Our goal is to instill in students an understanding of the diverse cultural perspectives in the world today, as well as the long term patterns of change in human evolution and human societies. We teach three of the four subfields of anthropology: biological and cultural anthropology, and archaeology. Students actively engage in learning and scholarship in ongoing faculty projects, both in local and international communities. Santa Clara's location, on the site of a Spanish Colonial period mission as well as within the San Francisco Bay area, offers unique options for students to learn and apply anthropology outside the classroom. Students also may choose to focus on specific areas within anthropology, including three special emphases: Applied Anthropology, Archaeology, and Biological Anthropology.