Gov. Rick Scott questioned in October why taxpayers' money should go to educate anthropologists when no jobs are available for them. This semester, that money will be used to educate nearly the same amount of anthropology majors at UF as last semester.
There are 643 registered anthropology majors this semester. At the beginning of the fall semester, there were 668, and in Spring 2011, there were 655.
"To have a difference of 12 students [from Spring 2011 to Spring 2012], is not significant or particularly worrying," said Susan deFrance, interim chair of the department of anthropology.
The slight decrease could be attributed to increased major requirements, deFrance said. Students are now required to maintain a 2.5 GPA. They previously needed a 2.0.
Overall, enrollment in courses in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has gone down, so this decline in anthropology is consistent with the college, said Albert Matheny, the associate dean for student affairs.
Allysha Winburn, an anthropology graduate student and human osteology teaching associate, said she isn't concerned about the slight drop in anthropology majors.
"If anything, I think my students are more excited than ever," she said.
