About Anthropology Courses

Anthropology Courses in India

The term Anthropology has been derived from two Greek terms namely 'anthropos' which means human and 'logos' means study. Thus Anthropology is the study of human beings in its absoluteness. It not only studies the evolution of human beings but also studies the socio-cultural development of humans. There are several branches of anthropology that deals with various aspects of human developments. These include the following:

Physical or biological Anthropology - This branch deals with the biological evolution of human beings and linkage of humans with their primate ancestors. Differences between various races, human genetics, and adaptations to various climatic conditions also come under this branch.

Social Anthropology - This branch deals with the socio cultural developments of human race from their origin. Different methods of forming communities, difference in culture of various clans, cross cultural communication and such other topics form the subject of study under this branch.

Prehistoric Anthropology - This branch can also be called archeology as it deals with bones, relics and artifacts dug up and tries to reconstruct the chronological sequence of history on the basis of these findings.

Applied Anthropology - social problems like birth control, labor unrest, juvenile delinquency, mortality rate are dealt with the help of information gathered from other fields. This is the main job of this branch of Anthropology.

Linguistic Anthropology - the origin and evolution of all written as well as unwritten languages and dialects are being dealt with under this branch of anthropology.

Qualifications: Candidates who have completed 10+2 with a science background are preferred for admissions to a B.Sc course, whereas a bachelor's degree in required for pursuing a PG course. An M.Sc degree is required for getting a job in the Indian market, while one must have a Ph.D if one wishes to work as an advisor for any international agency.

B.Sc and M.Sc courses in Anthropology are offered by almost all major universities in India. These include Universities of Kolkata, Delhi, Allahabad, Vidyasagar, Utkal, Dibrugarh, Punjab and Ranchi among other places.

Benefits: Being the study of mankind as a whole Anthropology is a very interesting subject. It opens many doors of knowledge to the biological, socio-cultural, prehistoric and every other aspect of human development.

Scope in India: The job prospects for students of Anthropology are vast within India. The scope for being a research scholar always remains open. The demand for curators by museums can also be met by students of Anthropology. Other than these jobs one can opt for jobs with NGOs working in underdeveloped areas. Anthropologists can also be hired by organizations like the UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO. Other jobs available for students of anthropology are teachers in colleges and universities, urban planners, tour guides, culture resource managers.

Scope in Abroad: Anthropology as a subject has far better scope in countries in the west. Anthropologists are hired in the west in the field of medicine, law, business and other professional institutions. Anthropologists are absorbed in community development programs and public service programs as well.