 (Anthropology of Language and Discourse).
Core requirements
for students in the Linguistic Anthropology track:
263 (Anthropology
of Language and Discourse); and
280D (Anthropological Archaeology) or 280E (Biological
Anthropology); and
Two of the following:
280A (Social Anthropology),
280B (Cultural Anthropology),
280C (Psychological Anthropology).
Master’s Thesis
Students must complete a master’s thesis
of roughly sixty pages that will be due on the first day of the
winter quarter of the student’s second year. They
must have completed three quarters of course work
in order to begin writing a master’s thesis. By the end of the
spring quarter of the student’s
first year, he or she will have a master’s
committee in consultation with whom he or she will
design the
thesis. The graduate adviser will be responsible
for organizing the masters’ committees. The
thesis will be literature based but will have its
own argument,
and will not simply be a review of the literature.
An
option open only to anthropological archaeology and
biological anthropology students is to make the
literature-based
thesis
(defended by the beginning
of the winter quarter of the second year) one component
of a larger project involving
the collection of original data. Data collection
could begin in the summer after the student’s
first year and analysis of it could continue after
the master’s
thesis has been defended. If the thesis includes
the analysis of original data that must be shipped
back from the field, the student would write the
thesis
during the winter quarter and hand it in on the first
day of the spring quarter.
Elective Courses
Four elective, letter-grade courses are required.
These courses can be undergraduate or graduate
seminars. At least two of
these elective
courses
must be within
the anthropology department. Other electives
may be
taken outside of the department with the approval
of the department
chair
or the graduate
adviser. The Doctoral Degree
Continuation in the doctoral program is granted to students who
have satisfactorily completed the master’s program and who have
completed courses and the master’s thesis at a level of excellence
that indicates promise of professional achievement in anthropology.
Requirements
for Doctoral Degree
1. Required Courses
In order to achieve candidacy,
students must complete two additional letter-grade electives beyond
the four required for
the master’s.
2. Research Methods
Students are required to develop a plan for their
training in research methods and present it to the anthropology department
faculty
on their proposed dissertation
committee in the spring quarter of their second year.
3. Apprentice
Teaching
In order to acquire teaching experience, each student is
required to serve as a teaching assistant for at least one quarter
anytime
during
the first
four years
of residency. This experience may take place either in our department
or in any teaching program on campus. The relevant course in the
anthropology department
is ANGR 500: Apprentice Teaching, taken for four units and S/U
grade. Upon
petition,
this requirement may be waived by the anthropology faculty.
4. Foreign Language
Unless a student is planning on fieldwork in English-speaking areas,
knowledge of one or more foreign languages may be essential for
the successful completion
of a Ph.D. in anthropology at UCSD. Students will determine specific
language requirements for their degree in consultation with the
faculty and their
doctoral committee.
5. Formation of the Doctoral Committee
All students must choose the chair of their doctoral committee
by the end of their second year. They must choose two more
internal members
of the
doctoral committee by the end of the fall quarter of their
third year. In consultation
with the chair of the doctoral committee, two faculty members
from outside the department (one of whom must be tenured) should
be
added
to the committee
by
the end of the winter quarter of the third year.
Anthropologists
in other departments who are identified by the faculty may serve
as either inside members or outside members
of the committee.
However,
there
must be at least two inside members from within the department,
and only one outside member may be an anthropologist. The final
composition
of
the committee
is approved by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research.
The chair of the doctoral committee serves as the student’s
adviser for the remainder of the student’s program.
6. The
Fieldwork Proposal
Advancement to candidacy will be based on the submission of
two to three position papers and a research proposal. The position
papers
are intended
as a way for
students to demonstrate competence in particular areas of theory,
methods, and/or regional studies that are significant to the
dissertation research
project. The
number of the position papers and the specific topics they
address
are to be formulated in consultation with the student’s
committee chair and, as appropriate, with other members of
the student’s dissertation committee. It is expected
that the position papers will amount to some fifty to sixty
pages and that the research proposal will be in the twenty-
to thirty-page range. Students should
enroll in directed reading courses (ANGR 298) during the quarters
in which they are writing the position papers. Additionally,
students should also enroll in
ANGR 296A-B during the quarters in which they are writing their
dissertation research proposal. A maximum of three quarters
is allowed for the preparation
of both the position papers and proposal. The position papers,
research proposal, and oral examination for advancement
to candidacy must be completed no later
than the end of the spring quarter of the student’s fourth
year.
7. Advancement to Candidacy
Advancement to doctoral candidacy must take place no later
than the end of the spring quarter of the fourth year. This
requires
the successful
completion
of
all course work requirements, the position papers, the dissertation
research
proposal, and an oral qualifying examination administered
by the student’s
committee. The proposal and position papers must be turned
into the student’s
committee at least three weeks prior to the examination.
Upon
petition, students may advance to candidacy as early as the spring
quarter of the third year, if all candidacy
requirements
noted earlier
have been
satisfied by that time. This requires the agreement of the
graduate adviser, the student’s
dissertation adviser, and other members of his or her committee.
Successful
completion of this examination marks the student’s
advancement to doctoral candidacy. These exams will be open
to the extent that university
regulations allow.
8. Dissertation and Dissertation Defense
Upon completion of the dissertation research project, the
student writes a dissertation that must be successfully
defended in
an oral examination
conducted
by the doctoral
committee and open to the public. This examination may
not be conducted earlier than three quarters after the date of
advancement
to doctoral
candidacy. A full copy of the student’s dissertation
must be in the hands of each of the student’s doctoral
committee members four weeks before the dissertation hearing.
An abstract of the student’s dissertation
must be in the hands of all faculty members ten days before
the dissertation
defense. It is understood
that the edition of the dissertation given to committee
members will not be the final form, and that the committee
members may
suggest changes in the text at
the defense. Revisions may be indicated, requiring this
examination to be taken more than once. Acceptance of the
dissertation by the
university librarian represents
the final step in completion of all requirements for the
Ph.D.
9. Time Limits
Precandidacy status is limited to four years. Candidates
for the doctorate remain eligible for university support
for eight
years.
Instructional
support (teaching
assistantships, readerships, and tutors) is limited to
six years (eighteen quarters). The doctoral dissertation
must
be submitted
and defended
within nine years. This
is in accordance with university policy. Normative
time, which is the expected time to complete all requirements
for the Ph.D.,
is
six years
for anthropology
students.
Introduction to Required Core Courses
ANGR 280A. Core Seminar in Social
Anthropology. Core seminar focuses on individual action
and social institutions.
ANGR 280B. Core Seminar in Cultural
Anthropology. Core
seminar focuses on personal consciousness and cultural
experience.
ANGR 280C. Core Seminar in Psychological
Anthropology.
Core seminar focuses on motives, values,
cognition, and qualities
of personal
experience.
ANGR 280D. Core Seminar in
Anthropological Archaeology.
Integral part of the training for graduate
students focusing on Anthropological
Archaeology.
It
is one of a set of core anthropology courses
available to graduate students; required
of anthropological archaeology students but
open for students in other sub-fields.
ANGR
280E. Core Seminar in Biological Anthropology.
This seminar will examine the central problems
and concepts
of biological
anthropology, laying the
foundation for first-year graduate students
in Biological Anthropology as well as providing
an overview of the field for graduate students
in other areas of anthropology.
ANGR 281A-B. Introductory Seminars. These
seminars are held in the first two quarters
of the first
year of graduate
study.
Faculty
members
will
present an account of their current research
and interests. When appropriate, a short
preliminary
reading list will be given for the particular
lecture.
ANGR 263. Anthropology of Language
and Discourse. Examines the theoretical and
methodological
foundations and
principal research
questions of
Linguistic Anthropology,
providing the fundamentals for graduate
study in this area. Required for students specializing
in Linguistic
Anthropology,
and open
to other students.
Prerequisite:
graduate standing in anthropology or
consent of instructor.
NOTE: Not all anthropology
courses are offered every year. Please check the
quarterly UCSD
Schedule of
Classes issued
each fall,
winter, and
spring, for specific courses.
The Melanesian Studies Resource Center and Archive
These facilities embody the substantial interests in the Pacific Basin
that are represented on the UCSD campus and the special prominence of
the UCSD Department of Anthropology in the study of cultures and societies
of Oceania and especially of Melanesia. In cooperation with the UCSD
libraries, the Melanesian Studies Resource Center and Archive has two
major projects. First, there is an ongoing effort to sustain a library
collection of monographs, dissertations, government documents, and journals
on Melanesia that make UCSD the premier center for such materials in
the United States. Second, there is an endeavor to collect the extremely
valuable unpublished literature on Melanesia, to catalog such materials
systematically, to produce topical bibliographies on these holdings,
and to provide microfiche copies of archival papers to interested scholars
and to the academic institutions of Melanesia. This innovative archival
project is intended to be a model for establishing special collections
on the traditional life of tribal peoples as dramatic social change
overtakes them. In the near future, anthropological research on tribal
peoples will take place largely in archives of this kind. These complementary
collections will support a variety of research and teaching activities
and are already attracting students of Melanesia to this campus.
The Melanesian Studies Resource Center and Archive are directed by
members of the Depart-ment of Anthropology faculty, in collaboration
with Geisel Library.
The Archaeological Research Laboratory
Archaeology laboratories were established at UCSD in 1995. The present
facilities are geared to the study of lithics, ceramics, biological
remains, and other small finds retrieved on faculty expeditions in
the old and new worlds, including Belize, Israel, Jordan, and Peru.
Multimedia research, AutoCAD, and other computer based studies are
carried out in the lab. Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged
to participate in lab studies.
The Biological Anthropology Laboratory
The biological anthropology laboratories have twin missions in teaching
research. They house collections of modern skeletal material and fossil
hominid casts used for teaching both at
the lab
and in local
outreach
presentations. The primary research focus involves a large collection
of histological sections and computerized images of living and postmortem
human and non-human primate brains that were obtained through magnetic
resonance scans. These are reconstructed in 3D using state-of-the-art
equipment for comparative analysis and study of the evolution of the
human brain. Undergraduate and graduate student involvement in the
lab is welcomed.
The Anthropology of Modern Society Faculty Research Group
The Anthropology of Modern Society is a project of graduate training
and research dedicated to the critical study of modernity and its counterpoints.
The group is concerned with the changing nature of membership in modern
society. Its participants focus on issues of citizenship and democracy,
social formations in tension with the nation-state, modern subjectivities,
social and religious movements, governmental rationalities and public
works, transnational markets and migrations, relations of local to
global processes within the current realignments of regional, national,
and transnational sovereignties, and the social life of cities as making
manifest these kinds of concerns. Participants are committed to reorienting
anthropological theory and ethnographic practice towards such contemporary
social and political problems. Guiding this project is the group’s
interest in combining critical theory with a comparative and empirically
grounded study of cases to constitute an anthropology of modernity.
Director: James Holston, Department of Anthropology, (858) 534-0111
Anthropology
|