Is Anthropology at UCLA becoming a more popular major?

<p>It seems like everyone is going for anthropology at ucla now, is that true?</p>

<p>Only because people consider it a “gimmie” major; high acceptance rate. Same with Philosophy.</p>

<p>2010 transfer profile:</p>

<p>Anthropology:
473 applied
307 admitted</p>

<p>Philosophy:
386 applied
232 admitted</p>

<p>Looks like the number of undergraduate Anthropology majors grew 15% between 08-09 and 09-10 and 60% between 04-05 and 09-10, definitely outpacing overall university enrollment growth. Further, 68% of Anthropology majors were transfers in 07-08, significantly higher than the university average. So I would say your suspicion is probably correct. </p>

<p>Sources: <a href=“http://www.aim.ucla.edu/mptables/mpform1.asp[/url]”>http://www.aim.ucla.edu/mptables/mpform1.asp&lt;/a&gt; and <a href=“http://www.aim.ucla.edu/aprs/aprsrpt_anthro.txt[/url]”>http://www.aim.ucla.edu/aprs/aprsrpt_anthro.txt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Yeah and it sucks for us people who actually want to pursue a phd/career in Anthropology!!!</p>

<p>I think it’d be interesting to see what the retention rate is of those that enter each major.</p>

<p>Maybe everyone will apply as anthro this year because it’s a gimme major and I’ll have a shot at psych haha</p>

<p>jerks need to stop taking over my major!! people should try harder at their own major :(</p>

<p>Ugh, what the heck?! I love anthropology and people declaring that as their major is just irritating. Why would you want to major in something that you know nothing of or don’t care for? Anthropology could be such a bore if you’re not into it. It’s a lot of reading, research, and caring about other peoples cultures (& leaving it the way that it is!). I think such a major requires the student to appreciate the beauty of diversity and social systems! </p>

<p>Or if you’re into the physical characteristics of anthropology, you better be prepared on how to measure or record the age of a bone, because it ain’t easy.</p>

<p>Bones is a tough subject and requires a lot of memorization and understanding of bone formations, deficiencies, trauma, etc. </p>

<p>Bah!</p>

<p>I dont buy the “gimmie major” theory. Nobody is going to complete all those prereqs unless they have an interest in Anthropology.</p>

<p>@munaluna: well said! people think it’s such an easy major but it’s really not… i think it’s much harder than psychology.</p>

<p>Well personally, I think the draw is that anthropology is such a wide and diverse field that everyone can find some kind of interest in it. I mean simply put it is “the study of people” and the four fields of anthro can accommodate virtually every interest (particularly socio-cultural). Sadly I know of a counselor who when students come in confused they always direct them to anthropology and recommend they take the cultural class on campus, which most people find quite amusing. Couple that with the fact that most colleges only have 3 - 5 prereqs that don’t require hard maths/sciences, and its a formula for what some people think is a simple major. Little do they know…</p>

<p>I AGREE!!!
I truly have a passion for anthro. I have even done field work and I here about everyone applying just to get in and it makes me so angry!
What if someone who doesnt even want it as bad takes my spot?
But then again, this is when we trust the admissions officers to truly do their job. Hopefully our love for the subject shines!
good luck to my fellow anthro hopefuls!!!
fingers crossed!</p>

<p>I have a real interest in anthropology. Its not my major, but I definitely hope to take some upper division anthro classes before I graduate.</p>

<p>What I find interesting is how the Anthropology B.A. program keeps admitting more students almost every year. Even with the budget cuts I think they will still admit just as many, and probably more than last year. So I would say Antho is getting slightly more competitive, but it’s really not drastic. I’ve been on this board for two years and I haven’t seen any Anthro majors who completed all pre-reqs with a GPA of at least 3.2 get rejected, even non-TAP. Most admitted have GPAs 3.2-4.0 with most of the higher GPA’s being from TAP alternative majors.</p>

<p>2010 admitted 64.90% 307 3.57
2009 admitted 70.59% 264 3.48
2008 admitted 69.47% 198 3.48
2007 admitted 68.85% 168 3.50
2006 admitted 67.21% 164 3.48
2005 admitted 74.41% 157 3.50
2004 admitted 65.76% 169 3.49
2003 admitted 70.33% 128 3.46
2002 admitted 63.95% 110 3.55</p>

<p>Damn, if I knew I would have applied to UCLA. I thought my GPA wasn’t good enough. I would have spent time at a great school, studying what I love. Do they have a masters program? Because I’m planning to get a masters in anthro since I want to specialize in a topic as a future academic librarian. </p>

<p>Oh well!</p>