Program Emphases

During your coursework, you may choose to emphasize an area of expertise by taking one or more of the following supporting courses, internships, and practica. These emphases are not required by the program, nor can we guarantee that all courses will be offered during your time at Sonoma State. Program Emphases are intended to help focus your program of study and enhance the set of skills and competencies you acquire as part of your Master’s degree. Consult your advisor to select the Emphasis and the individual courses that will best support your research. Note that some courses have prerequisites and/or require permission codes; contact the Graduate Coordinator prior to registration.

Emphasis in Archaeological and Museum Collections Research and Management

  • ANTH 322: Historical Archaeology
  • ANTH 597: Internship in Archaeological Collections Management
  • ARTH 467: Museum Collections Management
  • ARTH 468: Curatorial Practice
  • ARTH 493: Museum and Gallery Management
  • ARTH 494: Museum Theory and Practice
  • POLS 587: Grant Writing and Administration

Emphasis in Archaeological Technologies and GIS

  • ANTH 328: New Technologies in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
  • ANTH 590: Practicum in Technology and GIS
  • GEP 380: Environmental Remote Sensing
  • GEP 387: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
  • GEP 388: Environmental Geographic Information Systems
  • GEP 489: Advanced Geographic Information Systems

Emphasis in Bioarchaeology

  • ANTH 303: Human Behavioral Ecology
  • ANTH 309: Health and Disease in the Past
  • ANTH 315: Forensic Anthropology Theory and Practice
  • ANTH 329: Bioarchaeology
  • ANTH 412: Human Osteology
  • ANTH 415: Forensic Anthropology Methods

Emphasis in California Archaeology

  • ANTH 321: Archaeology of Contact and Colonization
  • ANTH 322: Historical Archaeology
  • ANTH 392: Research in California Prehistory
  • ANTH 590: Practicum in Archaeological Survey and Site Recording
  • ANTH 590: Practicum in CRM Project Management
  • ANTH 596C: Internship in Information Management
  • HIST 471: California and the West (if not used to satisfy first-year History requirement)
  • HIST 472: California History I (if not used to satisfy first-year History requirement)

Emphasis in Community Outreach and Language Studies

  • ANTH 382: Language Change
  • ANTH 383: Language in Sociopolitical Context
  • ANTH 451: Applied Ethnographic Methods
  • ANTH 480: Studies of Language Use
  • ANTH 554: Field School in Cultural Heritage Management
  • ANTH 597: Internship in Oral History
  • HIST 355: America at War: Oral History and Performance
  • POLS 587: Grant Writing and Administration

Emphasis in Education and Curriculum Development

  • ANTH 451: Applied Ethnographic Methods
  • ANTH 554: Field School in Cultural Heritage Management
  • EDMS 471: Teaching Social Sciences in the Elementary School
  • Teaching Assistant for NAMS 165: Native Cultures of Northern California

Emphasis in Environmental Policy, Planning, and Management

  • ANTH 345: Nature and Society: Topics in Anthropology and the Environment
  • ECON 381: Natural Resource and Environmental Economics
  • GEP 330: Environmental History
  • GEP 333: Natural Resource Planning
  • GEP 335: U.S. Environmental Policy
  • GEP 336: U.S. Environmental Law
  • GEP 362: Environmental Impact Assessment
  • GEP 364: Environmental Planning
  • GEP 387: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
  • GEP 388: Environmental Geographic Information Systems
  • GEP 396: Selected Topics: Parks and Protected Areas Management 
  • GEP 456: Global Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future
  • POLS 314: Environmental Political Theory
  • POLS 481: Politics of Regulation and Land Use
  • POLS 506: Public Policy Process
  • SOCI 328: Sociology of the Environment 
  • SOCI 329: Sociology of Climate Change
  • SOCI 482: Environmental Justice and Policy

Emphasis in Geoarchaeology

  • GEP 345: Lab Methods in Physical Geography
  • GEP 350: Geomorphology
  • GEP 352: Soil Science
  • GEP 387: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
  • GEP 388: Environmental Geographic Information Systems
  • GEOL 303: Advanced Principles of Geology
  • GEOL 304: Geologic Mapping and Report Writing
  • GEOL 309: Computer Applications in Geology
  • GEOL 310: Geophysics
  • GEOL 311: Sedimentary Geology

Emphasis in Heritage Studies and Public Interpretation

  • ANTH 321: Archaeology of Contact and Colonization
  • ANTH 352: Global Issues
  • ANTH 451: Applied Ethnographic Methods
  • ANTH 554: Field School in Cultural Heritage Management
  • ANTH 597: Internship in Interpretation
  • ARTH 468: Curatorial Practice
  • ARTH 494: Museum Theory and Practice
  • HIST 360: Public History and Museum Studies
  • HIST 393: Historical Source Lab: Digitising the Past
  • HIST 500: Historical Methods
  • HIST 510: Graduate Pro-Seminar
  • POLS 587: Grant Writing and Administration

Emphasis in Plant and/or Animal Biology and Ecology

  • BIOL 328: Vertebrate Evolutionary Morphology
  • BIOL 349: Animal Physiology
  • BIOL 329: Plant Biology
  • BIOL 330: Plant Taxonomy
  • BIOL 348: Plant Physiology
  • BIOL 350: Plant Physiological Ecology
  • GEP 319: Native Plants in Restoration
  • GEP 340: Applied Ecology
  • GEP 347: Conservation Biology
  • GEP 422: Political Ecology