You are here: Â鶹´«Ã½ College of Arts & Sciences Anthropology BA in Anthropology

Anthropology Undergraduate Studies

Smiling students standing in front of Spirits of the Past: Archaeology of a Ghost Town, an exhibit about Winnipeg Junction displayed at the AU library

Why anthropology—and why here?

DC has a wealth of resources for academic research and internships in a wide variety of locales where anthropologists work—from government to non-profits to corporations—where students can find internships in areas relevant to the study of anthropology, including policy studies, health care and environmental research, historic preservation, community development, and international development.

Faculty research projects students could join include ongoing work inÌý

  • Artifact & human remains repatriation
  • Artifact analysis
  • Migrant worker health
  • Security and violence in East Africa
  • Archival analysis
  • Urban ethnography

Do these kinds of questions and courses interest you? AU student doing archaeology fieldwork.

  • ANTH-150 Anthropology of Life in the United States: Who speaks for America? Is United States a nation-state, an empire, and what difference does? Examine anthropological debates around civil rights, identity formation, racialization, and US community development.
  • ANTH-334 Environmental Justice: How do social inequalities and political dynamics affect destruction of resources, siting of dangerous facilities, dumping of toxic wastes, and technological development? Case studies from North America, Latin America, Africa, the Arctic, Pacific, and Caribbean examine questions about history, social relations, power, connections among the world’s societies, and competing values.
  • ANTH-365 Social Ecology of Food: What factors shape food production, access, and waste? Examine theory and ethnography at the intersections of food and ecology.
  • ANTH 422 Neoliberation & Health (Anthropology of Global Health): Gain an understanding of the history of global health, the critiques of major international health agencies, and the political economy of social inequalities in context of contemporary issues.

Recent senior capstones include:

  • The Biography of a Point: The Lifeways of Pre-Contact Indigenous Peoples in the Great Dismal Swamp
  • Navigating Uncertainty: A Case Study on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Small Black Businesses in Dallas, Texas (2020-2022)
  • Music, Class, and the Vietnam War: How did music affect societies’ perceptions of the Vietnam War and those who fought in it?
  • Witch Talk: Neopagan Knowledge Circulation on TikTok
  • Policing Is Propaganda:
    Social Media Representation of Community Policing in Washington, DC
  • Archival Care: The Power of Generational Community Knowledge Building, A Case Study of the Rainbow History Project
    Ìý

Careers & Internships

The DC areaÌýis one of the highest paying regions in America for anthropologists, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and has among the highest nationwide concentrations of available jobs.

A selection of recent employersÌýfor AU anthropology undergraduates includes

  • Â鶹´«Ã½ Museum of Natural History
  • Federal Defenders of New York
  • Prince George's County Public Schools
  • National Gallery of Art
  • National Museum of Natural History
  • Smithsonian Institution


Typical recent job titles include

  • Archivist, Curator, or Museum Worker
  • Nonprofit Program Manager
  • Survey Researcher
  • Teacher
  • Social Worker
  • User Experience or Market Researcher
  • Policy Analyst
  • Consultant
  • Lab Assistant/Coordinator
  • Public/Global Health Coordinator


Internships

DC's plethora of NGOs, museums, and other research and cultural institutions, along with our alumni and faculty networks help students land internships—for 87% of recent students—that often lead to post-graduation employment. Recent students have interned at sites such as

  • Art Enables Gallery and Studio
  • Covid-19 College Cohort Study
  • DC Preservation League
  • Fidelity Investments
  • Institute for Public Accuracy
  • Institute on Disability & Public Policy
  • Iona Senior Services
  • Lost Towns Project
  • Morris County Park Commission
  • National Park Service
  • Peabody Essex Museum
  • Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • Strawbale Studio
  • United Mission for Relief & Development
  • Urban Institute
  • Washington English Center


See more about AU anthropology alumni career information.