Hi, I was thinking about majoring in Anthropology and double minoring in nutrition and environmental studies. Is this a feasible route for someone who interested about food, agriculture, and society? My in-state universities do not offer related-agriculture or plant sciences majors. Alternatively, I could take the environmental science path instead of Anthropology. The job prospects for Anthropology (from my understanding) is not generally great, but it is something I am interested in pursuing. Any advices or comments that you guys can give me?
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You could go either way depending on your interests and how you want to approach the food issues. Do you have to decide now? You could take classes in both subjects your freshman year and see which appeals and which you’d like to major in and do a minor in the other.
Also, my advice, regardless of major, is to make your summers count in terms of getting career related summer jobs or internships. I firmly believe that a college graduate from any major that has a resume of solid, related work experience, good references, and a pleasant demeanor and good communication skills is very much employable.
1° Are you SURE your instate universities do not offer anything agriculture-related? Most states have a university that’s mandated for that.
2° If your state doesn’t, many states offer an exchange for majors their own state doesn’t offer - New England Exchange (+ Maine for all sorts of States), Academic Common Market for the South, WUE/WICHE for the West and some Midwestern states.
3° WOuld your university offer biological anthropology?
4° ITA that summers should be used wisely for internships.
Sure, it’s feasible. Anthropology is the study of humans and human culture. An alternative would be sociology, which might be somewhat more focused on society depending on the department/university you are in. Environmental studies would be a good major if you are interested in the interaction between people and the environment.
@MYOS1634 yeah unfortunately my in-state universities do not offer anything related to agricultural sciences. I also looked into the WUE programs since I live on the West Coast, but the price is still expensive even after the reduced WUE rate. Since I live in Alaska, the state also offers a couple of automatic scholarships to incentivize h.s. seniors to stay here for college.
My state universites offers both a B.A. and B.S. in Anthropology, but there is not really an emphasis or concentration that they particularly focus on.
@doschicos and @juillet I really appreciate you guys commenting and giving me some tips and advices.
What about Minnesota and the Dakotas? They do offer majors related to agriculture and pretty good scholarships.
I would say you look into the csu (California State University) system in California. I don’t know if all of them offer anthro and plant science or if all of them do wue but csu is a cheap option (in my opinion) and there’s a lot more opportunities (I would assume) in Cali than in Alaska. Perhaps look into cal poly slo and cal poly Pomona because they’re both polytechnic schools.
There are several CSU’s that offer the WUE discount with Cal Poly Pomona being one of them but not Cal Poly SLO.
Here is the CSU’s in the WUE exchange, just know that you will get the reduced tuition for these schools but other than any federal aid you are eligible, you will get no additional financial aid. I would run the net price calculators to see if they are affordable.
I would recommend Cal Poly Pomona, Chico and Sacramento and maybe Humboldt as possible options.
California California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California California State University, Bakersfield
California California State University, Channel Islands
California California State University, Chico
California California State University, Dominguez Hills
California California State University, East Bay
California California State University, Maritime Academy
California California State University, Northridge
California California State University, Sacramento
California California State University, San Bernardino
California California State University, San Marcos
California California State University, Stanislaus
California Humboldt State University
In WUE, there’s UWyoming and there are even bigger scholarships if you have good stats.
And the Dakotas are in WUE too, and they too have bigger scholarships if you have the stats.
RUN THE Npc on all of these…
http://catalog.sdstate.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=30&poid=6691&returnto=3837
http://catalog.sdstate.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=30&poid=6695&returnto=3837
http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/academics/explore-colleges.html#agnaturalresources
https://alec.unl.edu/
https://foodsci.unl.edu/
https://agecon.unl.edu/undergraduate/natural-resource-environmental-economics
http://und.edu/majors/environmental-geoscience.cfm
https://gustavus.edu/env-studies/
https://www.concordiacollege.edu/academics/departments-programs/business/programs-of-study/agribusiness/
https://www.concordiacollege.edu/academics/departments-programs/environmental-studies/
http://catalog.montana.edu/undergraduate/agriculture/sustainable-food-bioenergy-systems/
http://catalog.montana.edu/undergraduate/agriculture/biotechnology/
http://catalog.montana.edu/undergraduate/agriculture/environmental-sciences/
http://catalog.montana.edu/undergraduate/agriculture/natural-resources-rangeland-ecology/
I also recommend the colleges in California that would address your Anthro/Agriculture interest. In addition to the other schools mentioned in other posts, I would recommend: UC Berkeley has a world class Antho dept and Michael Pollan is a professor (of journalism) there. I have attended some of his open lectures, they are wonderful. UC Davis is agricultural based (they are called “The Aggies”) and are on the cutting edge of research in this area. Cal State Sonoma also has excellent Ag and Anthro (especially in Vinticulture).
Although the Alaska universities don’t offer anything specifically food-related, there are lots of options for anthropology and environmental studies. A lot of the agricultural sciences are applications of the natural/physical/earth sciences, so an alternative is to study those and then maybe look for summer programs that will get you closer to the food sciences side.
The University of Alaska at Fairbanks has lots of cool and unusual majors/areas of study that may satisfy your interests. The natural resources management major sounds right up your alley (“The natural resources management degree integrates knowledge in natural science, policy, economics and human values to advance the sustainable management of natural resources and agricultural systems”), and there’s also ethnobotany, which is plant sciences in a human context (“interdisciplinary study of the role of native plants in indigenous cultures. Students will learn about native plants and their uses and ecology in the context of their cultural, social and economic importance by combining scientific and anthropological concepts and methods”).
There’s also a certificate in higher latitude range management that has an agricultural bent to it and several other programs that are related to human services and the environment (Arctic and Northern studies, community health, environmental studies and politics, fisheries, geography, rural human services, sustainable energy). There’s also a culinary arts certificate.
At University of Alaska at Anchorage, you might be interested in the environment and society major, the geosciences major, or the natural sciences major. UAA also offers a minor in nutrition and a BA in dietetics.
Fairbanks sounds like the most affordable option and actually has strengths in this area.