Study Abroad

As an anthropology major, we encourage you to consider enrolling in a study abroad program. These programs can offer direct experience of another culture, intensive language training, as well as excellent coursework in anthropology. By consulting with your departmental advisors as well as with UNC’s Study Abroad Office, you can assess the relevance of available programs to your interests and degree requirements. As part of your planning, you should talk to your advisor or the Director of Undergraduate Studies to arrange beforehand for transfer credit hours to count toward your anthropology major. Study abroad programs are often affordable even to students who require financial aid. Information about student loans and scholarships for the purpose of studying abroad can be readily obtained from UNC’s Study Abroad Office.

For information about study abroad programs, call the Study Abroad Office (919) 962-7002. Students may also wish to consult the Summer School about its own study abroad program. The Summer School telephone number is (919) 966-4364.

ATTENTION MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY MINORS!

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN STUDY ABROAD?

WANT YOUR COURSES ABROAD TO COUNT TOWARDS

YOUR MED ANTH MINOR?

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THE FOLLOWING:

Check before you go….

Study abroad is a fantastic learning opportunity and we encourage medical anthropology students to travel and learn globally! Contact the DUS in Anthropology and/or Professor Rivkin-Fish before you decide on a program to ensure that the courses offered may be counted towards your Medical Anthropology Minor. We will need a syllabus to evaluate whether the course can be counted toward your degree at UNC.

Medical Anthropology is not the same as Public Health…

The Medical Anthropology Minor focuses on teaching students about the theories and methods of the specific field of medical anthropology. This approach differs from courses in kindred fields such as Global Health, Public Health, Health Policy, Comparative Health Systems, etc., and we cannot grant credit for courses that address issues of health, but do not do so from an anthropological perspective.

Course titles are often unclear, unspecific, and confusing about a course’s disciplinary approach!

You often can’t tell what the course content will be from a title alone. Sometimes a course may be called “Global Health” and it DOES present medical anthropological approaches, but sometimes it does not. This is why a syllabus is necessary for the course to be evaluated.

What criteria does UNC’s Medical Anthropology Department use to assess a course?

When assessing a course from another university for credit towards the Medical Anthropology Minor, we look for the following elements:

-inclusion of anthropological methods, including participant-observation, ethnographic inquiry, and comparative human biology;

-attention to cultural, historical, socioecological, and political-economic forces as necessary for understanding health issues;

-readings that are published in anthropological journals and contribute to debates regarding anthropological theory, methods, and interpretation;

– student research that includes anthropological theory and methods and refers to published anthropological literature.