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Secondary Fields

The Department of Anthropology offers two Secondary Field options to provide students who are not concentrators a flexible pathway to exploring their interests in the discipline. Students might wish to explore the wide range of departmental offerings in order to gain a general sense of the field, or focus on a particular topic or region of the world, such as Asia, Latin America, or Africa and the African diaspora.

For more information on the Secondary Field in Archaeology, please contact the Secondary Field Adviser in Archaeology, Prof. Jason Ur at jasonur@fas.harvard.edu. Students interested in or intending to pursue a secondary field in Archaeology should first review their programs of study with SCA Coordinator by emailing sca@fas.harvard.edu by the beginning of their next to last semester. 

For more information on the Secondary Field in Social Anthropology, please contact the Secondary Field Advisers in Social Anthropology, Michelle Choi at michellechoi@fas.harvard.edu or Ligia Alfonzo at anthrouc@fas.harvard.edu.

With the approval of the designated adviser in the secondary field, students will file the appropriate forms with the Registrar after the requirements for a secondary field have been completed. (In the case of second-term seniors, students may file the forms after enrolled in courses that will fulfill remaining requirements.) No secondary field may be added to the degree after the deadline published in the Handbook for Students.  

Requirements

  • One introductory course selected from:
    • GENED 1105 or ANTHRO 1010 (prior to 2019)
    • ANTHRO 1130: Archaeology of Harvard Yard
    • CLASARCH 100: Introduction to Classical Archaeology
    • Introductory course in the archaeology of Ancient Greece or Rome, or Medieval Archaeology, as available.
  • Four additional courses in Archaeology and approved by the Secondary Field Advisor.

Additional Information

  • A student may count one additional introductory course from the above list for the secondary field.
  • Up to three approved courses in Gen Ed may be counted toward fulfillment of the requirements for the secondary field.
  • In addition, one approved course in the student’s concentration and a maximum of two ancient language courses may be counted toward secondary field credit.
  • All course work must be taken for a letter grade and must be passed with a grade of B- or better.
  • Students who complete a Harvard-sponsored or a pre-approved off-campus archaeological field school may count one course credit from that field school experience toward completion of the secondary field.

Requirements

  • Four courses in Social Anthropology

Additional Information

  • Courses can be drawn from any departmental or formally cross-listed courses offered by regular Social Anthropology faculty. There is no fixed sequence in which these courses must be taken, but students are strongly encouraged to enroll in ANTHRO 1610 or another introductory course that provides a broad overview of the discipline of Social Anthropology.

  • One of these may be a Freshman Seminar.

  • Graduate courses offered by Social Anthropology faculty may, with instructor's permission, be taken for secondary field credit.

  • One course in Archaeology taught by a member of the Department faculty can be counted for credit toward the Social Anthropology secondary field.

  • All four courses must be taken for a letter grade, with the exception of the Freshman Seminar, which must receive a grade of SAT. Letter-graded courses must receive a grade of C or better to count for the secondary field.

  • Only one course may double count for a secondary field and concentration. Courses count first for concentration, and then one may be double-counted for a secondary field. There is no limit to the number of courses that can double-count for the secondary field and General Education or any other requirement outside of concentration requirements.

  • Under ordinary circumstances, courses taken abroad or in the Harvard Summer School will not be counted towards a secondary field unless they are taught by a regular member of the Social Anthropology Faculty.