Advising

Undergraduates in the Anthropology Department are advised by the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), the Assistant Director of Undergraduate (ADUS), Undergraduate Program Coordinator. Their study cards are signed by these 3.

Anthropology concentrators have no assigned faculty advisors unless they write a senior theses - this faculty advisor will be their Thesis Advisor.

Concentrating in Anthropology

Freshmen have 3 semesters to shop classes and choose a concentration by the November of Fall Term. They transition into the particular department after declaring this and become engaged with the department in Spring term of Sophomore Year.

Undergraduates concentrating in Anthropology (secondary) have the meet the following requirements:

Sophomore Tutorial (Spring),

Junior Tutorial (Fall and Spring),

Anth 1610 Ethnographic Research Methods (not for Archaeology concentrators),

Senior Tutorial for Thesis Writers

https://anthropology.fas.harvard.edu/guide-concentration

General Education

Undergraduates also have to fulfil 8 half-courses for their General Education requirements: these are divided into 8 categories, which can be found at: https://college.harvard.edu/academics/planning-your-degree/general-education

Joint Concentrations

A large proportion of anthropology concentrators are joint concentrators, meaning that they have to fulfil requirements in two departments. Joint concentrations are not similar to double majors, which Harvard does not offer.

Joint concentrators have a primary and an allied concentration those with an Allied concentration in Anthropology have to complete all concentration requirements as listed above, the only exception being the requirement for Senior tutorials, which is negotiated at the DUS level between departments.

https://anthropology.fas.harvard.edu/joint-concentration

Secondary Fields

Not required, secondary fields are a means to pursue multiple intellectual interests. It appears only on the transcript but not the diploma. To have a secondary field in Social Anthropology requires a student to have taken 4 Social Anthropology courses. These are managed by the Office of the UPC.

Archaeology Secondary Fields are managed by the Standing Committee on Archaeology

https://anthropology.fas.harvard.edu/secondary-fields

For example, a student could emerge with a Joint Concentration in Anthropology and Music, with a Secondary Field in Global Health.

Support Systems for Harvard Undergraduates

Understanding the Support Systems for Harvard Undergraduates - you might be contacted, or need to contact an advisor regarding a student's progress!

Freshmen

Harvard College freshmen live in entryways in Harvard Yard, with a Resident Proctor for each entryway

Peer Advising Fellow usually an Upper classman (Sophomore, Junior or Senior)

Freshman advisor - faculty or administrator 2-5 advisees

Residential Dean for Freshmen in charge of the 3 yards in Harvard Yard - Oak, Ivy, Elm and Crimson Yards

Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors

Resident Dean, Assistant to the Resident Dean

Resident Tutors or Floor Tutors in the houses

Dealing with Students' Issues

For concerns over a student's well-being or non-class work, TFs can approach the anthropology faculty member teaching the class, ADUS, or Undergraduate Advisor. Other concerns can be taken straight to the Residential Dean (Freshmen) or Resident Dean.

Anthropology Tutorial System

The Anthropology Department's undergraduate tutorials are designed to guide a student through the anthropological endeavour, from thereto methods, to ethics and research,

The Sophomore Tutorial in Spring term guides students through the basics of social theory, reading social theorists such as Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Foucault, and being introduced to the basic guiding questions of a social science.

The Junior Tutorial Fall sees a single post-field TF sharing his/her prospectus, fieldwork experience, and writing with 7-8 students in a section, and talks them through a set of topics over the semester. The goal is to introduce the students to the process of turning an interest into a project, understanding how a research question can be answered through the gathering of ethnographic data (of all types) and analysis. Students work on a basic interest of theirs and conduct interviews or desk-based research, culminating in a 10-12 ethnographic essay by term's end.

Junior Tutorial Spring guides the student through a research prospectus design through a series of readings and assignments that address key components of a project - context, history, methods, objects of study, and literature reviews. IRB, summer funding proposals and other logistical support are discussed throughout the semester to prepare the student to undertake research in Summer of Junior year. A research prospectus of 20-25 pages completes the semester.

Senior Tutorial is a full year research and writing seminar for senior honors candidates. The course provides a platform for students to workshop and discuss their thesis drafts and offers practical guidance and advice during the thesis writing process through structured assignments and peer feedback on work-in-progress. The class supplements their faculty thesis advising with a requirement of regular consultation with the faculty advisor built into the syllabus. Most importantly the class will allow seniors to share their work, process and experience in a supportive environment.

Directing Research

Post-field TFs are often tapped to teach the Junior Tutorial in Fall and Spring, interested TFs should express interest especially for  the 1-on-1 Junior Tutorial for Spring. 

Directing undergraduate research is a huge challenge given the time limitations of the undergraduate program, but extremely rewarding as it helps TFs think through the process of supervision. A critical component of the course is to help students transform interests in a topic and developing a research project.

For more information see ADUS or the Junior Tutorial Guide.

This endeavour includes creating the what how and why of a research project:

1. designing practical research questions

2. theoretical  framework

3. logistics of research 

Other Courses

Anthropology TFs can expect to teach in:

Content based classes

Tutorials

Language courses

General Education courses

Courses in other departments