Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Anthropology

Contact Information

Website: arts.ucalgary.ca/anthropology-archaeology

For Program Advice

Students should consult an undergraduate program advisor in the Arts Students’ Centre for information and advice on their overall program requirements. Advising contact information can be found online: arts.ucalgary.ca/advising.

Introduction

The Department of Anthropology and Archaeology offers instruction in African Studies, Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, and Global Development Studies.

The Department of Anthropology and Archaeology takes a comparative, cross-cultural, and cross-species perspective to understand human beings. Anthropologists and archaeologists consider how humans evolved, how they shape - and are shaped by - their culture and seek to understand the records they have left behind. Students are encouraged to take one of the field schools to gain hands-on experience.

Students wishing to emphasize the social sciences and humanities in their Anthropology or Archaeology program should register for the BA degree. Those wishing to emphasize the natural and biological sciences should register for the BSc degree. It is recommended that first-year students in any of these programs register in Anthropology 201, 203, and Archaeology 201.

The BSc in Anthropology (also known as biological anthropology) includes courses in paleoanthropology and bioanthropology, which investigate the origins of our species, variation, and adaptation in modern human populations, and the behaviour and ecology of other primate species. Laboratory-based courses examine casts of fossils from the earliest primates through to modern humans, and also human and primate genetics.