Anthropology
Department
Chair, David Wishart
810 Oldfather Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0368
| (402) 472-3576
Program Chair and Department Vice Chair,
Patricia Draper
826 Oldfather Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0368
| (402) 472-5445 | pdraper1@unl.edu
Undergraduate Adviser, LuAnn Wandsnider
824 Oldfather Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0368
| (402) 472-8873 | lwandsnider1@unl.edu
836 Oldfather Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0368 | (402) 472-6240 | rhames@unl.edu
Anthropology studies the full range of the human experience, from human origins and prehistoric cultures, to traditional and modern societies. While anthropology documents human behavior and cultural patterns around the world, it is also concerned with preserving cultural diversity and improving the lives of peoples who live in today's changing world.
Careers
As an anthropology major you will have career opportunities
in many fields. You might find work with an international business or
with an agency involved with international development. Anthropology training
can lead to careers in inter-cultural education, health care, and human
services. You may do cultural preservation and interpretation in parks
and public lands. Nebraska graduates have obtained jobs with the Bureau
of Land Management, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National
Parks Service, the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Forest Service, the
National Resource Conservation Service, and numerous public and private
museums.
Many anthropology majors choose to continue their formal training. An undergraduate degree in anthropology from UNL will prepare you for advanced specialization and research through graduate study in anthropology. It also forms a good basis for other professional programs in law, medicine, or business.
The Program
Anthropology offers a course of study leading to the
Bachelor of Arts degree. Three basic courses form the core of the program:
human biology, archaeology, and cultural anthropology. Beyond that core,
anthropology majors work with their adviser to design a course of study
that fits their particular interests. Additional courses may be chosen
from a variety of cultural areas, such as Native North and South America,
the Arctic, Africa, and Asia, or from topical courses such as primitive
technology, ethnobotany, hunters and gatherers, religion, and applied
anthropology.
The UNL anthropology program has traditionally emphasized Great Plains archeology and the ethnography of Native Americans of the Great Plains. We also offer in-depth training in cultural resource management, applied anthropology, and evolutionary ecology.
Resources
The Anthropology program is located in Bessey Hall,
with well-equipped classroom, laboratories, and computer facilities. Eleven
faculty and several adjunct professionals offer more than 20 different
courses and many individualized study programs every semester. Students
are encouraged to participate with faculty in research and to conduct
their own research projects.
The anthropology undergraduate adviser will assist with school procedures, course schedules and career planning. In addition, faculty members keep an "open door" policy and welcome the opportunity to meet with students on a personal level.
Our close affiliation with the State Historical Society, the State Museum, the National Park Service Midwest Archeological Center, and other government agencies provides additional opportunities for education through experience in our internship program.
Activities
The Anthro Group is a very active student organization
that hosts both social activities and a regular series of talks by faculty
and visiting anthropologists. Our students also look forward to the annual
Nebraska Academy of Sciences and the Plains Anthropology Conference where
students and faculty from the Great Plains region meet to share their
work and ideas. Highlights of our program also include the summer field
schools in archaeology and cultural anthropology. These programs offer
first-hand experience in the work of anthropology. In recent years, field
schools have been held in Mexico and in a number of locations in Nebraska.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
The anthropology program has two funds to support student
activities, the Champe and Weakly Funds. These are regularly used to help
advanced undergraduates and graduate students complete or present research.
High school seniors who are applying for admission should contact the Office of Admissions regarding application for freshman scholarships and all deadlines. For federal aid, student and parent(s) must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available from your high school guidance counselor.
Current UNL students should contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to make sure they have applied for all appropriate scholarships and financial aid. In addition, the College of Arts and Sciences administers scholarships. For information about these college scholarships, deadlines, and the college's Undergraduate Scholarship Application Form, see the Arts and Sciences Web site at http://ascweb.unl.edu/students/sfa.html. http://ascweb.unl.edu/students/sfa.html.
Graduate Programs
The MA program in the Department of Anthropology offers
a science-based approach to anthropology emphasizing preparation for a
career in anthropology or for entrance into a doctoral program. The Department
features research and internship opportunities in Plains archaeology and
ethnology, historic and cultural resource management archaeology, applied
and development anthropology, and behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary
approaches to human behavior.
Anthropology Doctoral Specialization
It is possible to get an anthropology specialization
in the geography Ph.D. program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
This specialization permits students working in the area of indigenous
peoples to pursue their work through the doctoral level. The study of
indigenous peoples (here defined as original inhabitants of areas that
were subsequently colonized by Europeans or others) is foundational to
the discipline of anthropology, and geography adds spatial and ecological
perspectives to the analysis. In both disciplines, there is interest in
how indigenous peoples lived historically and the ways in which they are
adapting in the contemporary world. In both disciplines there is concern
over indigenous peoples' human rights issues, including land claims.
Geographic techniques, such as landscape analysis, cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensing add new tools to the existing methodologies of anthropology. The potential for the sharing of ideas and cooperation in research among Anthropology and Geography faculty and students on such topics as comparative dispossession of indigenous peoples and land claims is very high. It is anticipated that anthropologists, geographers, and scholars from other disciplines will be drawn from other universities to a Ph.D. program that combines the insights and methodologies of the disciplines of anthropology and geography, resulting in new possibilities for important research.
Students take at least 9 hours of coursework from each of the anthropology and geography course lists for a total of 18 hours. These hours must be earned during the doctoral program. Electives can be selected from other anthropology and geography courses as well as from related courses in other fields. PhD. students' transcripts will represent the specialization within the major as: Major: Geography (Anthropology: Indigenous Peoples).
