The information below corresponds with the Anthropology Bulletin copy 2007-2008. You can find similar information in our Anthropology Student Handbook 2007-2008. If you enrolled in as an Anthropology major in an earlier academic year, you can follow the graduation requirements for that year. Earlier copies of the Anthropology Student Handbook:

Anthropology Student Handbook 2006-2007

For students entering VCU in the Fall of 2004 or later, the Bachelor of Science curriculum in anthropology requires a minimum of 120 credits, with at least 36 of those credits in anthropology, 25 of which must be in upper-level (300, 400 or 500) courses.  However, a student with a particular anthropological interest that can be best served by courses without the ANTH prefix may suggest a coherent selection of up to 11 credits from such classes to be counted towards the major.  A plan for such a selection must be presented to and approved by the program coordinator in the student's junior year or, for those students entering the program at the junior level, at a time stipulated by the program coordinator. A maximum of 12 credits from internships and/or independent studies may be counted toward the major. Majors must maintain at least a 2.25 GPA within the major to graduate.

Anthropology major

Students must begin their studies in anthropology by taking Introduction to Anthropology (ANTH 103).  Following that, they must take upper-level courses in all the four anthropological subdisciplines: cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, and linguistics.  Each major will also be required to complete a senior-level course in anthropological theory (ANTH 454) and a senior seminar (ANTH 499). 
Students with an exceptional record of success in the program may participate in Honors Thesis research (ANTH 497-498) involving the completion of a senior thesis during the last two semesters of the baccalaureate degree program. Students must take:

ANTH 103 / INTL 103 Introduction to Anthropology
ANTH 105 / INTL 104 Introduction to Archaeology
ANTH 301 / BIOL 341 Human Evolution
ANTH 302 Archaeological Theory or ANTH 303 Archaeological Methods and Research Design
ANTH 448/FRLG 448/ENGL 448/LING 448 Language, Culture and Cognition or ANTH/ENGL/LING 449 Introduction to Linguistics
ANTH 454 Anthropological Theory and Practice (must be taken spring senior year)
ANTH 499 Senior Seminar (must be taken fall senior year)

Majors must earn a C or higher in all required core courses.
Majors must take one introductory course in geography, history, international studies, or sociology.
Majors must fulfill an experiential learning requirement through an approved internship, service learning course, or study-abroad program.
Majors are furthermore required to demonstrate competency in one language through the advanced (301) level or in two languages through the intermediate (202/205) level. 

Anthropology Minor

For students entering VCU in the Fall of 2004 or later, an anthropology minor shall consist of 18 credits in anthropology, including ANTH 103  At least 15 credits must be taken from upper-level (300, 400 or 500) anthropology courses.

Honors in anthropology

Majors in the Anthropology Program may earn a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in anthropology.  Participation in Honors Thesis research is available to outstanding senior majors and involves the preparation of a senior thesis during the last two semesters of the baccalaureate degree program.

In order to participate in the program, students must meet program entrance requirements, identify a project mentor, and receive approval for a project proposal.  The Honors Thesis Committee (HTC) will award honors following acceptance of the thesis.  The Committee will consist of at minimum the project mentor, one other member of the anthropology faculty, and one faculty member from outside of the anthropology program. 

The project may involve any recognized anthropological topic, theory, and/or method that promises to enhance the student’s disciplinary perspective, skills, and creativity. The project may involve an extension of work initiated in a course, an entirely new project, or a collaborative project with the faculty mentor. If the project is an extension of work initiated in a course or developed collaboratively with the mentor, independent, separate, substantial development of the topic in the thesis should be evident in the final product. The thesis should reflect work of high quality for a senior-level course.

Students majoring in the Anthropology Program are eligible to participate in the departmental honors program if they have maintained at least a 3.0 overall GPA and at least a 3.3 GPA in the major. Application materials consist of transcripts documenting the required GPAs, and a 5-7 page proposal (including a history and description of the proposed project, an annotated bibliography of relevant sources, a work plan and schedule for completion of the project), and a letter of endorsement from the faculty member who has agreed to act as project mentor. Application must be made and project approval received no later than the first two weeks of classes in the term in which the project will commence.  A departmental committee will review the application materials, meet with the candidate to discuss the project proposal as needed, and render an admission decision.  Once admitted, program participants will enroll in ANTH 497.  The course may be included in the required hours for the major.

Students will complete six credit hours (over two sequential semesters in their senior year) in the completion of ANTH 497 and ANTH 498.  The student’s work will be evaluated by the project mentor and a departmental committee at the end of the first semester (ANTH 497) and a grade will be assigned.  If allowed to continue, the student will enroll in ANTH 498 the subsequent semester. At the completion of ANTH 498, the completed senior honors thesis will be submitted to the HTC following its acceptance by the faculty mentor and confirmation that the candidate has maintained the requisite gradepoint averages. 

Upon submission of the thesis, the student will make an oral presentation (to be made no later than two weeks before the end of classes) to the HTC and other faculty as deemed appropriate, summarizing the research procedures and findings.  The HTC will then evaluate the thesis for the award of honors.  In order to receive honors, the thesis must be evaluated as deserving of a grade of “A”.  Whether or not honors is awarded, a final grade will be submitted for ANTH 498. The awarding of honors for the thesis will earn an Honors Certificate from the department and notation of the student’s standing as an honors graduate on the final grade transcript.  Students must submit a final copy of the thesis to both the department and the VCU Library no later than the last day of classes.

Undergraduate topics courses

Topics courses in anthropology (ANTH 391) are an integral part of the program and provide a rare opportunity for the advanced student. Generally these courses are restricted to a small number of students who share specialized interests in a topic which is either too advanced or too limited in its general appeal to justify its inclusion as a standard offering. At least one such course is generally offered each semester and the topics course can be repeated up to a maximum of 18 credits as long as there is no duplication of the topics.

Independent study

This course (ANTH 492) is designed for advanced students capable of doing independent work on selected topics under the directions of specific faculty.  Students may earn a total maximum of 12 credits in departmental independent study courses and internship credits, but may not enroll for more than six credits per semester in independent studies.  Only majors in Anthropology or related fields may enroll in these courses.  All students entering these courses must have completed a minimum of 12 credits in Anthropology and have an Anthropology GPA of 3.0 or more.

Internship

This course (ANTH 493) is designed for advanced students capable of being of service to and benefiting from workplace experience in organizations (outside of VCU) willing to offer supervised work or research experience appropriate to the student’s anthropological interest.  Applications must by approved by a faculty advisor and by the Anthropology Coordinator.  Each student must work a minimum of 40-50 clock hours per credit hour in the organization and submit to the faculty advisor a summary of their activities and their relevance to the field and the student’s coursework.  Students may earn a total maximum of 12 credit hours in internship credits and independent study courses, but may not enroll for more than six credits per semester in internship credits.  All students enrolling in an internship must have an Anthropology GPA of 3.0 or more.