Undergraduate: Doing the Major

Students are eligible to declare if they have two of the three prerequisite courses completed or in progress, and have a 2.0 GPA in the coursework for the major.

It is recommended that you officially declare the major as soon as you are eligible to do so, and by no later than the beginning of your Junior year. Transfer students are expected to declare during their first semester at UC Berkeley.

Whenever possible, declare by no later than the 4th week of a given semester so your status is updated in time for Tele-BEARS as declared majors have a distinct advantage enrolling in upper division Anthropology courses.

To officially declare the major, complete the steps below and meet with the Undergraduate Adviser in 209 Kroeber during office hours (Monday-Friday 9-12; 1-3:30).
1. Application and Petition to Declare Major. Fill out this paperwork completely.
2. Unofficial Transcripts. If you completed any of the prerequisites at an institution other than UCB, you must submit photocopies of transcripts showing the courses you took and the grades you earned. (Continuing Berkeley students may request copies of their transfer transcripts from the Undergraduate Admissions Office in 110 Sproul.)

Lower Division Pre-requisites (3 total)

Anthro 1: Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Anthro 2 or 2AC: Introduction to Archaeology
Anthro 3 or 3AC: Introduction to Social Cultural Anthropology
Note: The three lower division pre-requisites may be taken in any order.

Upper Division (9 total)

Anthro 114: History of Anthropological Thought
Biological Core: Chose from Anthropology courses numbered 100-112, 127A
Archaeology Core: Choose from Anthropology courses numbered 121-136H, 172AC
Social/Cultural Core: Chose from Anthropology courses numbered 115-119, 138-189A
Five Anthropology Electives: Choose five (5) from Anthropology courses numbered 100-196

The 9 required upper division courses listed above must include at least one Area course and one Method course.
AREA courses: 121-125, 128A, 170-188, 189A
METHOD courses: C100, C103, 121C, 127A, 128M, 131,132, 132A, 134, 134A, 135A, 135B, 136A-H, 138B, 139, 169A, 169B

•Courses taken to satisfy the Area and Method requriement also (simultaneously) satisfy one of the 9 required courses. For example, taking Anthropology 189A will satisfy both the Area requirement and one of the 5 electives; Anthropology 132A would satisfy both the Method and the Archaeology Core.

•Students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. in Anthropology should consider concentrating their five elective requirements in a chosen subdiscipline. (This concentration would not be noted on the transcript or diploma.) Faculty Advisers are available to meet with students who have questions on how best to prepare for graduate work in Anthropology. See Mary Howell in 209 Kroeber for a referral to one of the faculty undergraduate advisers.

•All courses taken to satisfy the major requirements must be taken on a letter-graded basis.

•A minimum grade point average of 2.0 must be maintained in the lower and upper division Anthropology courses.

Completing the Major

•Lower division courses may be completed in any order. Start with the course that seems most interesting to you.
NOTE: Anthropology 1 is offered once a year (either Fall or Spring) and during summer. Anthropology 2 and 3 are offered during both Fall and Spring of each year, and usually during the summer.

•Anthro 114 is only offered in Spring, and must be taken by no later than the spring of junior year.

•Method should be taken during the junior year.

Transfer Courses.A maximum of four courses taken at other institutions (including those of the Education Abroad Program of the University of California) may be used to meet upper-division major requirements. Courses will be accepted only when there is evidence that they were taught at the academic level of a UC Berkeley Anthropology class. Submit a Course Substitution petition and provide a detailed syllabus for each class you'd like evaluated. Please note that a course description alone is never sufficient for evaluation-- a syllabus is always required for a course evaluation.

Study Abroad. Students may fulfill up to four upper-division major requirements with courses taken on a study abroad. Students considering study abroad should carefully read Advice for Anthropology Majors Considering EAP. A minimum of 5 upper division requirements must be completed in the Anthropology Department at Berkeley.

Declaring the Major