Department of Anthropology Overview of Program Changes (BA/BS)

We are simplifying the structure of our majors to cut down on the number of exceptions that are being made to increase student choice in classes; and to give the Department the necessary scheduling flexibility to deal with faculty shortages/turnover. We anticipate that these changes will help to remove barriers to student success and allow students to complete the major in a more efficient manner, without the number of exceptions that we have normally made.

1) Program Graduation Requirements (Top, descriptive section). a) Clarified language relative to the fact that we keep track of the major gpa, not the "cumulative" gpa (removed "cumulative" from sentence; b) Added a sentence clarifying that aside from repeatable courses, courses can only be used in one section of the major (at the request of Curriculum Admin); reads: "Except for repeatable courses, major courses can only be used in one section of the major."

2) "No" Emphasis. Approved by Department Chair and Director of Undergraduate studies in early November, 2025. Traditionally the Dept. would allow the substitution of upper division Anthropology courses for 2000-lvl courses, creating a large number of exceptions. These exceptions were made to remove barriers to student success, as taking 2000-lvl classes is not always in the student's best interest (i.e., they need upper division credits for graduation, rather than lower division credits). Further, the number and offering of our 2000-lvl classes has traditionally been limited and difficult for students to predict, constricting student choice and progress towards the major. To address this, we have simply modified the previous "lower division core" section to include upper division classes, and have re-named the section "Anthropology Electives (2000, 3000, 4000, or 5000-lvl ". This allows students greater flexibility in class choice, allowing them (still) to choose up to two 2000-lvl courses if they desire (facilitating transfer students, freshmen and sophomores), and at the same time allowing students who need upper division credits the ability to choose those. The remaining elective courses (six) have been moved to a section titled: "Anthropology Upper Division Electives."

Have tried to clarify the "upper division electives" section with the following in "rule notes" for this section: This section is designed to allow students to choose a minimum of 18 Anthropology credits from upper division Anthropology courses (3002-5999), and up to six credits from SBS 4890.”

3) Cultural Emphasis. Changes approved by Anthropology Curriculum Committee on October 30, 2025. a) Combined the previous "Upper Division Topical Area Courses," "Upper Division Geographical Area Courses," and required "5000-lvl" Cultural courses (from the (old) “Advanced Cultural Anthropology Courses” into one section, now titled: "Upper Division Cultural Anthropology Electives." b) Removed the 5000-lvl course requirement in the (old) "Advanced Cultural Anthropology Courses," as those 5000-lvl courses (ANTH 5187, 5234, 5255, 5433, 5461, and 5500) have been added to the (new) "Upper Division Cultural Anthropology Electives" section; c) Changed the title of the (old) "Advanced Cultural Anthropology Courses" to: "Cultural Anthropology Core Classes."

Justification: The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences has requested that Departments College-wide restructure their major emphases to reduce the number of exceptions that are currently being made. The newly-proposed streamlining of the Cultural Emphasis will not only substantially reduce the number of exceptions being made, but will also give students greater class choices when scheduling (reducing barriers to student success/graduation). The streamlining is also expected to give the Department greater flexibility to compensate for loss of faculty and faculty teaching buy-outs and course reductions.

4) Health Emphasis. Changes approved by Anthropology Curriculum Committee on Oct. 30, 2025. a) Combined (old) "Topical Requirements" section with (old) "HE Topical Electives" section in a new section titled: "Health Emphasis Electives." New "Health Emphasis Electives" section now reads: "18 credits minimum, at least one class must be from the 5000-lvl." b) Removed ANTH 5211 Native American Biology as the course is being retired. c) Added ANTH 2225 Genes and Society at the request of the Department of Anthropology Curriculum Committee. d) Removed ANTH 1000 as class is inactive.

Justification: The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences has requested that Departments College-wide restructure their major emphases to reduce the number of exceptions that are currently being made. The newly-proposed streamlining of the Health Emphasis will not only substantially reduce the number of exceptions being made, but will also give students greater class choices when scheduling (reducing barriers to student success/graduation). The streamlining is also expected to give the Department greater flexibility to compensate for loss of faculty and faculty teaching buy-outs and course reductions.

5) Biological Emphasis. Changes approved by Department of Anthropology Curriculum Committee on October 30, 2025. a) Combined the (old) "Biological Anthropology Lower Division Core" section and the (old) "Biological Anthropology Upper Division Core" section and with the (old) "Biological Anthropology Upper Division Electives" section. This new section has been re-titled to: "Biological Anthropology Electives" and now reads: "Choose eight classes with a minimum of 24 credits; at least one class must be from the 5000-lvl." b) Removed ANTH 5211 Native American Biology as the course is being retired.

Justification: The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences has requested that Departments College-wide restructure their major emphases to reduce the number of exceptions that are currently being made. The newly-proposed streamlining of the Biological Anthropology Emphasis will not only substantially reduce the number of exceptions being made, but will also give students greater class choices when scheduling (reducing barriers to student success/graduation). The streamlining is also expected to give the Department greater flexibility to compensate for loss of faculty and faculty teaching buy-outs and course reductions.

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