Anthropology + Sociology
Our unique Anthropology + Sociology program combines the ideas and methods of these two social sciences into an integrated study of social change, diversity and cultural awareness, both locally and globally. You’ll build strong hands-on research skills to prepare you for a career in community and social service, for-profit business, or an advanced degree in law, education, social work or public policy.
Degree Requirements
Program Requirements
Majors pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology + Sociology must satisfy the University Core Curriculum requirements including the mathematics requirement (
, is recommended); the College speech requirement,
; the courses listed below; and a sufficient number of electives to total 120 credits.
Required Courses
Foundation Courses
The five courses listed below are required of all majors:
- ANSOC 100 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
- ANSOC 105 - Introduction to Sociology
- ANSOC 300 - Qualitative Methods
- ANSOC 400 - Senior Seminar
Elective Requirements
Eight additional Anthropology and Sociology courses, at least three of these courses must be at the 300 level or above.
Program Requirements
Required Courses
- ANSOC 100 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
- ANSOC 105 - Introduction to Sociology
- And four additional ANSOC courses, at least two of these courses must be at the 300 level or above
Hands-On Research
During your senior year, you'll have the opportunity to apply your qualitative research skills through an anthropological and sociological lens. In the capstone course, ANSOC 400: Senior Seminar, students engage in original research of their choosing. You'll develop your own research question, research protocol, conduct the research, and then analyze and present your findings at a professional academic conference and to your peers and faculty members at the university.
These are some examples of students' research:
Kailey DeFina '23
“Questioning the Girl in Girl Scouts: How Policies Surrounding Gender and Sexuality Affect the Feeling of Belonging in a Single-Sex Organization”
Thesis with Distinction
Tobias Pydych '23
“The Working Man, His Masculinity, and The Performance of Foodwork”
Thesis with Distinction
Jeraldyn Ramirez '23
“Law and the Border: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Understanding the Complexities of the Immigration System”’
Thesis with Distinction
Rachel Barrows '22
"Tweeting and Shit Like That: An Intersectional Approach to Attitudes and Representation of Activism"
Thesis with Distinction
Racquelle Blanchette '22
"I Didn't Choose The Mug Life, The Mug Life Chose Me: Aesthetic and Identity Performance In Rhode Island Coffee Shops"
Thesis With Distinction
Mikala Nims '21
"A Familiar Dance: Inside The Past and Present Complexities in the Eurocentric Narratives of Ballet and Modern Dance"
Thesis With Distinction
Elizabeth West '20
"Lavender Lens: Understanding The Queer Community Through Anthropology 1990-2020"
Thesis With Distinction
AnnaMarie Bakovic '19
A War on Two Fronts: The Battle of Being Both a Second-Generation Immigrant and First-Generation College Students
Jonica Degrasse '19
Refugee Narratives: Reaching the Dream Together
Preparing for Successful Careers
We prepare our students for successful careers throughout your years in the program, with a particularly strong focus in your senior year. The A+S department partners with the RWU Center for Career & Professional Development to help each student develop personal interviewing, résumé-building and networking skills, and to host informal coffee hours, where students can meet with career advisors and get advice on preparing for the job search and interviews. In the spring, we present an alumni panel geared specifically at addressing our current undergraduates' questions about what they can do with a degree in anthropology and sociology. In addition to making our students career-ready, we also provide students with opportunities to attend and present at professional conferences, where students share their research with experts in the field and make connections that open doors to job opportunities.
Our Thriving Alumni
Our major, minor and core concentrators find themselves in all different career fields. However, many draw on the same skills they studied and learned in their anthropology + sociology courses. They believe their courses made them more culturally sensitive, and this translated into the work they do and their interactions with colleagues. Our alumni say these are some of the qualities and skills that the Anthropology + Sociology program provided them:
- By understanding people of a variety of values, principles, commitments, and backgrounds, they effectively work with and for people and institutions.
- Instilling attentiveness to and understanding of group dynamics.
- The ability to understand the different lenses through which people engage the world.
- The Anthropology + Sociology program's focus on hands-on projects involving collaboration, data collection and analysis translated directly into understanding the social interactions of the workplace.
Celebrating Student Excellence
Congratulations to our 2022 award winners for best new students Alexis Wozdusiewicz, Jeraldyn Ramirez, and Rachel Barrows.
These students represent an exceptional new cohort of Anthropology + Sociology students . They are wonderful in class, high-performing academically, and express the values of the department.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Integration of anthropology and sociology
- “Hands‐on” applied learning
- Global competency
- Value of service
- Original research
- Critical engagement, requiring thoughtful and questioning participation in learning