Get Involved

Looking for opportunities to engage in deep, rich, and workplace-connected activities beyond those required for your degree? The Anthropology Department faculty pride themselves in helping students achieve their academic and career goals. Besides our one-on-one advising and mentoring, we offer students opportunities to go beyond the classroom through leadership, research, work, and cultural experiences.

Beyond the Major

Beyond the Major represents a university-wide commitment to helping students understand and articulate the value of their experiences. When students go “Beyond the Major”, they develop a thread that connects their individual experiences into their own unique story – a story that not only aids in their self-identification as an emerging professional, but shows employers the value that their college education brings beyond the list of coursework. Read more about Beyond the Major.

Cultural Experience

Study Abroad

Studying abroad gives you an opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture and lifeways of a country that you may have only read about. There are several options for summer, semester, or academic year-long study abroad programs. Visit the Boise State Study Abroad website.

Research Experience

• Lab Groups – Participate in a research
• Field School – Students interested in pursuing a career in archaeology are encouraged to register for the summer Archaeology Field School (ANTH 490). The purpose of the field school is to train students in the basic techniques and methods of archaeological survey, excavation, and analysis, and usually involves six weeks in a field camp setting. For archaeology students, the school is a necessary part of the curriculum. Students are encouraged to attend early in their academic careers as this may provide additional fieldwork opportunities. Notably, most federal agencies now require a field school as appropriate training for government service.
• Data Analytics with R Minor and Certificate (DATA-R) – This certificate teaches data science skills while minimizing prerequisite math and computer science courses. DATA-R 322 and DATA-R 485 are taught in the programming language, R. College Algebra (MATH 143) is a prerequisite for CS 133. For students seeking to pursue graduate studies in Data Science, MATH 301 Linear Algebra is required.
• User Experience Research Minor or Certificate (UXR) – User experience researchers (UXR) help designers understand the needs of existing and potential users of their products. The UXR program at Boise State is grounded in anthropological methods developed to understand the unfamiliar human beliefs and behaviors and convey those understandings to outsiders. It centers on a toolkit of techniques known as ethnography, including field visits, contextual interviews, and direct observations.
• Vertically Integrated Projects – Work on faculty-led, interdisciplinary teams tackling complex challenges. Projects led by Anthropology faculty include Designing Healthier Communities, Human-Animal Interactions

Work Experience

Student Research Positions – The Anthropology Department has working relationships with different organizations throughout Idaho.  Through grants obtained to do various research and field-related projects, we are able to hire some of our students which gives them the experience that goes beyond their diploma and onto their resume. Please contact your Anthropology advisor for current opportunities.