Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology/Biology

Western Washington University - International Study Center (StudyGroup)

Biological/Anthropology is the study of both present and past human variation relative to local ecologies and cultures. Biological Anthropologists specialize in Human or Primate Anatomy, Paleoanthropology, Genetics, Disease Ecology, Growth and Development, Forensic Anthropology and Osteology, Medical Anthropology or Primate Behavior and Primatology.Biological Anthropology’s program hones a holistic appreciation of multifactorial components underlying the human condition. Its interdisciplinary bio-cultural model examines the integrated effects of human behavior, ecology, culture, physiology and genetics/epigenetics on human adaptation, biological variation, the continuum of health and disease, and ultimately, evolution. The perspective is both local and global, and includes studies comparing current and past populations. Biological anthropologists are frequently found in medically associated positions because of their expertise in human anatomy, genetics, nutrition, growth and development and physiology. Additionally, the technological expansion in the study of nonhuman primates allows increasing capacity to understand ecological and historical variables influencing primate anatomy, physiology, and evolution, and enhance their conservation.