<p>I'm a community college student (De Anza) aiming to transfer to a UC in Anthropology. University of California Santa Cruz has a combined Earth Science and Anthropology Bachelor's of Science program. There are two other UCs offering BS programs in Anthropology, UC Davis and UCLA, and they are general Anthropology programs. The other Anthropology programs at the UCs are BAs.</p>
<p>My eventual goal is to obtain a doctorate and work in either field research or academia. I want to work in paleoanthropology, paleontology, or cultural anthropology (I'm choosing a focus when I've finished my basic prerequisites and have something of an idea what I like most). Based on this goal, I'm wondering if a combined Earth Science and Anthropology program is worth my time, or whether I should go for a general anthropology program. I'm also wondering if it matters whether I get a Bachelors of Science or a Bachelors of Art.</p>
<p>We can’t really judge if its “worth your time” or not, only you can answer that question… If you feel it is your true calling, do it. If you intend on getting a doctorate, look at the core curriculum of each the BS and BA degrees to see which they provide for classes doctorate programs look for. Often times a BS degree is more suited for graduate work but that is not always the case.</p>
<p>Be aware of the fact that funding for anthropology is at basically an all time low. It’s very hard for new entrants into the field to find anything resembling real work, short of teaching. All of my anthropology professors in the past have basically told us that majoring in anthropology is a bad idea anymore. If you’re doing it, it has to be out of pure passion, and with the realization in mind that you likely won’t ever get the type of work that you’re probably dreaming about.</p>
<p>Before I declared myself as a physics major, I was considering majoring in anthropology. But, many people in the field actually talked me out of it.</p>
<p>Yea, my professor talked me back into into my original major plan.</p>
<p>It’s really a shame that the funding for anthropological studies have been cut so drastically. There’s significantly less student interest in it these days too, sadly. It’s an incredibly fascinating field. Like I said, for a while it was a toss up over whether I wanted to major in anthro or physics. There are times that I still wanna drop my physics major and switch to anthro. I do genuinely love physics though, so that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. It’s a field that I’ll always be interested in though for sure.</p>
<p>Yes, there is still obviously funding to be had. But, it’s significantly more limited today than it used to be. It really can’t be denied that the funding for anthropological studies, generally speaking, have dried up in a big way. There’s nowhere near as much interest in it as there used to be. The branches of anthropology that are still getting decent amounts of funding tend to be a lot more specific. </p>
<p>Regardless, that does sound like a really cool major combination.</p>