Anthropology Assessment Results
- Mission Statement
The overall mission of the Weber State University Anthropology Program is grounded in the disciplinary body of knowledge which
provides students with a holistic, comparative understanding of human behavior, human biological and cultural variation across a variety
of temporal and geographic scales. The program aims to produce students versed in anthropologically-grounded methods in research,
analysis, and interpretation, and a strong sense of anthropology's relevance to the world today. Students are taught to question and
examine the significance of beliefs, attitudes and prejudices toward human differences and similarities, and to be informed of the
anthropological position of relativism and valuing cultural and biological variation. The program prepares students for a broad range of
both public and private sector employment in anthropology-related fields or to enter professional or graduate schools appropriate to their
interests. - Student Learning Outcomes
- Certificate
Students completing the Archeological Technician Certificate will understand and/or be able to apply:
- the four-field approach of anthropology;
- anthropological theory and methods;
- critical thinking and communication skills;
- human cultural and biological diversity across time and space.
- Associate Degree
Students completing the Associate of Applied Science in Archeological Technician degree will understand and/or be able to apply:
- the four-field approach of anthropology;
- anthropological theory and methods;
- critical thinking and communication skills;
- human cultural and biological diversity across time and space.
- Bachelor Degree
At the end of their study at ³Ô¹Ï¹ÙÍø, students completing the Bachelor of Arts or Science in Anthropology or Anthropology, Archeology Track will understand and/or be able to apply:
- the four-field approach of anthropology;
- anthropological theory and methods;
- critical thinking and communication skills;
- human cultural and biological diversity across time and space.
- Certificate
- Curriculum Grid
Update in Progress
We are currently transitioning to a different format. Please contact oie@weber.edu to request a copy of the current curriculum grid for this program.
The Anthropology Program has two tracks: the General Anthropology Track and the Archaeology Track. The shared core curriculum common to both tracks, and which all majors are required to take, consists of the following courses:- ANTH 1000 SS/EDI Introduction to Anthropology Credits: (3)
- ANTH 4200 Anthropological Theory Credits: (3)
- ANTH 4300 CRE Anthropological Research Methods Credits: (3) (prereq: ANTH 1000, SOC 3600)
- ANTH 4900 CRE Senior Capstone Seminar Credits: (3) (prereq: ANTH 4300)
- SOC 3600 Social Statistics Credits: (3) or equivalent as approved by the program coordinator
In addition, courses required for students pursuing the Archaeology Track include the following, which can also serve as elective choices for students on the General Anthropology Track:
- ANTH 1020 LS/SUS Biological Anthropology Credits: (3)
- ANTH 2030 SS EDI Principles of Archaeology Credits: (3)
- ANTH 3100 North American Archaeology Credits: (3)
- ANTH 3300 Archaeological Field Techniques Credits: (6) (prereq: ANTH 2030 and one 3000- or 4000-level archaeology course)
- ANTH 3400 CRE Archaeological Laboratory Techniques Credits: (3) (prereq: ANTH 2030; ANTH 3300 recommended)
- ANTH 4100 Archaeological Method, Theory, and Cultural Resource Management Credits: (3) (prereq: ANTH 2030)
Given that not all students in the program take the courses required for the Archaeology Track, our Program Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan focuses on the shared required core for the program; since our last biennial assessment we have added a required Archaeology Track course (ANTH 3400). ANTH 1000 Intro to Anthropology is included here to indicate the initial point at which these outcomes are introduced, although as a Gen Ed course enrollments are largely comprised of largely non-majors, and the course is assessed for Social Science Gen Ed Learning Outcomes, not Program Learning Outcomes.
- Program and Contact Information
Anthropology takes a holistic approach to describing and explaining human differences and similarities around the world and throughout time. The program offers a holistic, four-field approach to anthropology with its subfields of Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology and Linguistic Anthropology. The program offers both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in Anthropology with tracks in General Anthropology and Archaeology. General Anthropology prepares students for public and private sector careers in anthropology-related fields or to enter professional or graduate schools. Students in this track complete a series of introductory and advanced courses in the four subfields of Anthropology, as well as a range of elective classes suited to student interests. In addition, a Minor in Anthropology is offered. Through participation in a required archaeological field school and Archaeological Laboratory Techniques class in our state-of-the-art lab and collections curation and storage facility, students in the BA or BS Archaeology Track provides students with the knowledge and experience to enter graduate programs and obtain part- and full-time, entry-level positions with private sector cultural resource management firms, environmental consulting firms and public land-managing agencies at the state or federal level.
The Anthropology Program also plays a significant university-wide service role, providing five General Education courses that serve students seeking to fulfill Core and Breadth requirements across a range of General Education Learning Outcomes, including:
- Cultural Competence (CC) – ANTH 1000, 1040, 2010, 2030 (ANTH 1020 CC status will be renewed AY 2026-27)
- Humanities (HU) – ANTH 1040 Language & Culture
- Life Sciences (LS) – ANTH 1020 Biological Anthropology
- Social Sciences (SS) – ANTH 1000 Introduction to Anthropology; ANTH 2010 Peoples & Cultures of the World; ANTH 2030 Principles of Archaeology
Program Faculty: Since our last Biennial Report was completed Fall 2023), the Anthropology Program has lost two of five faculty members (Assistant Professor Abigail Mack and Assistant Professor Madeline Mackie). A replacement for Dr. Mackie has been hired, who will join the program in January, 2026. The currently-remaining tenure-track faculty are:- Joanna Gautney, Associate Professor
- Mark Stevenson, Associate Professor
- David Yoder, Associate Professor
Additional High Impact Educational Experience (HIEE) course attributes include:
- Course-Based Research Experience (CRE) – ANTH 4300 Anthropological Research Methods; ANTH 4900 Senior Capstone Seminar
- Sustainability (SUS) – ANTH 1020 Biological Anthropology
Contact Information
Mark Stevenson, Associate Professor | Anthropology Program Coordinator and Department Chair
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
College of Social Sciences & Education
1299 Edvalson St., Dept 1208
Ogden, Utah 84408-1208
(801) 626-6244
mstevenson1@weber.edu
Anthropology Program Website - Assessment Plan
We plan to continue with a course-based assessment approach. In the wake of last program review, we substantially revised our program learning outcomes, reducing them in number from 8 to 4. These are assessed in the shared core of classes common to students enrolled in both the General Anthropology and Archaeology Tracks in the program. Apart from the shared core of courses required by both tracks, the General Track provides greater freedom for students to choose or cluster elective courses based on topical interests and career goals, whereas the Archaeology Track (pursued by roughly 1/3 of our majors) is fairly prescribed, allowing few elective choices. Given the challenges of finding common assessment points for students in both tracks in our program beyond the shared core, we feel that a course-based approach grounded in the shared core (along with a select few Archaeology Track courses) makes the most practical sense for our program learning outcome assessment.
The tenure-track faculty of the anthropology program serve as the Assessment Committee to oversee and implement the program’s assessment plan, with the Anthropology Program Coordinator serving as the committee chair. At the end of each academic year (in advance of submitting an annual strategic plan update), the faculty convene to review the assessment plan, assign responsibility for course-based Gen Ed and Program Learning outcome assessment for the coming academic year, and discuss assessment findings. However, a formal meeting was not held at the end of the spring 2025 semester due to several factors: the unexpected departure of one tenure-track faculty member at the end of spring semester (Dr. Mack) and lack of replacement of another who departed the previous year (Dr. Mackie), both of whom were central to our Gen Ed and program assessment efforts; and the disruption caused by the HB265 process, which resulted in unexpected planning for a departmental merger with the Geography Department. The new departmental structure will include Anthropology, Geography and Sociology, each of which has suffered from chaotic and opportunistically random faculty cuts forced by the HB265 process, which taken together will force curricular changes that make a mockery of efforts at strategic, curricular and assessment planning for the foreseeable future. The Anthropology Program Learning Outcomes will remain unchanged for the immediate future, but the departmental merger and personnel cuts will entail curricular changes involving potentially cutting or changing required courses, cross-listing, new cross-disciplinary collaborative coursework, increased reliance on adjunct faculty and other as yet unforeseen changes which will impact our curriculum in a variety of as yet unforeseen ways.
Our assessment plan entails the synchronization of PLO assessment with General Education assessment. Assessment of PLOs takes place in two required, shared core courses per biennial report.
- Fall 2023 - program faculty undertook assessment of both General Education and Program Learning outcomes. PLOs 1-4 were assessed in ANTH 4200 Anthropological Theory and in ANTH 4300 Anthropological Research Methods. Both courses utilize direct assessment measures.
- Fall 2025 - Gen Ed and Program Learning Outcomes, including ANTH 4900 Senior Capstone Seminar and one additional required course for the Archaeology Track, ANTH 3400 Archaeological Laboratory Techniques (PLOs 1-4). PLOs 2 and 3 are assessed in ANTH 4900 using a combination of direct and indirect assessment measures.
- Fall 2027 – Gen Ed and Program Learning Outcomes will be assessed. PLOs will be assessed in ANTH 1000 Introduction to Anthropology and one additional required course for the Archaeology Track (TBD).
- Fall 2029 - Gen Ed and Program Learning Outcomes will be assessed.
- Assessment Report Submissions
To view assessment report submissions prior to April 2026, please visit our assessment archive here.
- Program Review
This information is part of the cyclical program review process. Details such as mission statements, learning outcomes, etc., are updated as part of the biennial assessment reporting process, an integral component of program review.