Program Overview
B.A. in Anthropology provides a wide array of skills and information to students. We train students to think critically about the ways in which people differ and to seek creative solutions to problems in the world around them. We also work to provide a broad perspective and a familiarity with the diversity of humanity. Whether as a major, a minor, or simply as an elective course, anthropology can enhance any educational experience. Because of the breadth of the field of anthropology, our students are prepared for a wide variety of careers. However, there are very few jobs with the word anthropology in the job title, so our students need to be creative in applying their skills.
Program Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the program, Anthropology graduates will be able to:

  1. Knowledge and Theory: Explain anthropology's holistic nature through its four-field approach as well as how the major sub-fields, cultural, biological, archaeological and linguistic anthropology, are interrelated. Students are expected to show understanding of the historical context within which anthropology developed and the concepts, questions, and theoretical approaches that are foundational to the discipline.
  2. Methods and Ethics: Approach study of human beings through a variety of skills and methods. Students should understand the ethical underpinnings of anthropology and how these values affect data collection methods and analyses.
  3. Engaging with Scholarship: Employ critical thinking and reading skills towards interpretation of ethnographic texts, reports and articles, as well as data sets from any of the major sub-fields. Students should be able to critically evaluate viewpoints and assumptions regarding representations of human cultures with a particular sensitivity to ethnocentric biases
  4. Practicing Anthropology: Apply the theories and methods developed within anthropology to issues of social and cultural concerns within a global and multicultural context. Students should be able to apply a critical lens to their own society and culture.
  5. Self-Directed Learning: Be able to gain practical experience in formulating a research project, using appropriate methods to gather data, carry out analysis of the data by applying anthropological theories in order to generate original conclusions as well as to communicate their findings through research essays and oral presentations.
Courses Offered
ANT 101: Being Human: An Introduction to Four Field Anthropology

This course explores the main subfields of anthropology: sociocultural, archaeological, biological, and linguistic. Students will be exposed to the primary theories, concepts, and methodologies relating to anthropology and how these four fields can work together to provide a more complete understanding of what it means to be human. This course is perfect for students in any major who are interested in exploring questions related to human behavior and societies in a holistic manner, or for those interested in a general introduction to the main subfields in anthropology before continuing more specialized coursework in the major.

ANT 110: Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology

This course will introduce you to some major themes of sociocultural anthropology –kinship, gender, magic, religion, race/ethnicity, social stratification, nationalism, modernization, and globalization. We will explore these themes through ethnography –the research method and genre of writing that defines the discipline. Reading several anthropological accounts of different cultures, we will not only analyze what these ethnographies tell us about cultural diversity, but also think critically about the conditions of their production and their claims to authority. Throughout the course, we will also pay a special attention to the current ethnography of Kazakhstan and the workings of our own culture.

ANT 140: World Prehistory

This course surveys major developments in the prehistory of humans from the evolution of our earliest ancestors through the first cities. Significant topics include perspectives on critical inventions such as tool use and agriculture; development of inequality and social organization; the role of environment in society; and interactions among societies. We will also address approaches to archaeology and fundamental problems for studying people who left no written records.

ANT 160: Introduction to Biological Anthropology

Humans may be the strangest animals on the planet, and so this course examines what it means to be human in a biological sense, highlighting the many ways humans are unique and why this is. In examining these issues, students will learn about sources of biological variation in living humans; the fossil record for human evolution; and the adaptations and behaviors of our closest living relatives the Primates. This course also introduces students to broader theoretical principles of evolution, genetics, forensics, and animal behavior, which are extremely important in and beyond biological anthropology.

ANT 204/PLS 204: Capitalism in Crisis

In this seminar, we will analyze socio-cultural conditions and forces behind economic developments that led to the current and previous global financial crises. Closer to our region, we will also examine ideological underpinnings and social implications of the post-communist economic transformations across the globe. Our primary readings will consist of 1) theories of political economy and capitalist development, 2) ethnographic/anthropological accounts of economic transformations in post-Soviet countries, China, Indonesia and Africa, and 3) in-depth articles from the New Yorker and the Economist dealing with contemporary economic issues in a non-jargon way. Topics to be considered will include liberalization/globalization, neo-liberal reforms, state-capital interaction, social construction of human needs and desires, creation of wealth, consumption, alleviation of poverty, and visions of happiness and affluence.

ANT 215/REL 215: What is Islam? Anthropological Perspectives

This course explores the question of how people in different parts of the world and in different social context understand what Islam is. We will consider the ways that anthropologists have approached this, reading the work of authors who present and analyze a wide variety of Muslim societies and realms of social-cultural life. In the general anthropology of religion, Islam has been a major focus. In this course, we will also consider realms that go far beyond beliefs and rituals, and encompass fields like "Islamic customs", Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic art, "Islamic authority", and "Islamic attitudes towards women." We will further explore the challenge that some forms of Islamic observance pose for secularism, the ways that Islam has been counter-posed to Western models of modernity, and the role of Islam in defining national and other identities.

ANT 216: Marriage and Kinship

Studying how humans understand their relationships with other people and create new ones is at the foundation of anthropology and sociology. Who around us counts as "family"? How do we determine who our family members are and why? What are our obligations to family? What are the different roles in the family? How do we create new ties to each other through processes like marriage and adoption? What are the restrictions on new relationships? These processes both have a profound impact on the meaning and conduct of our everyday lives, as well as on how we form larger social groups and connections across and between groups.

ANT 222/SOC 222: Approaches to Global Development

In this seminar we will explore the theoretical and historical perspectives that gave rise to the ideas and practices of global development in the 20th century and their implications for the 21st century marked by the environmental crisis and the understanding of the limits to the planetary system. Sociological and anthropological approaches to development provide distinct understanding of the issues; while the boundaries between these two disciplines are blurring and stand in contrast to the rational choice and neoclassical economic approaches that dominate development discourses, it can be useful to examine the differences in an interdisciplinary fashion in order to enrich our understanding of development but also alternatives to development and postdevelopment approaches. What these approaches share is that development interventions never occur in a vacuum but require a nuanced understanding of the context in which they occur. Politics, culture, power, and social organization are very important to defining development problems especially if we want to identify just and viable solutions to these problems and to see they are implemented in a fair and humane manner. The readings in this course will focus on the history, theory, and critiques of global development. We will then focus on the relationship to development to social construction of human needs and desires and visions of the good life. We will end with practical exercises that allow us to try and formulate solutions in real life that must take into account the complexity of the issues raised in the course.

ANT 231: Frauds and Fallacies in Archaeology

This course examines claims that have been made in archaeology based on bad data, misinterpretation, logical fallacies, or outright fraud. In particular we will investigate claims that have gotten major popular attention such as the 2012 doomsday scenario, extra-terrestrial involvement in constructing ancient monuments, and the Piltdown fraud. By looking deeply at pseudoscience in archaeology, students will gain a deeper appreciation for the importance of a rigorous scientific framework in research and also the ways that data can be misinterpreted in popular culture. Additionally we will address the broader anthropological problem of why these unscientific claims gain so much popularity when better models are available.

ANT 232: Life, Death and Economy: Archaeology of Central Asia

This course surveys contemporary evidence from archaeological and art discoveries on elaborate rituals surrounding death and dying, economics of being a nomad, warrior culture, shamans, and the transmigration of gold and treasure in ancient Central Asia.

ANT 233: Stone Age Archaeology of Eurasia

This course will examine the archaeological record of Eurasia, starting with the earliest archaeological sites outside of Africa around 1.8 million years ago and ending with the period just before we begin to see the first signs of agriculture around 10,000 years ago.

ANT 240: Laboratory Methods in Archaeology

Archaeology is the study of humans through their material culture, which is often the only evidence that remains that can help us understand cultures of the recent and distant past. This course introduces students to scientific methodology central to the reconstruction of human
lifeways through material remains left by past peoples and societies. Throughout the semester, students will be exposed to aspects of the entire investigative process, including methods for finding sites, basic survey techniques, dating methods, and data collection on artifacts and bones. Students will learn basic analysis methods relevant to the study of different material types, such as pottery, stone tools, and bones. Through these analyses, we will explore questions about past human identity and behavior: who they were, what they were eating, in which environments they were living, and how the answers to each of these questions can change over time. By the end of the semester, students will have a well rounded understanding of the methods of archaeology and the value of their application.

ANT 262: Monkey business: Primate Society and Behavior

Why do humans and other primates behave the way they do? This class will examine the societies and behaviors of our closest living relatives, the Primates. The course begins by reviewing basic biology, anatomy, and variation of apes, monkeys and other primates. We will then examine aspects of primate social systems, including group sizes and mating strategies. The course will conclude by examining specific topics in Primatology, such as communication, cognition and infanticide. Students will ultimately come to appreciate how human behavior and society are like our relatives', and how they are unique.

ANT 275/WLL 271: Language and Society

This course examines the manner in which language is embedded in society. Topics examined include the nature of language, language ideologies, and the social differentiation between the poetic and the plain, the polite and the vulgar.

ANT 285: Food and Society

This course explores the relationships among society, population, food production, and politics. We will study cross-cultural views about food, and how various systems of food production such as foraging, shifting cultivation, and intensive agriculture, are altered by society, government, and industrialization.

ANT 286: Nomads: Around the world and through time

The course will explore the archaeology and anthropology of nomadic pastoral societies in light of their ecological, political, and cultural strategies and adaptation to extreme environments. We will pay specific attention to the social groups in extreme environments, including the world's driest deserts, highest and most treacherous mountains, and the coldest, bleakest reaches of the arctic. Moving through six regions of the world during the semester, we will examine the local ecology and the development of pastoral and nomadic ways of life in each. Case studies in archaeology and ethnography will form the backbone of student learning, and each student has the opportunity to explore one nomadic/ pastoralist society in-depth through a group research project. Students will learn to see where Kazakhstan fits globally in nomadic studies and that nomads, who are imagined as unchanging and in conflict with the sedentary world, are in fact incredibly adaptive and have been integral in shaping world empires. Based on this global survey, the class will explore the essential role nomads have played in the formation and transfer of culture, language, and power from prehistoric times to the current era – often in the most inhospitable of regions. Students can carry what they learned from the class forward with them into complementary courses in human systems in their majors.

ANT 306: Anthropology of Performance

Shakespeare famously said that "All the world's a stage." In this class, we will examine the way anthropologists have conceptualized everyday life as a kind of theatre. How does life imitate art, or art imitate life?

ANT 313//REL 332: Islam and Politics in Eurasia

The course examines the ways in which Islam and politics are intertwined in many parts of Eurasia. The course provides background in the issues common to many Muslim societies that form the frameworks for political contention in Muslim contexts, such as concepts of the role of the state and religion in public life, Islamic notions of reform, contexts of Sufism and "Salafism", and connections between religious identity and national and other aspects of identity. It will explore the ways that the post-Communist context provides a case where the relationship between Islam and society unfolds in new and particular ways because of the end of official atheism, the growth of pluralism, and the flow of ideas and influences across international boundaries, as well as the ways that developments in Eurasia resonate with international trends. Islam will be examined in realms ranging from social movements and opposition politics to state building and legitimization. Themes will include issues such as the relationships between Islam and political authority, debates about Islam's significance for social order, the ways that Islam is brought into political conflicts and violence, and the role of Islam in secularism, international relations, proselytizing and religious conversion, and retraditionalization.

ANT 314: Politics of Identity in Eurasia

The course examines how identity concepts play a role in the politics of Eurasian countries. Topics include: the factors forming current national, sub-national and religious identities, the role of national ideologies in the state-building process and promotion of loyalty to the regime, identity as a factor in opposition mobilization, identity in conflicts, and the role identity in international relations. The focus is primarily on the post-communist period in the countries of former-Soviet Union, while providing the essential background in the historical context, as well as comparative reference to related regions including Western China, Afghanistan, the Near East and Russia. Theories of political identity are explored as they have been developed in the literature on Eurasia and in a broader comparative frame.

ANT 315: Youth Cultures in Eurasia

ANT 331: Archaeology of Power and Inequality

Blatant social divisions appear across human civilizations of the past and the present. We could say that the uneven power dynamics we see in today's world are the result of slow accumulations of biological and cultural changes that began as far back as the Paleolithic. However, opinions on the origins, causes, and internal-relationships of human social inequalities are hotly debated. In this course, we will critically survey how discrimination and exclusion strategies were introduced, enforced, gained prominence, and became systemic through time.

ANT 333: Anthropology of Space

In this course, we examine how our behaviors shape and are shaped by the space in which we live. Through the lens of anthropological theory, we explore different approaches to studying space use, at both the large and small scales. We will survey a broad body of literature that will demonstrate how human space use has changed over time, coinciding with the onset of major milestones in human behavioral/cultural evolution. While examining these changes, students will develop strong theoretical foundations for how archaeologists reconstruct the past by examining processes and behaviors present in various cultures today. Students will learn about the spatial behavior of modern day groups and how these behaviors are shaped by lifestyle and environment. The course will close by contemplating broader questions of landscape use and how religion and spiritual systems impact the way in which different people view space.

ANT 340: Method and Theory in Archaeology

This course will examine the origins of archaeology, the evolution of archaeological thought, and the current theoretical paradigms that shape archaeological investigations and interpretations. Theory is the foundation upon which questions, methodologies, and analyses are planned and
formed, and we cannot conduct archaeology without it. During the semester, students will be introduced to the varied and dynamic theoretical approaches that underlie archaeological inquiry and be encouraged to think about why the questions we ask imply a theoretical perspective and
ultimately dictate what information we use to reconstruct the human story. During the course of the semester, we will review the historic background of the emergence of processual and post-processual archaeology, and the numerous contributions and critiques of archaeology stemming from post-modernist thought, including feminism, symbolism, postcolonialism, and studies of the contemporary past. The intent is to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge base to envision a holistic and multivocal future for archaeology. Students will engage with the different approaches in theory and read widely among archaeology’s greatest works where interpretations rely on diverse theoretical underpinnings and intellectual positions regarding what about Homo sapiens is important to explore, explain, and understand.

ANT 361: Human Evolution: Bones, Stones and Genomes

This course examines the evidence for the emergence of the human species, with an emphasis on the fossil or paleontological record. We will address questions such as: Why do humans have such large brains, and lack tails? How have technology and culture influenced human evolution? Are humans still evolving? In answering these questions, students will learn about the fossil, genetic and behavioral evidence of how we became human over the past several million years.


ANT 385/WLL 385: Postcolonial Theory and its Applications in Eurasia

In this course, we will use postcolonial lenses to analyze Central Asia, its literature, and cultural production (film, songs, and videos). While postcolonial studies and postcolonial theory have been a part of the canon of several disciplines such as anthropology, comparative literature, and cultural studies in the West, the degree of its application to Eurasian Studies has been limited and its applicability has been questioned. We will read some classical theoretical texts in postcolonial studies and then see how this theory that has been so productive elsewhere can be applied to Central Asian cultural phenomena. Do we ever think of Central Asia as "Orient" or "Third World" or "Asia" having a "complex relationship" to "Occident," "the First World" or "Europe"? If so, how can we theorize this state of having a complex relationship – coloniality, global hierarchy, dependency? In addition to classics of postcolonial studies such as Edward Said, Franz Fanon, Homi Bhabha and emerging theorizations on issues of coloniality in our part of the world, we will also read old and new ethnographies of Central Asia, Central Asian Soviet and Post-Soviet literature and watch films produced in the region and about the region.

ANT 386/SOC 386: Social Challenges of Climate Change

The human impact on our larger biophysical environment has grown to the point where we are now, by general acknowledgement, living in the 'Anthropocene', a geological era in which humans have become a key driver in the Earth's system. In response, scholars, disciplines, universities, and other organizations have developed subfields, centers, funding programs, and intellectual approaches to investigate how humans interact with their natural environment. In this course we review what social scientists have done to better understand the human dimensions of environmental change. This course will draw on an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the past, present, and future interactions between the climate and human beings. This course will seek to strengthen students' capacities for inquiry, analysis and critical engagement with real world challenges.

ANT 399: Special Topics in Anthropology

The exact topic of this course will change each time it is offered. It is used to explore new or unusual topics for which another course does not already exist.

ANT 400-404: Research Assistance in Anthropology

The aim of this course is to allow students to assist in the research projects of faculty in the Sociology and Anthropology Department.

ANT 415: Cutting-Edge Social Science Research on Eurasia

In this advanced level seminar, we will review the recent prominent works produced in the field of Eurasian studies. In particular, we will read monographs, collections, and articles that are considered to have left a lasting imprint on contemporary research and to have changed the way we conceptualize issues concerning 'our region.' The works we shall cover will include (but are not limited to) Serguei Oushakine's (2009) Patriotism of Despair, Olga Shevchenko's (2009) Crisis and the Everyday in Postsocialist Moscow, Morgan Liu's (2012) Under Solomon's Throne, Johan Rasanayagam's (2012) Islam in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan and the collection, Ethnographies of the State in Central Asia (2014). We will also examine articles from the leading area studies' journals such as Europe-Asia Studies, Central Asian Survey, and Slavic Review. On completion, students should be able to formulate and place their research within the framework of existing research.

ANT420/520: Materiality and Eurasian Society

The field of material culture studies inverts the longstanding focus on how people make things by also investigating technological behaviors that both shape and are shaped by the individuals who perform them ––objects have substantially more power than we give them credit for. Of particular focus in this course will be the role of anthropology in constructing narratives of 'Things.' We will critically evaluate modes for thinking about materiality over time through specific attention to Eurasia from prehistory to the present day.

ANT 421: Sport and the Construction of Identity

The course will introduce students to the key anthropological concepts and theories useful to understand identity-building processes and it`s connection with the sport. The course will highlight the difficulties and scholarly controversies associated with the study of sport identity. Students will also examine sport, not as a phenomenon that “reveals” social and cultural values and gender stereotypes associated with the sport, but they will learn how sport serves as one of the major modes of identity. In this course, students will study sport as an integral part of human society, culture, and identity construction “tool’. Themes will also include topics on reimagination or ‘revival” of the past via spot games, identity, sport and power, regional identity and globalization, sport and gender stereotypes. At the end of the class, students will be familiarized and will be able to make a critical judgment on specific identity, gender and ethnic building processes, state-run ideologies. This course covers large geographic areas such as South and North Americas, Europe, the Middle East and South and Central Asia.

ANT 435: The Archaeology of Ritual

Nearly every human society participates in some form of ritual practice, including those from the past. Data recovered from archaeological sites of ancient cultures are sometimes described as “ritual” items when no other explanation is available. Carefully considering context and using
multiple lines of evidence makes it possible to move beyond a blanket designation of “ritual” to understand what these data tell us about ancient religious beliefs and ritual practices. Using approaches to rituals grounded in religious studies and archaeological theory and physical evidence from past societies around the world, students will learn about different forms of ritual practices, what evidence they leave in the archaeological record, and how to interpret them when no written evidence is available to explain complex and symbolic behaviors. Students will develop their existing archaeological knowledge and interpretive skills by examining sacred space, artifacts, and additional lines of evidence presented in readings, lectures, and discussions. They will also gain confidence using terminology associated with religious and ritual practices, such as liminality, the sacred, and belief systems. They will apply their knowledge by describing, comparing, and interpreting materials from ritual sites.

ANT 475: Digital Ethnographies

This upper-level seminar will introduce students to the study of human communication and social activity as mediated by new communications technologies: mobile phones and the internet, social networks and virtual worlds. What social and cultural universals follow us into new media? How do new media offer new possibilities for social structures, relationships, and interaction? What new methods are required for doing ethnography online? We will explore these questions in class through reading monographs, articles, and methods handbooks, through traditional discussion, through experiments in online presence and ventures into virtual worlds.


ANT 498: Capstone Seminar I

Capstone seminar is a year-long course which is a fundamental feature of the Anthropology BA program. It serves to culminate, solidify and provide clear demonstration of the capabilities that students have acquired previously in the course of the program. Capstone seminar consists of two consecutive courses: ANT 498, taught in the Fall semester, and ANT 499, taught in the Spring semester. In their fourth year in the program, students will have an opportunity to design, conduct, and present their research projects broadly falling within the fields of Sociology and Anthropology. In this process, they will consolidate and further develop their knowledge in sociology, anthropology and related disciplines as well as research, writing, communication, and presentation skills. At the beginning of the Fall semester, students will be asked to choose one of the two tracks for their Capstone seminar: Track One: An independent academic research and undergraduate thesis. Track Two: Community-engagement participatory research project and project report. During the Fall semester, students will design their research projects, develop research instruments, review relevant literature, obtain ethics review approval from the SHSS ethics review committee, and start data collection.

ANT 499: Capstone Seminar II

  • Capstone seminar is a year-long course which is a fundamental feature of the Anthropology BA program. It serves to culminate, solidify and provide clear demonstration of the capabilities that students have acquired previously in the course of the program. Capstone seminar consists of two consecutive courses: ANT 498, taught in the Fall semester, and ANT 499, taught in the Spring semester. In their fourth year in the program, students will have an opportunity to design, conduct, and present their research projects broadly falling within the fields of Sociology and Anthropology. In this process, they will consolidate and further develop their knowledge in sociology, anthropology and related disciplines as well as research, writing, communication, and presentation skills. At the beginning of the Fall semester, students will be asked to choose one of the two tracks for their Capstone seminar: Track One: An independent academic research and undergraduate thesis. Track Two: Community-engagement participatory research project and project report. During the spring semester, students will analyze the collected data, write up their results, present their findings through a public conference. Track One students must write and publicly present an original research paper. Additionally these students will be asked to find avenues to disseminate their work widely including publishing in academic journals or presenting their work at a recognized academic conference. Track Two students will be also asked to present their research findings to their communities (organizations) in the form of an oral presentation, an exhibition, or using social media tools.
Careers in Anthropology
How can anthropology help you in your career?

Anthropology Courses offer not only a wide variety of interesting and fascinating content but also prepare our graduates to enter the workforce with transferable skills.

For example, in Frauds and Fallacies in Archaeology students not only learn about famous hoaxes in Anthropology but also how to read the news critically and how to analyze the motivations of why various entities package ideas for public consumption the ways they do. This course is ideal for those interested in marketing, consulting, politics and the non-profit sphere. It teaches students to be critical thinkers, and also provides a place to hone essential skills such as writing, presenting, and connecting with various audiences.

In Food and Society, students learn about all aspects of the history of food, its production, distribution, and consumption. The class exposes students to relevant topics like factory farming, advances in agricultural science and technology, the politics and science surrounding GMOs, the relationship between obesity and processed food, food insecurity and food desserts, the role of traditional diets worldwide and the effects of globalization on local diets. Students can apply what they learn to their daily lives and own diets, and how they make choices in what to buy, cook, and eat. Those who want to work in government or as policy makers in the fields of agriculture and animal husbandry will gain a nuanced understanding of the history and current events surrounding the issues, as well as the skills to talk and write about them. Those interested in medicine, public health, and nutritional science will benefit from taking this course, as it will help them connect better with their patients and clients.

Some of our classes have a research component where students do "mini-ethnographies." The mini-ethnographies teach students about how to choose a research question, how to conduct small-scale ethnographic research, and how to draw conclusions for that. This is useful for doing any kind of consumer research--marketing, user experience research, consulting--for working in any kind of governmental program where research needs to be done--for working in NGOs--etc. In Digital Ethnographies, in particular, students learn about research ethics in detail and go through the process of submitting their research to IREC; even private-sector researchers should think about research ethics! And they learn specific applications of qualitative social science research methods for studying what people do online.

Most of the courses also have a theoretical basis. Learning about social theory and looking at different ethnographic case studies of different sociocultural practices means gaining an understanding of cultural logics, of why it is that people do the things that they do. This is useful for anyone who wants to go into government or policy. Why do policies work or not?
What cultural logics made a particular policy seem like a good idea? What cultural logics lead that policy to succeed or to fail? This is also good for consumer research. What made engineers design a product in a particular way? (Here's a really good piece on gender and the Amazon Echo vs. Google Home: https://medium.com/startup-grind/google-home-vs-alexa-56e26f69ac77)

What careers can anthropologists pursue?

Contrary to the popular perception, anthropologists are not all archaeologists or Indiana Jones wannabes. Anthropologists can pursue a number of careers ranging from education to law. Here are some examples of the fields where anthropologists can apply their skills:

  • Education/Outreach Administration/Management
  • Cultural Resource Management (CRM)
  • Evaluation/Assessment
  • Health (international/public health)
  • Museum/Curation/Project Design
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • Community Development
  • Business
  • Advocacy (human rights/social justice)
  • Tourism/Heritage
  • Human/Social Services
  • Healthcare Management/Services/Deliver
  • Management Consulting
  • Design (products and/or services)
  • Social Impact Assessment
  • International Development/Affairs
  • Market Research
  • Law/Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement
  • Mass Communication
  • Humanitarian Efforts
Job Titles for Anthropology Majors and Minors:

  • Museum Manager/Curator
  • Development Specialist
  • Preservation Planner
  • Architectural Historian
  • Archeologist
  • Archivist
  • Analyst
  • City Planner
  • Consultant
  • Consultant, International Development, Inter-Regional & Global Projects
  • Health Policy Consultant
  • Language Consultant
  • Health Data Manager/Researcher
  • Socio-Epidemiology Researcher
  • Discourse Analysis/Educator/Communication Specialist
  • Organizational Consultant
  • Coordinator
  • Field Museum Of Natural History
  • Development
  • Assistant Education Development Officer
  • Development Anthropologist, International Development
  • Economic Development Officer
  • Policy Analyst
  • Program Analyst
  • Program Assistant
  • Program Coordinator
  • Researcher
  • Land Use Specialist
  • Census Analyst
  • Geographic Information System Analyst Or Technician
  • Location Analysts
  • Real Estate Appraisers, Researchers
  • Writing And Editing Maps, Texts, Atlases
  • Environmental Analyst
  • (Source: American Anthropological Association, http://www.americananthro.org/AdvanceYourCareer/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=1783; Indiana University of Pennsylvania, https://www.iup.edu/anthropology/undergrad/current-students/career-planning/job-titles/)
Entry Requirements
Minimum requirements of language test results:

      

  Writing 

Reading

  Listening

  Speaking

Overall

  Academic IELTS

6.0

5.5

5.5

5.5

6.0

TOEFL iBT

21

8

7

16

60


Additional requirements:
  • There is no minimum requirements for winners of International or/and Republican Subject Olympiads for IELTS/TOEFL IBT;
  • Superscoring does not apply to IELTS/TOEFL;
  • IELTS Online or IELTS Indicator, TOEFL iBT Home Edition or TOEFL PDT are not considered;
  • IELTS/TOEFL test certificates are considered valid if their results do not expire by the 1st of August of the relevant academic year to which Applicants are applying. Results of a test, taken before August 1, 2023, are not considered in the competition.
  • Applicants recommended for admission to the Undergraduate program with IELTS certificates equal to 6.0 overall shall comply with certain conditions for study according to the internal documents of the University
Regular Entry Requirements

Regular Requirement

Minimum Score

Notes

English Proficiency Test

IELTS Overall: 6.0;

6.0 - Writing, 5.5 - Listening, Speaking, Reading


TOEFL iBT Overall: 60;

Writing: 21; Reading: 8; Speaking: 16; Listening: 7

- Paid at your own expense

- IELTS/TOEFL tests are considered without superscoring

- IELTS/TOEFL tests must be taken in person at the test center (not remotely)

- You can provide improved language test scores later. The deadline will be available on the website.


GPA or equivalent**

and/or

UNT in English***

GPA: 4.0 out of 5.0

UNT:

1. Mathematical literacy: 8 out of 10

2. Reading literacy: 8 out of 10

3. Overall: 85

- Applicants recommended for admission to the undergraduate program shall comply with certain conditions for study according to the internal documents of the university.

- **Other grading scales shall be converted to a GPA 5.0 scale for equivalency.

- ***Only the last provided certificate before the deadline will be considered. Superscoring is not applicable.


Financial aid & scholarships
NUET applicants
Minimum entry requirements for NUET applicants category

Exam

 

NUET

120 total score and 50,50 passing scores per subject (Mathematics, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving) for participation in the competition.

Applicants with a minimum passing score can be considered for NUFYP program

Interview

At the request of the School


NUET (NU Entrance Test) – test that evaluates academic training for studying at the University
  • NUET is held in 2 subject sections - Mathematics and Critical Thinking & Problem Solving.
  • Number of questions – 60.
  • Test content – multiple-choice questions.
  • Test duration – 120 minutes. Minimum passing score – determined by the Admissions Committee
  • Test results are available in 6 weeks in a Personal account.
  • The number of tasks and duration of the entry examination are subject for change by Test administrators.
  • Information about access to the entry examination is placed in the applicant’s Personal account.
  • Applicants are informed about examination date and venue, information on format, as well as required documents and Rules of conduct during the examination via email one week prior to the exams.
  • If a violation of rules or conditions of passing the test occurs, the applicant's results are cancelled. In this case, the applicant is excluded from the competition. Disqualified applicants will not be able to enroll to NU in the future.
  • There is no appeal procedure.
  • NUET for all applicants is free of charge

SAT/ACT applicants
Minimum entry requirements for SAT/ACT applicants category

Exam

 

Digital SAT Reasoning Test**  

or ACT

Digital SAT Reasoning Test – 1240

OR

ACT – 26 composite score

Interview

At the request of the School    

SAT/ACT test results are valid if their results do not expire by the 1st of August of the relevant academic year to which Applicants are applying. Within this admission competition, the SAT and ACT certificates expiration period is two years.
*SAT/ACT certificates are considered without superscoring.
**Only Digital SAT test is considered in the competition.

IB Diploma holders*
Minimum entry requirements for IВ Diploma holders**

Diploma

 

IB Diploma results   

30 total score and

4, 4, 5 for 3 subjects of HL

Interview

At the request of the School   

*Only IB Diploma holders who have the final results of IB Diploma by the deadline of application period can participate in the competition under this category (Within this admission competition, IB diploma expiration period is two years). Diplomas of 2023 and 2024 years are considered in the competition.
**IB Diploma holders also may choose to participate in the competition by the one of the following categories: “SAT/ACT applicants” or “NUET applicants” or "Winners of International or/and Republican Subject Olympiads (see the minimum requirements for these categories on the website)

A-level/NIS Grade 12 Certificate holders*
Minimum entry requirements for A-level/NIS Grade 12 Certificate holders**

Certificate

 

A-level/NIS 12 Grade Certificate results  

not less than ABB for any subjects

Interview

At the request of the School  

*Only A-level/NIS Grade 12 Certificate holders who have the final results of A-level/NIS Grade 12 Certificate by the deadline of application period can participate in the competition under this category (Within this admission competition, A-level and NIS grade 12 Certificate expiration period is two years). Certificates of 2023 and 2024 are considered in the competition.
**A-level/NIS Grade 12 Certificate holders also may choose to participate in the competition by the one of the following categories: “SAT/ACT applicants” or “NUET applicants” or "Winners of International or/and Republican Subject Olympiads" (see the minimum requirements for these categories on the website).

Winners of International or/and Republican Subject Olympiads
List of International Subject Olympiads
  • International Mathematics Olympiad – IMO
  • International Physics Olympiad – IPHO
  • International Chemistry Olympiad -IChO
  • International Biology Olympiad IBO
  • International Olympiad in Informatics – IOI
  • International Zhautykov Olympiad in Mathematics, Physics and Informatics
  • International Mendeleyev Chemistry Olympiad
List of Republican Subject Olympiads of the Republic of Kazakhstan
  • Republican Mathematics Olympiad
  • Republican Physics Olympiad
  • Republican Chemistry Olympiad
  • Republican Biology Olympiad
  • Republican Informatics Olympiad

*Applicants can apply with both Republican and International Olympiads

Minimum requirements for the winners of the International or/and Republican Subject Olympiads category

Type of Olympiad

Medal type

Interview 

Republic Olympiad

gold and silver medals (I, II place) for the current academic year

Required

International Olympiad*

gold, silver and bronze medals (I, II, III place) for the last three years

Important dates for those who are applying for the 2025-2026 academic year
Online application deadlines for Masters programs:
For all types of grants:
  • Citizens of Kazakhstan: available until January 23, 2025, 2:00 P.M. (Astana time).
  • International applicants: available until March 3, 2025, 2:00 P.M. (Astana time).
For full tuition fee-paying category:
  • Citizens of Kazakhstan: available until June 25, 2025, 2:00 P.M. (Astana time).
  • International applicants from countries requiring a visa prior to arrival: available until March 27, 2025, 2:00 P.M. (Astana time).
  • International applicants from countries eligible for visa issuance upon arrival: available until June 25, 2025, 2:00 P.M. (Astana time).
Deadline for submission of IELTS/TOEFL, GRE/GMAT certificates:
For all types of grants:
  • Citizens of Kazakhstan: February 3, 2025
  • International applicants: March 4, 2025
For full tuition fee-paying category:
  • Citizens of Kazakhstan: July 4, 2025
  • Applicants from countries requiring a visa prior to arrival: March 31, 2025
  • Applicants from countries eligible for visa issuance upon arrival: June 26, 2025
The start of orientation week (for newly enrolled students): August 2025
First day of classes: August 2025
Tuition fees
Undergraduate Degree Programs

The tuition fee for the undergraduate programs is $15,000 (7 665 000 KZT) for the 2025/2026 academic year for both local and international students.

To learn more about tuition fees please contact bursars_office@nu.edu.kz.
There are merit-based Abay Kunanbayev scholarships for top international applicants recommended for admission.
To learn more about financial aid and scholarship requirements, please visit nu.edu.kz

How to Apply?
Applicants must go through the online application to participate in the competition:
Step 1. Create your Personal Account

Go to the http://admissions.nu.edu.kz portal and press the “Sign Up” button and fill out the required information in English. Please select the undergraduate program during choosing the academic level. 

After completing the application, confirm it by clicking on the link sent to your mailbox.

Be sure to read the instructions about the application procedure given in your personal account.

Applicants meeting the following eligibility criteria can take part in the competition:

1. Students in the final year of secondary education institutions, technical, vocational, post-secondary and higher education institutions;

2. Students studying in higher education institutions;

3. Graduates from secondary, post-secondary or higher education institutions.

Step 2. Fill out the application form

Open the Foundation and Undergraduate Programs link at the “My Application Forms” page and fill out the Foundation and Undergraduate Application Form that includes a consent form for personal data processing. Make sure you have entered all the required information in the correct manner and press the “Upload” button.

Step 3. Submit the required documents
After filling out the application form, you are required to upload to your personal account:
1. a scanned copy of proof of your studies at a final grade/course with a photo (according to the template in a personal account in one of the languages) or a scanned version of a certificate/diploma with transcripts if you have already completed a relevant level of study.
2. a scanned copy of national ID card and/or passport. The copies from eGov or any other platforms/electronic services are not accepted. Important: to take the entry exam, an applicant must have an original of a passport or a national identity card that was uploaded to a personal account;
Upload a 3*4 photo for documents to the “Profile” section in your personal account.

The format of requested documents is available in the personal account.

Step 4. Pay the application fee and submit the application
To finalize the application process, please click on the "PAY AND SUBMIT APPLICATION" button in your personal account under the "My Application Forms" section. The application fee shall be paid online through the payment options available in the personal account. The use of other payment methods for the application fee are not acceptable.
The application fee is 10 000 tenge. The application fee is increased 3 times from the established amount when paid within the last two weeks before the first officially-approved deadline and during the extension period for accepting applications for participation in the admission process (30 000 tenge). The application fee is non-refundable, irrespective of the application outcome or payment errors.
If you don't have a personal card, you may use the card of another person.
After submission, applicants cannot make any changes in their applications and submitted documents.

The Admissions Department will check your application and contact you if there is an issue with the application or specify if some documents are missing and deadlines to submit them. Incomplete or incorrect (uncorrected) applications will not be considered in the competition.

Step 5. Submit IELTS/TOEFL certificate (only after paying the application fee and submitting the application)
In order to provide IELTS/TOEFL certificates, applicants should fulfill the following requirements:
  1. To send an official electronic report of valid IELTS/TOEFL certificate via the test administrator directly to NU;
  2. To upload its scanned copy and insert its TRF number to the “Upload IELTS/TOEFL results” section of a personal account. Applicants can submit any number of certificates for the competition, but the last certificate uploaded to their personal account will be considered.
IELTS/TOEFL certificates are considered without superscoring.
Take care when entering information regarding codes for test certificate submission via the test administrator or the test center. See below:
  • Code for IELTS: NU, Admissions Department
  • Code for TOEFL iBT: 6762
Detailed instruction about providing of IELTS/TOEFL certificates is available in applicants’ personal accounts.
  • Minimum requirements for language test results are available in the “Entry examinations and requirements” section;
  • Tests taken remotely, not in the Test Center, such as IELTS Online, TOEFL iBT Home Edition and TOEFL PDT results are not considered in the competition;
  • All provided certificates must be valid by August 1, 2025 - the beginning of the respective academic year.
  • Deadline for submission of IELTS/TOEFL certificates is available in the “Important dates” section.

Please note that submission of IELTS/TOEFL certificates in the electronic database of NU is not within the competence of the university. You should independently contact the test center and make sure that your certificate has been sent. Please note that this action takes at least 7-10 working days. If the certificate is received after the deadline specified by the Admissions Department, results will not be considered in the competition.

Further steps
Please check your email 1-2 weeks before the NUET exam – the information about the upcoming exam date, time and venue along with exam rules will be sent there.

Please keep in mind that sometimes letters from the university may go to the spam box.

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