Message from the Head
Welcome to the UNCG Anthropology Department. Whether you are currently enrolled in our program or you are exploring anthropology as a possible field of study, we hope that you will find the information on this site to be helpful.
Why anthropology? Your choice of a major is an important decision and one that will reflect your interests and goals. I believe that anthropology is the most holistic of the social sciences and, as such, the discipline can help you to prepare for a wide range of career options. And along the way to your degree you will find opportunities to be intrigued, challenged and to enjoy the richness and diversity of human experience. Through our major subfields of archaeology, cultural anthropology, physical anthropology and linguistics we have the opportunity to examine the entire breadth of human prehistoric, historic, and social experience. Some students begin the study of anthropology already interested in one of the subfields as an area of specialization; others take various introductory courses and discover the specialty (or combination of specialties) that really excites their curiosity and leads them to a more in-depth exploration.
I believe that an undergraduate degree in anthropology is one of the best preparations for a career in our increasingly interconnected world. Whether you aspire to work in North Carolina, Los Angeles, India, Kenya, or anywhere else in the world, anthropology can provide you with the practical skills and insights necessary to navigate your way through the contradictions inherent in a globalized world that, in most places, still retains a wonderfully unique cultural character. And whether an undergraduate degree is your final educational goal or, as has been the case with many of our graduates, merely the first step towards a masters, professional, or doctoral degree, anthropology will make an important contribution to whatever lies ahead for you.
The faculty members within our department have a wide range of interests and experience that they bring to their teaching and research. You can explore these interests through the various links on the Faculty page of this web site. We strongly encourage our students to develop mentoring relationships with faculty members to develop and conduct ongoing or original research projects. We have excellent facilities including archaeology, physical, and cultural labs that provide support to move those research projects forward. Our Student Anthropological Society is active and organizes informal discussions and social events (picnics, potlucks, movies, etc.) throughout the academic year.
I sincerely hope that you will contact us if you have any questions or if you simply would like to discuss the place anthropology might have in your future plans. My door is always open to students and you can contact me by either phone or email to set up a time and date to meet.
Best wishes,
Art Murphy
Professor and Chair, Anthropology Department
Office: 426 Graham
Email: admurphy@uncg.edu
Phone: 336.334.5132
