One Ball State Day 2026

BSU Anthropology and Sociology

Anthropology

Culture - Biology - Archaeology - Linguistics: These are the four areas in the field of anthropology. In our Department at Ball State University, our mission is to integrate these four areas to achieve excellence in undergraduate teaching, maintain active research, and engage in service activities within the university and with the public.

Anthropology is considered the most humanistic of the sciences and the most scientific of the humanities and our values as educators and researchers reflect this. 

The Department strongly encourages innovative and collaborative research and teaching both within and beyond the classroom. Through immersive learning classes, specialized field training schools, and paid research and internship opportunities, our students promote a greater appreciation for human diversity within and beyond our university community.

Where does my One Ball State gift go? 

During One Ball State Day, your gift to Anthropology will go to improving the academic experience of our students. 

We want anthropology majors to have professional experiences through internships. In order for them to make the most of these opportunities, we want every student intern to receive fair compensation for their time and efforts. 

We also want anthropology majors to have impactful research experiences supervised by our faculty. For instance, Dr. Groover and Dr. Murray teamed with each other and with students this academic year to conduct a field school and ethnohistorical analysis of artifacts from Daugherty Cabin in Smithfield, IN. In addition, Dr. Erickson is working with students as they perform individual research and prepare for their symposium this spring.

1.  A gift to Anthropology Scholarships ensures student interns will be fairly compensated when a community partner cannot fund the position.

2. A gift to Anthropology Research provides student researchers with funds to conduct their research and present it at professional academic meetings.

Anthropology students have attended regional and national conferences such as the Central States Anthropological Conference, the MAC Archaeology Conference, and the Society for Applied Anthropology.
 
 

Sociology

Sociology currently has multiple initiatives that would benefit from your help, including the following:

First, we recognize that some students face financial barriers to participating fully in university graduation ceremonies because they cannot afford a cap and gown. As such, funds will be used as needed to offset costs of this ceremonial garb for those sociology students who demonstrate a need.

Our second initiative involves one aspect of our comprehensive career preparation program. In any job search, little things can make a big difference… How do we help students develop these soft skills? Through practice at the Career Center Job Search Etiquette Dinner. A donation as small as $15 can help a student attend the dinner and give them that interview edge. You might ask, does $15 really have an impact? Students tell us that $15 represents a significant portion of their food budget. Bridge the gap and give the edge… little things can make a big difference!

Third is our student travel initiative, which takes several forms. This includes our summer study abroad trips to Costa Rica; we aim to increase accessibility by helping to offset student travel costs. We are also pleased to continue funding student travel to present at conferences, such as the North Central Sociological Association annual conference. Your help in paying for student transportation, lodging, and other costs is very much appreciated.

Every gift that you give counts, and we are so grateful to all of you for your continued support. Thank you for helping to enhance and enrich our students' educational experiences at Ball State!