Anthropology
Question the status quo. Examine social norms. Resist injustice. As an anthropology major at Rollins, you’ll learn what it means to be human. Our program helps you understand our past and present as you examine crucial global issues, including immigration, racism, gender discrimination, access to health care, and the environment.
A springboard for careers in education, health care, law, medicine, media, public advocacy, marketing, civil service, and business, the study of anthropology is meant to stoke your curiosity about the world and hone your cultural agility— skills that are invaluable in our increasingly global society.
You’ll develop practical problem-solving skills, field methods, and communications techniques to help you navigate the world—and a sense of empathy and understanding to help you appreciate it more deeply.
Why Study Anthropology at Rollins
Hands-On Learning
Rollins’ extensive collection of archaeological artifacts—plus a pre-Columbian Native American site in the nearby Wekiva River—will give you opportunities to conduct fieldwork using the methods and skills learned in class.
Community Engagement
Develop local-to-global connections in your studies, working closely with community organizations and activist groups as you study culture and human experiences.
Faculty Mentorship
Faculty members embrace collaborations with students and encourage in-depth, interactive learning experiences that include presenting at national conferences and publishing in scholarly journals.
Interested in Studying Anthropology at Rollins?
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“Rollins goes beyond telling you to ‘do good in the world’ or ‘be a leader’—it shows you how to self-examine and look at how you can use the tools you learn to create meaningful change. The quality of the faculty and the personalized attention allowed me to form deep relationships, and I’m so thankful to the anthropology program for its focus on creating good people who study systemic issues and not just cultures.”
Rollins Anthropology Careers
Rollins anthropology grads are making tomorrow happen at some of the world’s most innovative organizations.
Konrad Antczak ’11
Postdoctoral Fellow, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Theresa Chu-Bermudez ’11
Owner, Get Out! Custom Travels
Morgan Gill ’14
Judicial Law Clerk, Montgomery County Circuit Court
Rachael Kangas ’11
Director, Central & West Central Regions, Florida Public Archaeology Network
Alexandria Mickler ’16
Program Analyst, USAID Bureau for Global Health
Jennifer Sherwood ’11
Public Policy Manager, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
Real World Experience
From community engagement courses to research, anthropology students hone their skills in the real world.
See for Yourself
Get a feel for Rollins’ unique brand of engaged learning and personalized attention through one of our virtual or in-person visit experiences.
Popular Courses
Our courses probe the biological basis of human society, societal norms and behavior, social change, and cross-cultural similarities and differences in areas such as politics, economics, religion, youth culture, globalization, and gender.
ANT 210 Human Evolution
Review genetics, examine human fossils, and dissect debates among paleoanthropologists to illuminate how science works.
ANT 202 Foundations of Latin American and Caribbean Culture and Society
In a survey of Latin American and Caribbean history, anthropology, and literature, you’ll study the region’s prehistory, colonialism, slavery, music, dance, race and identity, tourism, and globalization.
ANT 255 Middle East Culture
Explore the everyday lives of people in the Middle East as they negotiate the challenges of globalization, new media, religion, and the legacy of colonialism.
GBH 200 Introduction to Public Health
Investigate the concepts and methods for measuring health in populations, and consider the impact of health care systems, public health systems, and government policies on health and disease patterns.
ANT 227 Curating Archaeological Collections
Delve into the professional standards, methods, and ethics of curating archaeological collections through extensive hands-on work with artifacts and paper records from actual archaeological sites.
ANT 305 Activism and Social Change
Learn how to use anthropology to take action on pressing social problems. Examine issues related to race, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration to consider how anthropologists fight inequality.
A Day in the Life of a Rollins Anthropology Major
“Anthropology is my academic soulmate and has fundamentally shaped my worldview toward greater empathy for other cultures and peoples. The anthropology department is a lot like a family—you can develop relationships with incredible mentors. I got into grad school because of my professor. ”
Beyond the Classroom
Student Leaders on Campus In addition to Lambda Alpha National Collegiate Honor Society for Anthropology, our students play leadership roles in many clubs across campus, including EcoRollins, The Democracy Project, Medical Ethics Club, Rollins Improv Players, and Voices for Women.
Study Abroad You’ll have the opportunity to apply anthropological skills you’ve learned in the classroom to real-world settings by participating in semester-long programs in countries such as Japan, Ireland, and Brazil as well as short-term field studies in Guatemala, Morocco, and Mexico, and a summer internship in Uganda.
Community Engagement We work with numerous community partners, giving our students the chance to engage in important social issues, like farmworkers’ rights, voting rights, undocumented immigrants, LGBTQ youth, and health inequities.
Keep Exploring
Take a deeper dive into anthropology at Rollins by meeting your future professors, seeing our grads in action, and sitting in on a class.
November 02, 2022
Solving the World’s Biggest Problems
For Rollins students, alumni, and faculty, the most pressing issues of our time are not insurmountable. They’re opportunities to bring meaning to the term “global citizenship.”
September 15, 2022
Brown Awarded National Institute of Mental Health Grant
Anthropology professor Shan-Estelle Brown has earned a one-year grant to support the CDC’s initiative, “Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America.”
September 01, 2022
Magnifying the Moment
Whether it’s in the classroom or the community, anthropology professor Shan-Estelle Brown is committed to finding real solutions for issues of health inequality.
Expert Faculty
Our faculty members work in close partnership with our students and the area’s premier institutions. They foster deep, meaningful, insightful class discussions to provide context for various social issues. With a broad range of specializations, our faculty enhance learning through close mentorship.
Department of Anthropology
Telephone: 407.646.2670
Shan-Estelle Brown, PhD
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Research interests: Medical anthropology, patient-provider relationship, health disparities, chronic illness, self-treatment, global health
Zack Gilmore, PhD
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Research interests: Anthropological archaeology, pre-Columbian Florida and American Southeast, shell mounds, early pottery technology and exchange
Rachel Newcomb, PhD
Professor of Anthropology
Research interests: Cultural and applied/public anthropology, Middle East and North Africa, gender, Islam, globalization, immigration, and food studies
Ashley Kistler, PhD
Professor of Anthropology
Research interests: Cultural, linguistic, and public anthropology, Mesoamerica, Maya culture, gender, cultural revitalization, identity, and immigration