Minors located in the Department of Anthropology are not available to Anthropology majors. Certificates located in the Department of Anthropology are available to all majors, including Anthropology. Anthropology majors in a certificate and non-majors with a minor and certificate declared should pay close attention to the course overlap limits on each program.
Minors
Anthropological Archaeology Minor
The Anthropological Archaeology minor offers students an opportunity to contextualize the modern world through the recent and more distant past. The minor emphasizes both the methods by which archaeologists study the past and areas of geographic and topical interest. The minor is ideal for students interested in understanding the long-term processes underlying modern global phenomena such as urban development, increasing inequality, the adoption of agriculture, foodways, and human adaptation to climate change.
Anthropology Minor
The anthropology minor develops a student’s holistic understanding of the past and present human condition.
Anthropology of Pop Culture Minor
A notable symptom of today’s fast-paced and technologically-driven world is an obsessive enthusiasm for areas of contemporary life variously rooted in film, television, sports, food, fashion, literature, video games, the Internet, and other domains of modern popular culture. The mass appeal of these entertainment genres, products, and pursuits often ignites and sustains enduring grassroots followings and exuberant global fandoms, allowing for the expression of group and individual identity in both material and abstract ways. Studying these phenomena benefits from anthropological perspectives given the discipline’s comparative, holistic, and granular approach. Students enrolled in this minor will gain a deeper understanding of core anthropological concepts/practices and what it means to be human by considering a range of topics that push beyond the discipline’s traditional scope.
Biological Anthropology Minor
The Biological Anthropology minor develops an understanding of anthropological approaches to the study of the human body from modern and/or archaeological contexts. This minor is particularly appropriate for students interested in human biology, forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, or area studies in archaeology.
Cultural Anthropology Minor
The Cultural Anthropology minor allows students to explore the diversity of cultures in a variety of non-Western and Western contexts, both historically and in the present. Students examine how ideas about cultures have evolved over time and how anthropology has researched, analyzed, and understood cultural diversity and change. Courses include topics of colonialism, Westernization and culture change, globalization, migration and refugees, poverty, war and violence, race, gender and sexuality, media and popular culture, and medical anthropology.
Medical Anthropology Minor
The Medical Anthropology minor develops students’ understanding of health from the perspective of human cultural and biological diversity. Current trends in education and employment show a growing need for medical anthropology knowledge and expertise in a variety of national and international career directions. This minor therefore prepares students for future graduate studies and work in health professions, including medicine, global health, nursing, and social work.
Multicultural Anthropology Minor
In an increasingly connected world, a foundation in multicultural studies is more important than ever. This minor allows students to develop a broad and deep understanding of the diversity and interconnectedness of societies around the world in the past and present. Students will be exposed to various cultures around the world in comparative and specialist courses from the perspectives of cultural and archaeological anthropology, including health, environment, governance, policy, and more.
Native American Studies Minor
The American Indian Studies minor will enhance a student’s understanding and appreciation of the history and culture of the North American Indians. The minor is especially appropriate for UCF undergraduates not majoring in Anthropology.
Certificates
Anthropology of Global Health Certificate
The Anthropology of Global Health certificate offers students the opportunity to pursue the rapidly growing field of global health from an anthropological perspective, which examines global health problems by situating them in local contexts. Global health issues such as refugee health, global mental health, and emergent “superbugs” (e.g., Ebola, Zika), are of increasing concern and interest. Health is also the focus of the work of numerous public, private, non-governmental and non-profit organizations in the U.S. and abroad. This certificate allows UCF students interested in health to pursue this educational focus, regardless of their major.
Crime Scene Investigation Certificate
The certificate program is a means of organizing information required to perform basic crime scene investigations. It provides theoretical and practical information used to assess crime scenes, the technology available and the procedures to employ in order to produce a forensically valuable product.
*This certificate is not administered by the Department of Anthropology.
Geographic Information Systems Certificate
GIS is an essential research tool for a wide range of disciplines because it allows researchers to work with different kinds of information in a spatial context. The GIS certificate program focuses on developing students’ basic understanding and specific applications of GIS in a variety of contexts.
*This certificate is not administered by the Department of Anthropology.
Human Biology Certificate
The Human Biology certificate blends biological anthropology with a foundation in anatomy and the biological sciences. The certificate is especially appropriate for anthropology, biology, and biomedical sciences students seeking an enhanced and interdisciplinary foundation in human biology.
Native American Studies Certificate
This certificate provides students with a broad and diverse background in the archaeology, history and culture of Native American peoples throughout North America, Central America and South America. While this certificate has a primary focus in Anthropology, course work in other departments provides a multidisciplinary approach to the study of native peoples of the Americas. This certificate is appropriate for all UCF undergraduates and it provides an alternative to students majoring in Anthropology who wish to focus on Native American Studies, but who are precluded from completing the American Indian Studies Minor.