<p>hi, i originally posted this in the transfer student thread and it was suggested that i post it here</p>
<p>i attend a top 25 lac and im an anthropology major. My interest is mostly in biological anthro and i want to go on to get a phd. However, the anthro department at my school is almost entirely focused on cultural anthro with one linguistic anthro class thrown in. its like all disciplines of anthro beside cultural are completely ignored. I was looking at the course selection list for the university of michigan today and i was absolutley stunned by the breadth of anthro classes they offer. they offer a wide variety of biological anthro, linguistic anthro, and archaeology classes in addition to cultural anthro, and they even offer concentrations within the major. </p>
<p>If i wanted to go on to get a phd in biological anthro, or possibly even linustic anthro, would my degree put me at a disadvantage due to it being cultural anthro focused despite the fact the the degree is called simply a ba in anthro?</p>
<p>why am i at this expensive private school if i have so many more interest class options at a public school? i feel stupid. ive heard top lacs are really good feeders to phd programs, but i just dont get why because there curriculum just seems so limited.</p>
<p>It may hurt you, especially if you can’t get any related research experience (VERY important) or course work. Have you looked for courses and research opportunities available in related departments that could potentially tie into bio anthro?</p>
<p>Although LACs are good feeders to PhD programs, that doesn’t mean that your LAC is a good feeder into biological anthropology programs. Am I correct that biological anthropology is also called evolutionary anthropology? Are you interested in non-human primates or archaeology?</p>
<p>This is what you can do: 1. look at other departments within your college to see whether you can supplement your major courses with others that might give you a better breadth and 2. Find a research opportunity over the summer that will give you experience. Courses might include evolutionary biology, animal behavior, anatomy, genetics – whatever you feel will give you the right background.</p>
<p>Does your LAC have any cross-registeration with another school nearby that you can expand your course selection? If there is a major university nearby and you have a way of getting there, you MIGHT be able to talk your LAC into accepting a few credits for your major in order to pursue your interest and making sure that bio antho is what you’re interested in. Grad students change focus all the time as their research takes them into new directions… and guessing from your previous posts, you’re just a freshman.</p>
<p>I thought about PhD as a freshman but mainly more concerned about getting the courses that I want. My first LAC was too heavy on US history and I wanted more European history. i switched to another LAC that had more balanced history department. Guess what? I ended up having a balanced coursework but with one extra US history over all. I’m in grad school now and am doing US history but now thinking of switching back to European history or looking at Latin America… not because I’m not focused about geography but MORE to do with my subject matter’s migration patterns.</p>
<p>Just keep that in mind.</p>