Thirty credit hours of approved coursework are required for a major in anthropology. Typically, this requirement can be satisfied by ten anthropology courses. Within the 30 credit hours (or 10 courses) required for a major in anthropology, students must fulfill the following requirements for a degree in anthropology:

• At least one course above the 1000 level in each of the four major subdivisions of anthropology: biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology.
• One capstone course in anthropology.
• Five or six elective courses in anthropology.
• Student who choose to receive the B.S. degree must have credit for two mathematics courses.
• One calculus course, MATH 1210 or equivalent; and
• One statistics course MATH 1230, or a higher level class in statistics, such as ANTH 6010.

• Students may take no more than two 1000-level courses (six credit hours) as electives to be counted towards the 30 credit hours required for degrees in anthropology.
• Capstone course may simultaneously fulfill the requirement for taking a course in each of the four subfields (see requirements A and B, above).
• Newcomb-Tulane College requires all undergraduates to take a writing practicum or a writing-intensive course to fulfill its undergraduate writing requirement. Some anthropology courses may have writing-intensive sections, but the additional credit hours earned through writing-intensive courses are not counted towards the 30 hours necessary for  degrees in anthropology.

Given the diversity of topics of interest to anthropologists, anthropology majors are encouraged to take a variety of courses in the different anthropological subfields and in related disciplines, and they are encouraged to integrate anthropology coursework within pre-professional programs of study. Upon consultation with anthropology faculty advisors, students may count up to six credits (two courses) as electives towards the anthropology major from approved courses in other departments.

The subject matter of anthropology is such that most of the curriculum is not an explicitly ordered sequence. Few anthropology courses at Tulane have specific prerequisites (exceptions, mostly linguistic courses, are noted in the catalog), and anthropology majors are expected to choose their courses from among all those with numbers less than 7000. The 6000-level courses are specifically designed for undergraduate as well as graduate students, and all junior and senior majors should choose freely from among these offerings.

Anthropology majors are eligible to apply for the 4+1 program in anthropology, based on consultation with advisors and other mentors. Students in the 4+1 program can earn B.A. or B.S. degrees in anthropology within four years, and M.A. degrees in anthropology based on an additional year of graduate coursework in anthropology taken during their fourth and fifth years. Requirements for this program are outlined on the departmental web site and in the anthropology majors handbook.

The anthropology department administers the Kenneth J. Opat Fund in Anthropology, reserved for the support of undergraduate research in anthropology. Students majoring in anthropology are encouraged to seek further information from their anthropology advisors about the use of this research fund.