The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Anthropology, Bachelor of Arts

Program Overview

The Anthropology Program strives to fulfill its responsibilities by providing quality undergraduate academic education in anthropology. Emphasis is placed on exposing students to a holistic approach to anthropology that incorporates three major subfields--cultural anthropology, physical anthropology, and archaeology. A major or minor in anthropology is especially appropriate for professionals closely involved with people. Our graduates acquire skills useful in many careers rather than just skills applicable to one job. Students trained in our program should have acquired oral and written communication skills, research skills, and "people" or "sociocultural" skills which qualify them well for careers in international business, government, politics, criminal justice, social work, and medicine or other health-related professions. Our graduates are especially well prepared to practice in south Texas or a comparable area made special by the meeting of different cultures.

Specific graduation requirements for this program beyond university bachelor’s degree requirements. 

A student graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology is required to demonstrate proficiency (beginning, intermediate or advanced) in a foreign language. Proficiency can be demonstrated by: 

  • Earning 6 credits of foreign language through successful completion of coursework
  • Earning 6 credits through a foreign language college credit exam (e.g., AP, CLEP, International Baccalaureate) 
  • Demonstrating proficiency by meeting the WebCAPE scores approved by the Department of Writing and Language Studies
  • Demonstrating proficiency by an exam approved by the Department of Writing and Language Studies 

 

Core Curriculum - 42 hours

The Core Curriculum serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. All candidates for a bachelor’s degree must achieve core student learning outcomes, including communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility, by completing courses within each category or component area of the Core Curriculum as outlined below.

The University has approved specific courses that satisfy Core Curriculum Requirements. Approved courses can be found on the Core Curriculum Page. Students seeking the most efficient way to complete the core curriculum and major or minor requirements are advised to take approved courses that can fulfill both requirements. Although core curriculum courses can also be used to fulfill major or minor requirements, earned credits hours are only applied once.

Major Requirements - 42 hours

Required Courses - 15 hours

Anthropology Core - 15 hours

Required:
ANTH 1324Human Evolution

3

ANTH 2302Introduction to Archeology

3

ANTH 2351Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

3

ANTH 4345Anthropological Theory and Method

3

Choose one:
ANTH 1302Human Cultures in World Prehistory

3

ANTH 1354The Anthropology of Expressive Culture

3

ANTH 2311Global Health and Social Justice: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Illness and Inequality

3

Social and Behavioral Sciences

If ANTH 1324, ANTH 2302 or ANTH 2351 are used to fulfill core curriculum credit hours, students must take an additional social behavioral science course from the core curriculum list below to fulfill anthropology major requirement credit hours.

Choose from:
ECON 1301Introduction to Economics

3

ECON 2301Principles of Macroeconomics

3

ENGL 2315Humans and Language

3

PHIL 1362Race, Sexuality, and Class

3

PSYC 2301General Psychology

3

SOCI 1301Introduction to Sociology

3

Prescribed Electives - 27 hours

Choose from:

ANTH 3343Museum Studies Internship

3

ANTH 3344Archive Studies Internship

3

ANTH 3345Anthropology Community Internship

3

ANTH 4303Forensic Anthropology

3

ANTH 4304Indians of North America

3

ANTH 4305Great Discoveries in Archaeology

3

ANTH 4306Anthropology of Borders

3

ANTH 4307Shipwrecks, Pirates, and Sea: Maritime Archaeology and History

3

ANTH 4308Comparative Colonialisms in the Americas

3

ANTH 4309Anthropology of Sex & Gender

3

ANTH 4310Food and Culture

3

ANTH 4311Medical Anthropology

3

ANTH 4312Political and Legal Anthropology

3

ANTH 4314Environmental Anthropology

3

ANTH 4315Discovering the Rio Grande Valley

3

ANTH 4317Field Experience Borderlands

3

ANTH 4320Anthropology of Conflict and Human Rights

3

ANTH 4323Mexican American Culture

3

ANTH 4333United States and Other World Cultures

3

ANTH 4348Peoples and Cultures of Mexico

3

ANTH 4350Mexican American Folk Medicine

3

ANTH 4351Global Health: Critical Perspectives

3

ANTH 4363Interpreting the Past: Theory and Method in Archaeology

3

ANTH 4364Religion in Society

3

ANTH 4365Archaeology of South America

3

ANTH 4369Archaeology of Mexico and Central America

3

ANTH 4374Archaeology of North America

3

ANTH 4375Mexican American Folklore

3

ANTH 4377Global Cultural Heritage Issues and Debates

3

ANTH 4385Topics in Anthropology

3

ANTH 4390Directed Studies

3

ANTH 4395Fieldwork in Anthropology

3

ENGL 3361Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics

3

ENGL 3370Language and Culture

3

Free Electives - 36 hours

Free elective credit hours at the advanced level may be needed to achieve the institutional minimum of 42 advanced hours.

Advanced Minimum Credit Hours: 42

Total Credit Hours: 120