Undergraduate Portfolio Requirement Guidelines

The Department of Anthropology requires all majors to participate in a portfolio review during their final year in the undergraduate program. The portfolio requirement is designed to help the department assess what our students have been learning during their time in the program. It also provides students with a chance to review their scholarly development and discuss their experiences in the department with members of the faculty. 

To assemble the portfolio, anthropology majors should keep copies of all of their significant written assignments from courses in the department. These may include papers, lab reports, art projects, and any other assignments that you feel were significant to your development as an anthropology student. As you progress through the program, keep clean copies (no comments or grades) in a file or notebook, making a list of them as you go.

The portfolio will ordinarily be finalized in the second semester of the senior year, when you are enrolled in Anthropology 41001. At that time, you should prepare an annotated inventory list of the materials in the portfolio, including the following information for each item:

The course for which it was prepared
The year and semester the course was taken
A brief summary (one or two sentences) of the piece
A brief discussion of what you learned from this assignment

One of your assignments in Anthropology 41001 will require you to review the contents of the portfolio and write an essay about it.  The Portfolio Essay should be structured around demonstrating what you have learned about Anthropology and explaining how your written work in the Portfolio demonstrates your accomplishments with respect to the department’s Learning Objectives. 

You will include this essay with your portfolio and attach a current resume/curriculum vitae to the completed portfolio document. After that, your portfolio will be turned in through your Anthropology 410 class. Make sure to check the Department’s submission date for the semester you are graduating.