Anthropology and Linguistics (BA)
Program Description
Anthropology
The Department of Anthropology is one of the country's leading graduate and undergraduate centers for cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and biological anthropology—the four principal subfields studied in the undergraduate curriculum. The department considers its greatest assets to be the various individual areas of faculty expertise: archaeological specialties such as medieval archaeology and European, Near Eastern, and South Asian prehistory; biological anthropology areas such as molecular primatology, primate behavioral ecology, and paleoanthropology; linguistic anthropology foci such as discourse analysis and language socialization; and sociocultural anthropology specialties such as the ethnography of North America, Africa, India, China, the Near and Middle East, Russia and the former Soviet Union, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and the South Pacific. Major theoretical emphasis is on the systems of thought and symbolic representation of the self and society; the relation between female and male domains of interaction; changing patterns of social organization and hierarchy within small-scale societies, urban settings, and bureaucratic institutions; medical anthropology; evolutionary approaches to the study of primate and human origins; religion; art; science studies; race and ethnicity; and the problem of ethnographic representation in film and other media.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the science of human language. It seeks to determine that which is necessary in human language, that which is possible, and that which is impossible. While linguists work to determine the unique qualities of individual languages, they are constantly searching for linguistic universals—properties whose explanatory power reaches across languages. The discipline of linguistics is organized around syntax (the principles by which sentences are organized), morphology (the principles by which words are constructed), semantics (the study of meaning), phonetics (the study of speech sounds), phonology (the sound patterns of language), historical linguistics (the ways in which languages change over time), sociolinguistics (the interaction of language with society), psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics (the representation of language in the brain). Current research by faculty members extends across the field, including topics in the interaction of syntax and semantics, phonetics and phonology, languages in contact, pidgin and creole languages, urban sociolinguistics, and computer analogies of syntactic processes.
Joint Honors
Joint majors with a minimum major and overall GPA of 3.65 are encouraged to complete their honors thesis in either the Department of Anthropology or the Department of Linguistics. This choice should be outlined in a two-page proposal submitted by April 15 of junior year via this form. All prospective honors students in this major must consult with both departments' directors of undergraduate studies to confirm eligibility. Students pursuing honors through the anthropology track must also complete the Petition to Enroll in Honors Program form, which is available on the Department of Anthropology’s website. This form must be approved before a student may pursue the honors track in anthropology.
Anthropology Honors Track
Students whose primary adviser and thesis research are in anthropology must complete the 4-credit Anthropology Honors Research I and II (ANTH-UA 901 & 902; 2 credits each) sequence, two 2-credit independent study courses in anthropology, and one graduate-level anthropology course, approved by the student's adviser. The graduate course may be counted as one major elective, as can the two combined independent study courses, but ANTH-UA 901 and 902 cannot. These 4 credits are in addition to the 40 credits required for the major. In addition to coursework, students must complete a senior honors thesis based on original research, developed under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The thesis is completed as part of the honors seminar and independent study sequence.
Linguistics Honors Track
Students whose primary adviser and thesis research are in linguistics must complete the Senior Honors Thesis Seminar (LING-UA 102) in the fall, plus one other advanced undergraduate course, or graduate course, or independent study course, chosen in consultation with their thesis adviser (8 credits total). The Senior Honors Thesis Seminar and the additional course chosen with the student's adviser may be counted as advanced electives.
Students in this track must complete a 40-50 page thesis covering their own original research, which is developed over two semesters and due by April 1 of their senior year. This thesis must be presented either at an oral conference presentation of research or private defense/discussion with their thesis adviser and second reader.
Admissions
New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply.