Anthropology Minor
Anthropology is a field that makes people better able to interact in culturally diverse settings.
What is anthropology?
Anthropology is the holistic and cross-cultural study of humankind. It is the broadest of the social sciences and includes four major fields: cultural anthropology, physical or biological anthropology, archaeology, and anthropological linguistics. Applied anthropology is a recent area of specialization that involves the use of anthropology in nonacademic settings such as schools and hospitals.
What courses will I take?
The anthropology minor consists of six courses or 18 s.h. There are three required core courses: Cultural Anthropology, Physical Anthropology, and Introduction to Archaeology. The other three courses are electives and students may choose from a variety of upper-level courses such as North American Indians, Medical Anthropology, and North American Archaeology.
Are internship opportunities available?
One of the strengths of the anthropology program at Shippensburg University is the availability of internship placements for our students. Examples include internships at the State Museum in Harrisburg, the Smithsonian Institution, the Cumberland County Historical Society, and with contract archaeology firms. Students also may be able to work in the department's archaeology lab.
Are there related student organizations?
Anthropology students may join the national professional organization, the American Anthropological Association, or regional professional organizations.
Why study anthropology at Shippensburg University?
Although the anthropology program at Shippensburg is small, we have an excellent record in student admission to graduate school and in job placement after graduation. We offer courses in three of the major areas within anthropology and students have gone on to graduate school in archaeology (admission to the University of Pittsburgh, for example), physical anthropology (Ph.D. from Kent State University), and cultural anthropology (admission to the University of New Mexico, for example). Shippensburg graduates with an anthropology minor also have found it to be a valuable qualification in the job market, whether they are business majors, psychology or counseling majors, or political science majors. Cross-cultural interaction increasingly occurs in all professions and the American population continues to become more diverse. Anthropology is a field that makes people better able to interact in culturally diverse settings and employers recognize this.
What kinds of career choices should I expect?
Anthropology is useful in any career that involves people, but specific examples of careers of Shippensburg anthropology graduates include contract archaeology, park ranger, recreation director in a nursing home, college professor, position in marketing for an international firm, and librarian.