Information on Getting Your Online Anthropology Degrees

Anthropology is the study of humankind. It studies the very beginning of humankind from millions of years ago and present time trends and issues facing humans. Students pursuing online anthropology degrees will study every aspect of humans and their existence as well as evolutionary time and geographic space. An online anthropology program will cover everything from African Pygmy music to ancient Mayan hieroglyphics to modern US car manufacturer's corporate culture. Overall, online anthropology degrees will allow students to learn about who humans are and how they came to be the way they are as well as where humans may be headed in the future.

Students pursuing online anthropology degrees will be required to take certain core courses, prerequisites, electives, and support work. Students must complete 41 prerequisite credits prior to taking their core classes and these include English, mathematics, natural science, literature, arts and humanities, United States history, political science, behavioral and social science, economics, and world society and issues.

Students will need nine credit hours of support work and thirty credit hours of electives. Recommended classes include social sciences, foreign languages, environmental sciences, statistics, earth sciences, and computer science.

39 of the credits will revolve around the core courses. The core courses required to complete an online anthropology degree focus on anthropology and its sub-subjects. These classes often include biological anthropology, brain and behavior, culture and society, government and politics in developing areas, medical anthropology, myth and ritual, sex and drugs and human behavior, culture and knowledge and environment, qualitative research, forensic archeology, sociology of health and medicine, culture and globalization, anthropology of violence, archeology, cultural anthropology, and physical anthropology.

Students pursuing online anthropology degrees must complete 120 credits to graduate and receive their degree which takes approximately four years. However, students can often decrease the time it takes them to graduate by taking an extra class every semester or by taking some of the required prerequisites at a physical community college and then having them transferred to their online school.

Charter Oak State College offers a Bachelor's of Anthropology online. It is a complete 120 credit degree. This online anthropology program is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Ashford University offers a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science-Anthropology online. This is a complete 120 credit degree. This online anthropology program is available to students age 22 and older and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Pursuing an online anthropology degree allows students to pursue many entry-level careers in this field. Those with this degree can become assistants to college professors, international trade specialists, market researchers, research assistants, museum curators, cultural outreach specialists, or participate in conducting scientific research.

Approximately 41 percent of anthropologists work for a government organization, particularly the Federal Government. The majority of them work in research. Most people in this field work a regular nine to five job, five days a week, either with others in their field or alone writing and reading research articles. In 2006, there were approximately 5,500 anthropologists employed in the United States working as administrators, researchers, counselors and teachers. This profession is expected to grow by 15 percent by the year 2016. Those with a Bachelor's degree in anthropology can earn an average of $49,930 per year.

Pursuing an online anthropology degree allows students more flexibility to complete their degree. They will not have to adhere to a strict class schedule and can complete their work any time of day. There are still deadlines for assignments, but they aren't nearly as strict and the deadlines seem to be the same from week to week so students can easily work around their other responsibilities. Many online colleges and universities allow students to take just once class at a time for four to five weeks so they will not have to worry about handling three to five classes at once.