Off-Campus Study in Sociology and Anthropology

Planning Your Off-Campus Experience

It is vital that sociology and anthropology students begin planning off-campus study at the time they apply for an anthropology or sociology major. Students should work with their SOAN faculty advisers and the Office of Off-Campus Study to explore off-campus study opportunities and to plan them in tandem with their overall major. 

SOAN's Designated Transfer Credit Evaluators are Santiago Juarez for Anthropology and Chandra Russo for Sociology, who can assist students with transfer and pre-matriculation credit.

FacultyOff-Campus Study

Kristin De Lucia, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, holds aztec artifacts that were found on an archaeological site in the village of San Miguel Xaltocan, Mexico, Jun 22, 2017

Selecting an Off-Campus Study Experience

SOAN faculty work closely with our majors and minors to help students choose the off-campus study experiences that complement and build on students’ overall plan. The SOAN department encourages students not to think of off-campus study as a semester-long break from Colgate, but rather as a way to enhance on-campus course work. Students often use off-campus study as a way to collect data for use in senior seminar and honors projects. Because anthropology majors are required to complete a fieldwork component as part of their coursework, off-campus study can often be a rewarding and useful way to fulfill this requirement.

SOAN students are encouraged to pursue a semester studying off-campus through:

  • an approved sociology program
  • an approved anthropology program
  • one of Colgate’s study groups
Students with Janel Benson, community based learning course

Curriculum-based Off-Campus Study

Off-campus experiences also are built into our regular curriculum. Students may take extended study courses with faculty or ones that involve work in local communities. Many faculty members maintain deep commitments to places and communities, and their teaching is informed both by global perspectives and domestic differences.