Department of Anthropology |College of Arts and Science

Anthropology is a holistic, interdisciplinary science of humanity. It is the study of people--their origins, adaptations and ecology, distribution, customs, languages, and social and religious beliefs. Anthropological study includes the prehistoric past as well as the global present, indigenous peoples as well as cosmopolitan migrants, the customs of ancient civilizations as well as the beliefs of peoples today and the study of our evolutionary relatives, the non-human primates.

Our Mission

Prepare students for a variety of professional futures, careers, and lifelong learning by building awareness of the evolution of human biological, behavioral, cultural, and communicative differences; appreciation of inclusive and sustainable communities; strategies to examine and improve global health and social equity; and innovative uses of technology and design in human endeavors and interactions.

Our Majors

Anthropology is an exciting and broadening choice as your major in Miami's liberal arts education. Anthropology Majors are together in many classes during their years at Miami and get to know each other well. Most classes are small enough to allow interaction between student and teacher on an individual basis

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of all aspects of humanity at all times. Majors will explore human evolution, reconstruct societies and civilizations of the past, and analyze the cultures and language of modern peoples, while learning how to make connections, and think outside the box. Anthropological studies range from human genetics to personality and society, the prehistoric past to the present, preliterate tribes to modern industrial urbanites, the customs of ancient civilizations to the beliefs of folk peoples today.

View the Anthropology Bulletin

Anthropology and Emerging Technology in Business + Design (ETBD) Integrated Major

The integrated Anthropology and ETBD program is built to combine anthropological skills with design skills to better research and accomodate customer needs, all within four years.

View the ETBD Major - Applied Concentration

Anthropology

The Anthropology minor is designed to help students pursue their interests in human communication, biology, and culture, in the past and present, without fulfilling the full range of requirements for the major. Anthropology is the ideal complement to a number of majors and pre-professional degrees.

View the Anthropology Minor Bulletin

Archaeology

The Archaeology Minor is ideal for students interested in focusing their studies on the deep and diverse history of humans by analyzing and preserving the material remains of past communities. The transdisciplinary minor combines critical thinking, scientific methods, and experimental research, making it a fitting and unique complement to a variety of student majors.

View the Archaeology Minor Bulletin

Global Health

Miami University's Global Health Minor offers a unique, transdisciplinary learning environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, and ethical engagement to devlop future leaders with the essential tools to understand complex global health problems and participate in developing sustainable solutions.

Visit the Global Health Studies Page

Why Study Anthropology?

With roots in the physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities, anthropology is a quintessential liberal arts discipline. Students acquire research experience, strengthen their writing skills, learn to think about the differences between quantitative and qualitative ways of organizing information, solve problems, and work both independently, and in collaboration with faculty and fellow students. They can then take the knowledge and skills acquired through the degree, and transfer them to numerous careers.

Human-Centered Research

Design and apply appropriate/relevant research strategies and methods to test assumptions, investigate and compare human experiences, behaviors, and cultures directly and indirectly.

Systems and Integrative Thinking

Identify and analyze interrelationships, patterns of change, interconnections, and inequities that underlie sustainable human institutions, relationships, and systems across time.

Ethical Engagements

Build multiple ethical frameworks for professional and career practices appropriate to varying contexts.

Complex Analysis

Investigate and explain how human and nonhuman primate differences and communities are created, communicated, managed, sustained, and fail and thrive within changing contexts.

Effective Collaboration & Communication

Effectively work in teams and communicate research conclusions to diverse audiences and publics using various genres and technologies.

Give to the Anthropology Department

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