Anthropology
Associate in Arts for Transfer School of Arts and Social Sciences · Merced College · 2026-2027 Catalog
School of Arts and Social Sciences
Anthropology is the study of humankind and what makes us human. With a focus on culture, anthropologists seek to comprehend the incredible variety of human thought and experience throughout the globe. The Anthropology curriculum is designed to meet the lower division requirements of most universities offering a major in Anthropology. Students that complete an AA-T in Anthropology from Merced College will be prepared for upper division course work in Anthropology at a California State University or University of California. The Anthropology program integrates concepts and information from various disciplines to provide a holistic understanding of mankind through the fields of Biological Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology and Archaeology. Upon completion, students with an AA-T in Anthropology will be eligible to transfer with junior standing into an equivalent major within the California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) system.
Program Student Learning Outcomes:
A. Examine the goals of the discipline of anthropology.
B. Evaluate the methods used in the discipline of anthropology.
C. Demonstrate an understanding of cultural diversity.
For an Associate in Arts in Anthropology for Transfer (AA-T), students must complete the following:
60 semester CSU-transferable units.
the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) pattern.
a minimum of 18 semester in the major or area of emphasis as determined by the community college district.
obtainment of a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0.
earn a grade of C (or P) for each course in the major.
Note: Students are not required to complete any additional local graduation requirements for the AA-T (e.g., PE and Computer and Information Literacy courses).
Program Requirements:
Program Core: (19-21 Units)
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core (10 units) | ||
| ANTH-C1000 | Introduction to Biological Anthropology with Lab | 4 |
| ANTH-02 | Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| ARCH-01 | Introduction to Archaeology | 3 |
| List A: Select 3 units | ||
| ANTH-10 | Southeast Asian Culture: Hmong | 3 |
| ANTH-12 | Ancient Civilizations of Mexico and Central America | 3 |
| STAT-C1000 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 |
| orSTAT-C1000E | Introduction to Statistics | 4 |
| PSYC-05 | Introduction to Statistics in Psychology | 3 |
| List B: Select 6 units | 6 | |
| Any courses not selected from List A | ||
| ARCH-01L | Field Archaeology | 1 |
| GEOG-02 | World Geography | 3 |
| GEOG-12 | Introduction to Human Geography | 3 |
| ETHN-15 | Ethnicity and Culture | 3 |
| HUM-15 | Comparative Cultures | 3 |
| HIST-07 | History of Southeast Asia | 3 |
| HIST-09A | Introduction to East Asian Civilization: China | 3 |
| HIST-09B | Introduction to East Asian Civilization: Japan | 3 |
| HIST-10 | History of Middle East | 3 |
| PHIL-15 | Comparative Religions | 3 |
| SOCI-C1000 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI-04 | Introduction to Gender | 3 |
| SOCI-05 | Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality | 3 |
| orETHN-05 | Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality | 3 |
| List C: Select 2-4 units | 2-4 | |
| Any courses not selected from List A or List B (2-4) | ||
| GEOL-01 | Physical Geology | 4 |
| GEOL-03 | Earth Science | 4 |
| GEOG-20 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems and Techniques with Lab | 2 |
| Total Units toward the Major | 21-23 | |
Total Units that may be double counted: (10-22 units)
General Education (Cal-GETC ) Units: (34 Units)
Elective (CSU Transferable) Units: (13-26 units)
Total Degree Units: (60 Units)