Anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures from the earliest appearance of humans as social animals with culture to ancient cities to contemporary societies and cultures. Students choosing to major in anthropology may concentrate in archaeology or sociocultural anthropology. These concentrations are optional and are designed to allow students to pursue their own particular interests in anthropology in depth.
Archaeology is the study of past societies.
Investigations of material remains, documentary evidence and experimental projects all serve to enhance our understanding of the nature of past societies and how such cultures changed over time. Students concentrating in archaeology take courses in archaeological theory, archaeological field methods, laboratory methods in archaeology, biological anthropology and various area studies. Sociocultural Anthropology is a traditional social science undergraduate program within the liberal arts. A concentration in this area involves a thorough grounding both in the comparative study of social and cultural systems and in social and cultural theory. Students concentrating in sociocultural anthropology take courses in various subspecialities of anthropology such as social organization, psychological anthropology, ethno history and socialization processes.