<p>@gstransfer The first anthro department in the world was at Columbia, and we have one of the best departments in the country (especially if you include Barnard’s department). As far as difficulty, I guess it depends on how you feel about doing lots of reading, writing papers, and understanding fairly complex social and cultural theory. I personally find critiquing anthropological studies to be challenging, but far easier than doing physics or calculus. But I know there are science and math majors whose eyes glaze over when people talk about “agency” and “post-colonialist discourse” and “dialogic tradition,” so your mileage may be vary. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t call it a “joke” major, since I don’t think there’s a sense that anthro majors are dumb, but there are definitely stereotypes associated the department, chiefly that everyone’s super-liberal. Whenever people are protesting the War in Iraq or Israeli policies in the Middle East, it’s usually Anthro professors leading the charge. But I also think that, at Columbia much more so than at other schools, Anthro majors and professors are very well-respected.</p>
<p>The actual major requirements ([Anthropology</a> | Columbia College](<a href=“Columbia College Bulletin < Columbia College | Columbia University”>Columbia College Bulletin < Columbia College | Columbia University)) aren’t too bad: you basically have to take 12 classes, including: 3 intro classes, at least 2 classes focusing on a specific culture, and at least 2 classes in a related discipline (like history, sociology, or area studies).</p>