Anthropology faculty and staff are here to answer any questions you have about our programs, procedures and general university information. Many of our common questions from students are addressed in the following information. We encourage you to contact us at anthro@ucf.edu if you have additional questions.
Undergraduate Advising Contacts
Dr. Sandra Wheeler, department undergraduate coordinator/advisor
Dr. Amanda Groff, department online undergraduate coordinator/advisor
Matthew Darby, department administrative assistant lll
College of Sciences Academic Services (COSAS), college-level advisors
Further details on who to contact for your specific situation can be found under Undergraduate Advising Contacts.
Department Policies and Procedures
A quick overview of department policies and procedures is available here.
Anthropology Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements
Students should review the Undergraduate Catalog for their requirement year. Your requirement year can be found at the top of your degree audit for the major.
The department has developed a plan of study form for the General & Online track as well as the Methods & Practice track to assist students in schedule planning and meeting all anthropology requirements. There are numerous possible plans of study depending on a student’s specific situation. See the example plan for an idea of a possible plan of study.
Students may reference the course descriptions in the Undergraduate Catalog to view when courses are normally taught throughout the academic year. Course offerings should be verified on the course schedule or with the Undergraduate Coordinator, Dr. Sandra Wheeler.
Foreign Language Requirement
All students at UCF earning a B.A. degree must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to one year (2 semesters) of college-level instruction. The Department of Anthropology will also accept American Sign Language to meet this requirement. This requirement does not apply to students seeking a second baccalaureate degree. Additional details regarding foreign language requirement policies can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.
What can I do with this Major?
Students with a degree in anthropology are sufficiently prepared to pursue an advanced degree in the field, seek intercultural and international employment and pursue a medical degree. Additional information on potential careers is coming soon!
Changing Your Major/Minor
The UCF Registrar’s Office provides instructions on how to declare, change or add a major or minor to your records. This is an electronic process completed through your myUCF account. Student groups including student athletes, undergraduate studies majors and students in the UCF Online Programs must complete a paper form.
Changing Your Catalog Year
The UCF Registrar’s Office provides instructions on how to change your catalog year. Students should read the policy and meet with their advisor(s) to ensure the change will not adversely impact their time to degree completion.
Course Overrides
The department provides overrides on a case-by-case basis in accordance with college policies. Final approval for the override is dependent on room occupancy limits, available computers, if there are other sections offered and a student’s individual academic record. Students should contact the instructor of the course via email to obtain written permission for the override. Provided the instructor approves the request, the student will send the approval to the department to complete an override registration form. Students may pursue an override for the following reasons:
- Course is full and does not have a wait list*
- Prerequisites are not met
- Time conflict with another course
- Graduate level course
- Excessive hours
*Courses with an active wait list are not available for overrides per college policy. Students may pursue an override for the wait list course on add-day of the semester.
Enrolling in Graduate Level Courses
Undergraduate students are allowed to enroll in graduate level courses under specific circumstances. This option is only available to seniors whose GPA is 3.0 or better, their course load for that semester does not exceed 12 credit hours (including the graduate course), and they are within 9 credit hours of graduation. Careful consideration should be made before taking a graduate course and interested students should speak with the instructor of the class to obtain their approval. The Chair of the department can make exceptions to these requirements, but only on a case-by-case basis. The tuition for the graduate level course will be based on graduate tuition fees, not undergraduate fees.
Intent to Graduate
Students should file their intent to graduate in the term preceding the one in which they wish to graduate. The intent is filed online through myUCF by accessing Student Self Service, Student Center, and choosing Intent to Graduate: Apply from the drop down box under academics. Additional information your Intent to Graduate and the Graduation Application Deadline can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.
Anthropology Exit Exam and Survey
Students must take the exit exam and survey in order to graduate with a BA in Anthropology. All students with an Intent to Graduate on file for the current semester will be contacted mid-semester through their student email account with instructions on how to register for and complete the exam and survey. The exam is designed to assess whether students have learned important concepts relevant to a degree in Anthropology and draws on material that is covered in required courses from all three subdisciplines. The Anthropology Department uses student scores to evaluate how effectively different topics are being taught to students. Thus an individual’s score will not affect their ability to graduate. That said, failure to take the exit exam and survey will prevent graduation.
Requesting Letters of Recommendation
Students should contact professors to discuss their request several weeks prior to the deadline/due date for the letter. We recommend the students provide the following information, but should verify these are the only items required by the faculty member.
- Cover page/letter
- Academic information summary page that includes the student’s GPA (overall, major, and upper level), list of all anthropology courses completed with grades, list of all anthropology courses completed including grades with the professor that is writing the letter and GRE scores if available.
- A copy of the student’s degree audit or unofficial transcript.
- A summary page of the graduate programs that the student is applying for in ranked order of school preference that includes the name of the school, degree and specialization (i.e. M.A. in Anthropology with specialization in biological anthropology), faculty member interested in working with at the school, facilities and resources of the school and program, any instructions or forms required by the university in regards to letters of recommendation, and deadlines for receiving letters of recommendation.
- Personal statement or letter of intent to be submitted to each graduate program.
- Sample writing if required by the faculty member writing the letter of recommendation.