Students who approach their studies in a systematic and organized manner are more likely to complete the course successfully than those who do not plan a course of action for themselves. You are advised, therefore, to follow a study schedule to assist you in budgeting your time and monitoring your progress.

Note that the study schedule presented here is designed to accommodate students who wish to complete the course in approximately 17 or 26 weeks (the 26-week schedule appears in brackets). The 26-week schedule permits students to take full advantage of the six-month, individualized-study course contract, which is standard for a three-credit course at Athabasca University.

You should complete the Quiz and all Assignments before writing the final exam. Be sure to call your tutor if you have difficulty with the material, or if you are unable to adhere to the schedule as suggested. If you find yourself falling behind in your course work, contact your tutor immediately. He or she will be able to advise you as to what options are available to you. You may, of course, proceed more quickly than is suggested by this study schedule.

Week Course Component
1 (1) Read the Course Manual through carefully.
  Call your tutor to make initial contact if he or she has not already called you.
  Complete the study activities for Unit 1: Introduction to Physical Anthropology.
2 (2) Complete the study activities for Unit 2: The Development of Evolutionary Theory.
  Make arrangements with your tutor and take the Quiz (see “Student Evaluation”).
3 (3-4) Complete the study activities for Unit 3: The Biological Basis of Life.
4 (5-6) Complete the study activities for Unit 4: Heredity and Evolution.
  Contact your tutor if you have any questions.
5 (7-8) Complete the study activities for Unit 5: Survey of the Living Primates.
6 (9-10) Complete the study activities for Unit 6: Primate Behavior.
  Complete Assignment 1 and submit it to your tutor for grading and feedback (see “Course Assignments”).
7 (11-12) Complete the study activities for Unit 7: Primate Models for Human Behavioral Evolution.
  Prepare for and make arrangements to take the Mid-term Exam (see “Examinations”).
8 (13) Write the Mid-term Examination.
9 (14-15) Complete the study activities for Unit 8: Macroevolution: Processes of Vertebrate and Mammalian Evolution.
  Contact your tutor if you have any questions.
10 (16) Complete the study activities for Unit 9: Paleoanthropology.
11 (17-18) Complete the study activities for Unit 10: Hominid Origins in Africa.
  Complete Assignment 2 and submit it to your tutor for grading and feedback (see “Course Assignments”).
12 (19-20) Complete the study activities for Unit 11: The Earliest Dispersal of the Genus Homo: Homo erectus and Contemporaries.
  Contact your tutor if you have any questions.
13 (21) Complete the study activities for Unit 12: Premodern Humans.
14 (22) Complete the study activities for Unit 13: The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans.
  Make arrangements to take the Final Exam (see “Examinations”).
15 (23-24) Complete the study activities for Unit 14: Modern Human Biology: Patterns of Variation.
  Contact your tutor if you have any questions.
16 (25) Complete the study activities for Unit 15: Modern Human Biology: Patterns of Adaptation.
  Complete Assignment 3 and submit it to your tutor for grading and feedback (see “Course Assignments”).
  Prepare for the Final Examination
17 (26) Write the Final Examination.
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