Anthropology

Anthropology is the complete study of humanity. Because people are so complex, anthropology covers a lot of ground—people's origins, customs, languages, social and religious beliefs, and changes over time.

These changes can result from human biology and genetics, personality, surrounding environment, or culture. Anthropology looks at all of these aspects of humanity, from prehistoric times to the present.

Distinctive Features at Miami

Practical experience: Miami's program gives you opportunities for fieldwork and international experience in several areas. During the summer, you can get practical experience through excavation of local prehistoric sites. You can also study abroad in India and the Bahamas.

Small class size: For majors-only courses, there are no more than 30 students in each class, and some have as few as eight.

Special facilities: Students can work in research laboratories in archaeology and physical anthropology. You can also volunteer in the Anthropology Museum, which offers training in museology: how to organize and manage museums.

Your Program of Study

For thorough training, you will take courses in all four major areas of anthropology before you focus on a specific concentration. We encourage you to work out an individual program of study with the help of a faculty adviser. Because of the flexible requirements, many students also get a second major or a major with a teaching certification.

Anthropology's Four Major Areas:

Archaeology studies and interprets human societies and cultural patterns of the past. Based on excavated data and known traditions, the archaeologist tries to provide a fuller picture of the past by interpreting what can still be found.

Socio-cultural studies how people relate to one another in the patterns and interactions of human social settings. Anthropologists want to know what people do, why and how they do things, and what meaning they give to their actions and to others.

Physical or biological studies how culture, heredity, and environment affect the human form. Two Miami primatologists have focused their careers on studying chimpanzees, and many of their students have assisted by observing primate behavior in area zoos. As a result, one recent Miami graduate was invited to work in Africa for a year with Jane Goodall, the internationally known primate expert.

Linguistics examines the relationship between language and culture. One Miami professor works with the Miami Indian tribe in this area. Some students have combined an anthropological focus with linguistic studies in English or a foreign language.

Student Organizations

The Society for the Enhancement of Anthropology at Miami University sponsors field trips and programs with speakers.

The Primatology Club also has speakers and field trips as well as student and faculty presentations.

The Museum Associates are student volunteers who help operate the Anthropology Museum while getting practical experience.

After You Graduate

Because of the broad exposure to the natural sciences and humanities as well as the social sciences, anthropology majors are recognized as having a background which is well-suited for dealing with people and problems of the business and industrial world.

Some graduates go directly into anthropological careers, such as museum work. With an archaeological focus, you may work for a private agency that surveys land where buildings or highways are being constructed, checking for signs of older civilizations and moving the remains. Other students immediately enter graduate school, since a doctoral degree is needed for many positions with universities and museums in teaching and research positions.

Eventually, 30 to 40 percent of our graduates go on to graduate school—some in law, medicine, community planning, government, and social services. Recent Miami graduates are working in health care, occupational safety, travel services, foreign market research, ethnographic photography, multinational business, personnel, and foreign service. 

For More Information

For general information about Miami University, please contact:

Office of Admission
301 S. Campus Ave.
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056-3434
513-529-2531 (v/t)
www.muohio.edu/requestinfo

For specific information on the Anthropology major, please contact:

Department of Anthropology
164 Upham Hall
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-8399
www.units.muohio.edu/anthropology