<p>hey guys! i had a question for you anthropology majors out there who have gotten into UCLA. I am going to be taking my required MATH course this upcoming fall, and i wanted to know what would be the most relevant math course for an Anthropology major. I have not completed a math course since high school (trigonometry), and i want to push myself, but not TOO hard. i basically want to get an A without giving off the impression that I didn’t challenge myself. </p>
<p>I am able to take any math course based on my placement test.</p>
<p>statistics for sure. a lot of anthropology ethnographic studies can include surveys and analyzing data. statistics will assist you in making conclusions from data gathered. in fact, some anthro depts. specifically request stats as a prereq. </p>
<p>plus, it’s not hard to do well in, especially if you like applied math.</p>
<p>statistics or if you are adventurous, take calculus also. for statistics, this can be helpful if you plan concentrate on physical or biological anthropology which could include biostatistics if you plan for grad school. statistics is also used in sociology and political science, so its important if you want to branch into those fields also. for calculus, this is just useful if you plan to go to college, grad schools like it because it shows analytical skills and if you plan to go to grad school in another area its useful also. calculus is widely used in economics and there is a field in anthropology called economic anthropology.</p>
<p>^geometry is good for archaeology surveying, which leads me to…</p>
<p>Have any of you ever heard of an Environmental Impact Report? It’s what every company needs to create whenever any new construction, be it buildings, roads, playgrounds, et cetera, is put into action. And guess who helps create these EIR, that’s right, Anthropologists, specifically archaeologists. So, that’s hundreds of jobs right there all across the country.</p>
<p>You know what your doctor probably majored in? That’s right, (biological/physical) anthropology. You know who identifies your body after someone finds it in the woods all skeletonized? That’s right, (forensic) anthropologists. You know who is out there saving the languages of your ancestors? That’s right, (linguistic) anthropologists. You know who is on the frontlines negotiating with other cultures on behalf of the U.S. gov’t? That’s right, (cultural) anthropologists. You know who will be on the surface of mars or other planets, digging and looking for the presence of life or living with alien populations to understand them better? That’s right, anthropologists (in like 20-100 years). The job opportunities for anthropologists go on and on.</p>
<p>You don’t have to have connections TODAY to get these jobs, but you do have to major in anthropology, and most likely get a MA or PH.D in the subject.</p>
<p>The point ladies and gentlemen, is that you shouldn’t underestimate or talk down a major you know nothing about just because it’s popular and easier to get into than your major. We anthropologists can’t help it if our graduates/fans were generous with their time and money, i.e. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology ($7 million endowment and then a $10 million gift by the wonderful Lloyd E. Cotsen). So while I’m making connections by getting introduced to my future professors by my CC archaeology professor (who is helping UCLA to create a special MA program for archaeology), stop worrying about us anthropology majors and start looking after your own careers.</p>
<p>amen dj, ANTHROPOLOGY ROCKS! by the way, dj, are you at UCLA? i really want to go there in the fall…all their anthropology/psychology courses look awesome.</p>
<p>I’m really excited that my archaeo prof, the lovely Dr. Breece from LBCC (who is an alumni of UCLA), is helping to create a MA program specifically for doing stuff like Environmental Impact Reports, working for CRM firms and the like. During admit day (may 16), the archaeo club from LBCC is heading over to UCLA to get an upclose look at the archaeology labs at the Institute. So let me know, anthro majors, if you want to tag along and check out the labs, and I’ll see what I can do.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! What about my lab science, what is most relevant towards my ANTHRO major? Astronomy, Chemistry, Physical Science (general), Geology, or Physics???</p>
<p>The obvious answer would seem to be Geology or physical science, but i’m aiming toward the cultural anthropology branch…so it doesn’t really matter to me. i just want to score an A. Professor wise, Astronomy seems to be the easy route, idk tho…
Thanks in advance for any advice.</p>
<p>even with cultural anthropology, i think geology is the better choice. cultural work can sometimes cross with archeological work and understanding rocks/earth processes is extremely helpful. Chemistry is pretty good too, and definitely more respected as a “difficult” science. </p>
<p>Don’t do astronomy. Depending on where you take it, your professor can make it way too technical and if you’re looking for an easy ‘A’, you don’t want to get caught up in technical jargon you will never need to know. Definitely don’t take physics if you want that ‘A’.</p>
<p>I suggest geology. You may be only interested in cultural anthro now, but you might change your mind with more archaeology classes, and in anthropology, it is always good to know all the subsections of the major.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice! do you guys think it matters if i take my lab science this fall (during the UC application process) or during the spring…i’m going to be loaded BIG TIME this fall, and would rather put that last class of my IGETC for the spring to ensure a good grade…think that would affect my chances of acceptance to UCLA?</p>
<p>When they look at ur gpa for the admission process, they only look at class up to the Fall semester, so if the class is hard but you can make sure that u will pass it then leave it to the spring semester. But if you leave it to spring and fail it…then that is big trouble.</p>
<p>^seriously REVEL, haven’t you paid any attention to my crazy rants ^_^</p>
<p>there is actually a major in anthro B.S., not B.A. With this major you basically take every class you would need to be eligible for med school. I actually did look up the requirements for UCLA med school for kicks:</p>
<p>"Candidates are selected on the basis of the following considerations: </p>
<p>Undergraduate record.
Medical College Admissions Test Scores.
Letters of Recommendation.
Graduate Record, where applicable.
Life Experiences (research, volunteerism, etc).
Interview(s) by member of the Admissions Committee." </p>
<p>…</p>
<p>"Prerequisites
The admission requirements are satisfied by the following courses:</p>
<p>ENGLISH: One year of college English to include the study of English composition
PHYSICS: One year of college Physics (with lab)
CHEMISTRY: Two years of college chemistry to include the study of inorganic chemistry, quantitative analysis and organic chemistry (with lab)
BIOLOGY: One year of general biology (with lab)
MATHEMATICS: One year of college mathematics to include the study of introductory calculus and statistics
SPANISH: Highly recommended<br>
HUMANITIES: Highly recommended<br>
COMPUTER SKILLS: Highly recommended" </p>
<p>All the above classes can be completed at a CC, and if you want to go into Anthro for the B.S., these classes are requirements. There are other classes that help you to get in, like cellular bio, but you can take that as one of your “2 related fields courses that demonstrate cohesion” that is required for the anthro major. You can also focus on physical anthro, which will give you a lot of info on genetics and evolution (a plus for med school). Plus, if you do well on the MCAT and all the rest, it doesn’t matter what you major in as long as you complete the pre-reqs. And there have actually been a number of people accepted to med school with degrees in anthro. </p>
i can’t go to admit day though, i’m in the bay area.</p>