Certificate of Proficiency in Physical Anthropology

Foothill College

Literally meaning "the study of humankind," anthropology sits on the boundaries between the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities, and ponders basic questions about what it means to be human. Anthropology focuses on the diverse ways people around the world and through time have interacted with their environments, communicated with each other, organized their social lives, made sense of their world, and responded to emerging conflicts and challenges. In this program we introduce students to the importance of cultural awareness in our globally-interconnected lives, and we challenge colonial frameworks in academia and beyond. Our program prioritizes experiential learning and research both locally and internationally, through archaeological and ethnographic field programs run by our faculty. Our broad course offerings give students the opportunity to study in all fields of anthropology, including archaeology, biological and medical anthropology, forensics, cultural anthropology, linguistics, religion and belief systems, social constructs of race and ethnicity and the capacity to build narratives of understanding and connection among people.