Opportunities for Out-of-Classroom Learning

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology has excellent facilities, which include a library of resource materials and a student-faculty collaboration room for computer projects and small-group work. Faculty members value contact with majors, so many opportunities are provided for them to work and socialize together. Such opportunities include the weekly social hour (a brunch-time gathering where students and faculty chat and grab a bite to eat) and informal lunch programs, including sessions when students present their internships and studies abroad.

Student Representatives
Four students from the department (two from sociology and two from anthropology) are elected by fellow majors to serve as student representatives. These student representatives attend bi-weekly department meetings and participate in important decisions about the curriculum and the hiring of new faculty.

Independent Research
All anthropology and sociology students conduct independent research in the local community as part of the methods classes required for the two majors (ANTH 323 "Field Methods in Cultural Anthropology" and SOC 302 "Research Methods"). These methods classes provide a structured environment in which students design an individual research project and employ methods integral to the disciplines of sociology and anthropology (such as interviewing, surveying, and/or participant-observation). In addition, students can design an Individualized Study (ANTH 450 or SOC 450) that permits them to probe a particular issue through one semester of in-depth library research, or they can apply to participate in the Honors Program, which entails two semesters of work on a self-designed research project and approval by the department's faculty.

Internships & Service-Learning
Many students in sociology and anthropology are involved in public service activities in the local community. Some arrange internships through the Center for Career Development and receive credit towards their major by designing a corresponding Individualized Study. Others benefit from a faculty-designed service-learning component of a class they are enrollled in.

For more information on Internships and examples of what sociology and anthropology students have done, click here.

For more informatin on Service-Learning and examples of what sociology and anthropology students have done, click here.

Study Abroad
Many anthropology and sociology majors enhance their learning experience by spending a semester abroad. Destinations have included Brazil, England, Spain, Italy, South Africa, and India. Study abroad is generally arranged through the office of Off-Campus Studies. To find out more about the study abroad experiences of sociology and anthropology students, along with information on the procedure for earning credit towards the major, click here.

Archaeology Fieldshools and Faculty-Sponsored Archaeological Field Trips
Special opportunities for anthropology students include participation in archaeology fieldwork projects with Gettysburg faculty and participation in archeological fieldschools sponsored by other institutions. To learn more, click here.