Student Experience

Explore the campus—and the world—from a collegial home base

Your college experience has many exploratory aspects to it. Our Anthropology department provides a collegial home base for venturing onto the IU campus, into the local community, and beyond. You’ll make friends from a broad variety of backgrounds and establish connections with students and faculty who can introduce you to other parts of the world.

Finding the right balance can be a challenge. Student experience is social, professional, personal, scholarly, and exploratory—not unlike fieldwork in anthropology! Our aim is to help you make use of the many extraordinary resources you’ll discover, homing in on what works best for you.

Bloomington is a fun and exciting place to spend your college years, offering cultural events, festivals, music, and lots of dining options. Find out what makes our town so special.

Check out Bloomington

Field schools + study abroad

During your undergraduate years, you are encouraged to participate in a field school through the Anthropology department. In fact, a high percentage of our students take part in study abroad experiences. We offer field schools in Indiana, Wyoming (archaeology), and Belize (archaeology or ethnography). You can also take part in a field program in Mexico (archaeology and ethnography).

Learn more about other study abroad experiences at the Office of Overseas Study, including information about how to fund study abroad.

Research opportunities

There are many opportunities for research at Indiana University. Research enhances your college experience, preparing you for a future career or graduate school.

Professional organizations

As you become more involved with Anthropology as a discipline, you might want to learn about or become involved in with these professional organizations:

Cultural diversity on campus

Diversity is woven into campus life, with six campus cultural centers unique to IU. The African American Arts Institute preserves and promotes African American culture, as does the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. The Asian Culture Center brings together students from Asia and the Asian-Pacific. La Casa is the IU Latino Cultural Center, and the First Nations Educational and Cultural Center, affiliated with the Anthropology department, is open to everyone regardless of cultural, racial or tribal background. The LGBTQ+ Center also serves as a resource and information center for campus and community individuals, groups, events, and activities.

Each of these centers seeks to create a welcoming environment where those who identify with a particular culture and their allies and advocates can come together to build friendship and community, supporting one another in their personal lives and academic achievement.