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National Association of Student Anthropologists
Oral Presentation Session
Sarah Laurianno
Undergraduate Student
Rhode Island College
In this paper, I explore how we identified and constructed our larger, applied anthropological course research study, as well as what skills I see myself as having gained as a result. Transfer programs have long been a challenge and topic of debate among the administration and students at Rhode Island College. To improve these programs, more research exploring transfer student experiences is needed. This paper draws on the work of those of us on this panel, as well as other students enrolled in our applied anthropology course throughout our class research project to fill this gap. Specifically, the twelve students enrolled, after being approached by an administrator to help understand the challenges facing transfer students, tackled the project by utilizing qualitative interviews and a detailed survey to gain student and administrative insights. Through this process, we found many commonalities and differences among the responses that helped us formulate possible solutions. At the end of the project, we were tasked with collaborating, as a group, to create a detailed report that included our suggestions for the college administration. Throughout this paper, I argue that tackling a project of this magnitude helped students grasp a deeper understanding of what practicing applied anthropology means.