The anthropology major at Sonoma State University teaches students about many different cultures throughout the world, how they developed, the significance of their differences, and how they change over time. Students develop a set of skills for applying broad, integrative perspectives to themselves and others. Through training in anthropology, students also acquire the ability to formulate theoretical and practical questions regarding human life, collect and organize data on many levels of human biology and behavior, and construct appropriate interpretations and generalizations based on well thought-out procedures. The combination of knowledge about human ways of life and training in analytical skills are crucial to any field dealing with human society and culture. This perspective is invaluable in preparing students for careers in research professions or in a wide range of professional fields, including cultural resources management, environmental planning, teaching, public health administration, business, public relations, law, community development, and international service.

The B.A. in anthropology at Sonoma State University provides a balanced grounding in the theoretical approaches and body of knowledge central to the discipline of anthropology. It is designed to give students a well-rounded background in the four subfields of anthropology (biological, cultural, archaeological, and linguistic anthropology) as well as in the application of anthropological methods. The anthropology program also combines well with majors and minors in many other departments and programs. The minor in anthropology recognizes basic training in anthropology as a complement to a major in other subjects. Faculty advisors in the anthropology department can help students plan a course of study that takes advantage of this multidisciplinary strategy. 

Our department also offers a 30-unit master of arts degree in cultural resources management. Cultural resources management is an applied, professional subfield of anthropology that involves the identification, evaluation, and preservation of cultural resources within legal and planning contexts. The primary objectives of the master’s program is to produce professionals competent in research design and data collection and analysis, as well as the legal mandates of CRM. Program graduates work as historic preservation specialists, environmental planners, and archaeologists for government agencies and as private consultants.