Major Requirements

Listed below are the requirements for the Anthropology major. In addition to the requirements for the major, students must also satisfy all of the university general education requirements and the College of Letters & Science breadth and other degree requirements. Degree requirements will vary depending on when you took your first college class. You are strongly advised to consult both the anthropology advisor and your L&S advisor to ensure you stay on track towards a degree. Read more about the degree requirements on the L&S Degree Requirements web pages.

Anthropology Major Requirements

Students majoring in anthropology can select from a wide variety of courses organized under three subfields:

  • Sociocultural Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Biological Anthropology

Although majors take some coursework in each of the three subfields, they are encouraged to shape their own programs to meet individual needs and interests. Students majoring in anthropology must earn a GPA of 2.0 or better in anthropology courses attempted at UWM. In addition, the College of Letters and Science requires that students attain a 2.0 or better GPA in all anthropology courses attempted, including any transfer work. The major in anthropology requires 36 credits within the department. At least 15 credits in advanced-level courses (numbered 300 or above) must be taken in residence at UWM.

Required
ANTHRO 101Introduction to Anthropology: Human Origins3
ANTHRO 102Introduction to Anthropology: Culture and Society3
ANTHRO 103Digging Up the Past: Approaches to Archaeology3
ANTHRO 460Anthropological Theory 13
9-15 credits satisfying the following requirements 29-15
1 methods course
1 course satisfying the research requirement
1 course in each of the three subfields
6-15 additional ANTHRO credits6-15
Total Credits36
1

Only seniors may enroll in ANTHRO 460, and it is recommended that they do so after having completed all other anthropology course requirements.

2

Methods courses and research requirement courses may overlap with each other or with one of the three ANTHRO subfields. See tables below for additional details. 

Methods Courses 

ANTHRO 403The Human Skeleton 13
ANTHRO 405Forensic Anthropology 13
ANTHRO 497Study Abroad: 11-12
ANTHRO 525Zooarchaeology: Analysis of Faunal Remains 13
ANTHRO 535Analysis of Archaeological Ceramics 13
ANTHRO 560Introduction to Research Methods in Anthropology 13
ANTHRO 561Techniques and Problems in Ethnography3
ANTHRO 562Techniques and Problems in Archaeology3
ANTHRO 566Archaeological Analysis and Report Preparation: 13-6
ANTHRO 567Archaeological Field School3-6
ANTHRO 568Introduction to Anthropological Statistics3
1

This course may also satisfy a research and/or subfield requirement in the Anthropology major. However, no single course may count for more than two requirements.

Research Requirement Courses 

ANTHRO 401Primate Populations 13
ANTHRO 424Ethnoarchaeology and Experimental Archaeology3
ANTHRO 497Study Abroad: 11-12
ANTHRO 525Zooarchaeology: Analysis of Faunal Remains3
ANTHRO 535Analysis of Archaeological Ceramics3
ANTHRO 560Introduction to Research Methods in Anthropology3
ANTHRO 566Archaeological Analysis and Report Preparation: 13-6
1

This course may also satisfy a methods and/or subfield requirement in the Anthropology major. However, no single course may count for more than two requirements. 

Three Anthropology Subfields

Biological Anthropology

ANTHRO 301Human Evolution and Variation3
ANTHRO 401Primate Populations 13
ANTHRO 402Primate Evolution3
ANTHRO 403The Human Skeleton3
ANTHRO 404Human Biological Variation3
ANTHRO 405Forensic Anthropology3
ANTHRO 406Evolutionary Biology & Human Diseases3
ANTHRO 407Neuroanthropology3
ANTHRO 408Hormones and Behavior3
1

This course may also satisfy a methods and/or research requirement in the Anthropology major; however, no single course may count for more than two requirements.

Archaeology

ANTHRO 304Violence and Warfare in Prehistory3
ANTHRO 305The Celtic World3
ANTHRO 306European Archaeology3
ANTHRO 307World Archaeology: Foundations of Civilization3
ANTHRO 308Archaeology of North America3
ANTHRO 309Archaeology of Central and South America3
ANTHRO 310Archaeology of Middle America3
ANTHRO 311The World of the Ancient Maya3
ANTHRO 313Archaeology of the American Southwest3
ANTHRO 420Power and Ideology in Archaeology3
ANTHRO 421Cities in the Ancient World3
ANTHRO 424Ethnoarchaeology and Experimental Archaeology3
ANTHRO 425Hunter-Gatherer Lifeways: Past and Present3
ANTHRO 426Who Owns the Past?3
ANTHRO 465Historic Preservation in Archaeology3
ANTHRO 466Historical Archaeology3
ANTHRO 501Archaeology of Death3
ANTHRO 502Lithic Analysis: Stone Tools and Human Behavior3
ANTHRO 525Zooarchaeology: Analysis of Faunal Remains 13
ANTHRO 535Analysis of Archaeological Ceramics 13
ANTHRO 565Seminar in Regional Archaeology:3
1

This course may also satisfy a methods and/or research requirement in the Anthropology major; however, no single course may count for more than two requirements.

Sociocultural Anthropology

ANTHRO 302Anthropology and Popular Culture3
ANTHRO 314American Indian Societies and Cultures3
ANTHRO 320Peoples and Cultures of Africa3
ANTHRO 322Europe in Anthropological Perspective3
ANTHRO 325Japanese Culture and Society3
ANTHRO 326Peoples and Cultures of South Asia3
ANTHRO 328Comparative Studies of Music, Race, and Gender in Nationalism3
ANTHRO 335American Indians of the Southeast3
ANTHRO 340Cultures of Online Games and Virtual Worlds3
ANTHRO 349Seminar in Ethnography and Cultural Processes3
ANTHRO 351Anthropological Theories of Religion3
ANTHRO 354Anthropology, Aesthetics, and Art3
ANTHRO 355Globalization, Culture, and Environment3
ANTHRO 400Human Sociobiology3
ANTHRO 431Cities and Culture3
ANTHRO 439Culture and Global Health3
ANTHRO 440Medical Anthropology3
ANTHRO 441Nature, Knowledge, and Technoscience in Anthropological Perspective3
ANTHRO 442Humanitarianism in Global Perspective3
ANTHRO 445Psychological Anthropology3
ANTHRO 446The Child in Different Cultures3
ANTHRO 447The Global Politics of Human Rights3
ANTHRO 448Cultural and Human Ecology3
ANTHRO 449The Human Economy3
ANTHRO 450Political Anthropology3
ANTHRO 540Applications of Anthropology3
ANTHRO 543Cross-Cultural Study of Religion3
ANTHRO 544Religious Giving in Anthropological Perspective3
ANTHRO 649Ethnography of Institutions3