Anthropology

Overview

Anthropology examines the diversity of human experience

Anthropology is an academic discipline that operates at the crossroads of the physical sciences, social sciences and humanities to examine the diversity of human experience across culture and time.

Anthropologists in the department study everything from human evolution to pre-history to life in a globalizing world. Because of this breadth of focus, anthropology is highly relevant to understanding and living in a rapidly changing world.

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Reno is home to an active community of scholars including specialists in archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics and biological anthropology. We offer a wide range of courses in each of these sub-disciplines and many research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. The department offers bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degrees. Students have opportunities for training in a variety of laboratories and research programs.

The department takes a four-field approach to understand humans and emphasizes collaborative research that cross-cuts sub-fields.

Students pursuing the Anthropology program of the University of Nevada, Reno must satisfy all graduate school requirements. A thesis is required. Optional tracks for the thesis include prehistoric/historical archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology or physical/biological anthropology.

Careers

Graduates in the field of anthropology have a variety of career options. This includes teachers, writers, researchers and museum curators, or they may choose to work in private industry, government, health care, law, foreign service, economics, law enforcement, social development, or heritage preservation. A bachelor's degree in anthropology or advanced postgraduate master's or doctoral degree provide knowledge and experience useful for many different career choices.

Some anthropologists work for large multinational corporations, where they specialize in understanding the different ways in which people around the world do their business. Or they may work in developing countries as consultants to government agencies, helping people and nations adapt to changing economic and social conditions. Anthropologists also may work as professional archeologists, who perform surveys and excavations on sites affected by erosion or construction activities. Many anthropologists work as university and community college teachers and researchers.