Updated 2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog | 20255

Cultural Anthropology cert

The Cultural Anthropology Certificate at BSU is designed to equip students with cultural competency and responsiveness – an ability essential to navigating communities and workplaces in this diverse and globalized world. The curriculum draws on cultural anthropology theory to examine how cultures at the local, regional, national and global level influences our values and beliefs; and in doing so allows students to identify various aspects of diversity and develop critical analytical and interactive skills to be culturally competent and to effectively navigate a diverse society and workplace.  

Fields such as business, education, health care, human services, criminal justice and social services have identified cultural competency as an essential skill set for the ideal employee. This certificate will allow students to develop this skill by learning to analyze perspectives, practices, behaviors and values that are influenced by cultures at various levels. Students will be able to develop effective engagement skills to navigate complex interactions in the workplace, in society and within communities through such curriculum. In addition, this certificate will also provide students with tools of applied anthropology in order to conduct culturally responsive and human centered research.

Required Credits: 18
Required GPA: 2.25

I REQUIRED COURSES

Complete the following courses:

• ANTH 1110 Cultural Anthropology (3 credits)
• SOC 3003 Qualitative Research Methods (3 credits)

II REQUIRED ELECTIVES

Choose two of the following courses (6 credits):

• ANTH 2610 Women around the World (3 credits)
• ANTH 2710 Anthropology of World Religions (3 credits)
• ANTH 3280 Bollywood: Films and Culture of India (3 credits)
• ANTH 3400 Anthropology of Current World Issues - Religion and Nationalism (3 credits)

III OTHER ELECTIVES

Choose two of the following courses (6 credits):

• COMM 3120 Communication in a Diverse Society (3 credits)
• GEOG 1400 World Regional Geography (3 credits)
• INST 1107 Introduction to Turtle Island (3 credits)
• INST 3710 Indigenous Environmental Knowledge: Global Perspective (3 credits)
• INST 3750 Sustainable Communities: Global Indigenous Perspective (3 credits)
• MUS 2117 World Music (2 credits)
• POL 1300 Introduction to International Relations (3 credits)
• PSY 3210 Death and Culture (4 credits)
• SOC 3003 Qualitative Research Methods (3 credits)

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Identify key components of cultures and how they affect social life at the local, regioanl, national and global scale.
2. Create a framework of cultural analysis to examine how elements of cultures and societies interact and influence each other.
3. Develop a comparative perspective to identify key similarities and differences between cultrues.
4. Learn and apply anthropological methods of inquiry and research.
5. Demonstrate proficiency in cultural competency skills.