Information About Archeology

Careers

Frequently Asked Questions About A Career In Archeology In The U.S.

Revised October 31, 2000

David L. Carlson (dcarlson@tamu.edu)
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Texas A & M University
College Station, TX 77843-4352

1. What jobs are available for archaeologists?
2. What education and training are required to become a professional archaeologist?
3. What college or university should I go to?

1. What jobs are available for archaeologists?

Professional archaeologists work for universities, colleges, museums, the federal government, state governments, in private companies, and as consultants.  They teach, conduct field investigations, analyze artifacts and sites, and publish the results of their research.  The minimal educational requirement to work as a field archaeologist is a B.A. or B.S. degree with a major in anthropology or archaeology and previous field experience (usually obtained by spending a summer in an archaeological field school or participating as a volunteer, see question 5).  While this is sufficient to work on an archaeological field crew, it is not sufficient to move into supervisory roles.  Supervisory positions require a graduate degree, either an M.A./M.S. or a Ph.D.

Academic Positions.  Academic institutions in the U.S. can be broadly divided into three groups: 1) universities (with graduate programs); 2) colleges (undergraduate programs leading to B.A./B.S. degrees); and 3) community colleges (two year programs leading to Associates degrees).  A Ph.D. is required for faculty positions at colleges and universities.  An M.A./M.S. is required for community college positions.  Faculty teaching loads vary among these three groups.  University faculty teach graduate courses, upper level undergraduate courses (for anthropology or archaeology majors), and introductory level courses.  College faculty teach upper level undergraduate courses and introductory level courses.  Community college faculty teach introductory level courses (and sometimes a few upper level courses).  Requirements to obtain research funds and publish research results are highest in universities and lower in community colleges.  Laboratory facilities are greater in universities than in community colleges.  Most faculty positions are nine month appointments.  During the summer, academic archaeologists conduct field research funded by grants or contracts, teach summer school, teach summer field schools, or work as private consultants.  Research funds come from the archaeologist's school, from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and from private foundations such as the National Geographic Society, Wenner- Gren, Earthwatch, and others.  Within colleges and universities archaeologists are found in departments of anthropology, archaeology, art history, architecture, classics, history, and theology.

Museum Positions.  Museums may be connected with a university or independent.  Museum curators conduct research, publish the results, give public presentations, prepare displays, and conserve the museum collections.  Museum positions require a graduate degree (M.A./M.S. or Ph.D.).  Museum positions are usually full-year appointments.

State and Federal Government Positions.  Many archaeologists work for the federal government.  The U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have about 800 archaeologists among them.  Many archaeologists also work for state government agencies.  Every state has a State Historic Preservation Office with one or more archaeologists on staff.  In addition, other archaeologists work in state parks departments, highway departments, and water resource departments.  Some cities also hire archaeologists to handle local ordinances protecting archaeological sites.  Federal and state laws that protect the environment include protection for important archaeological sites.  As a result the government is involved in managing archaeological sites on federal and state lands (parks, forests, etc).  Construction projects often require archaeological surveys to locate prehistoric or historic sites and the excavation of some sites before construction can begin.  Federal and state archaeologists are involved in making these decisions and supervising the archaeologists who perform the work.  This kind of archaeology is called cultural resources management (CRM).  Most government positions require an M.A. degree.

Private sector archaeologists.  Archaeologists also work for firms that conduct the CRM investigations required by law.  They may work for laboratories or centers within colleges and universities, for engineering and environmental companies, for companies specializing in archaeological investigations, or as private consultants.  Positions in CRM work require an M.A. to have a supervisory role.  Private sector archaeologists conduct archaeological surveys to locate prehistoric and historic sites.  They also excavate significant sites prior to their destruction by construction activities.  Private sector archaeologists work in the field, in the laboratory analyzing the results of their field investigations, in the office writing reports on those investigations and preparing proposals to conduct additional work.  These organizations also hire field archaeologists as temporary staff to assist with the field investigations.  Field positions usually require a B.A. degree and previous field experience in an archaeological field school.

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2. What education and training are required to become a professional archaeologist?

Education and training requirements are different for different kinds of archaeology.  In the U.S. anthropology departments include archaeology as one of four subdisciplines (the others are physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology).  During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, anthropology programs in the U.S. were established to study American Indian societies, languages, and ruins.  As a result, there are few separate archaeology departments.  Interdisciplinary programs that combine archaeology with various other fields of study are more common.  Students who wish to study ancient or classical civilizations (including the Near East, Egypt, early civilizations of the Mediterranean, classical Greece and Rome, and the early civilizations of India, China, and southeast Asia) are more likely to pursue their studies in interdisciplinary programs that include courses in art, architecture, classics, history, ancient and modern languages, and theology.  Students who wish to study the historical periods (roughly from the fall of Rome to the present) combine history (including archival and oral history research) with courses in historical and vernacular architecture, material culture and folklore, and archaeology.

At the undergraduate level, there is little specialization.  A major in anthropology requires courses in all of the subdisciplines.  For students interested in ancient and classical civilizations, the particular undergraduate major is not important, but it is advantageous to begin learning several ancient and modern languages (e.g. Greek, Latin, German, French).  Historical archaeologists usually major in anthropology or history.  An undergraduate degree (B.A./B.S.) is sufficient to work as a field archaeologist in the U.S. and to perform basic laboratory studies.  Previous experience through participation in an archaeological field school or as a volunteer is often required.  Summer archaeological field schools provide the best way to learn how to properly excavate and record archaeological sites and to find out if archaeology is really for you.  Job opportunities outside the U.S. are very limited, but volunteers with field experience should be welcome almost anywhere.

There are two levels of graduate training in archaeology.  The first is an M.A. or M.S. degree which takes about 1-2 years of course work beyond the B.A./B.S. degree and a written thesis which presents the results of original research by the student.  Some programs offer a non-thesis M.A. degree.  Unless you are planning to work immediately on a Ph.D. degree, the preparation of a thesis is an important part of the educational process.  An M.A./M.S. would be enough to direct field crews and is sufficient for many government positions in archaeology.  It is also sufficient to work in the private sector, to teach in a community college, and to work for some museums.  An M.A./M.S. with a thesis and a year of field and laboratory experience is the minimum for certification by the Society of Professional Archeologists.  Most foreign governments will issue excavation permits only to archaeologists with a Ph.D. degree.  This means that opportunities to direct field projects outside the U.S. are limited to those with a doctoral degree.

The second graduate degree is the Ph.D., which is required to teach in a college or university or hold a museum curatorship.  The Ph.D. degree requires 2-3 years of courses beyond the M.A. and the successful preparation and oral defense of a dissertation containing original research in your chosen specialization within the field of archaeology.  Some graduate programs offer streamlined tracks for students with a B.A. degree so that they work directly toward a Ph.D. while others require an M.A. degree first.

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3. What college or university should I go to?

The American Anthropological Association publishes annually the "AAA Guide 1996-1997."  It lists most of the graduate and undergraduate anthropology programs in the U.S. and Canada.  Included in the listings are the names and research interests of all faculty in the department.  The guide is published annually and can be purchased from the American Anthropological Association, AAA Book Orders, 4350 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 640, Arlington, VA 22203-1620 for $50 (http://www.aaanet.org/pubs/index.htm).  You should be able to find a copy at any college or university library.  The AAA guide coverage is less complete for interdisciplinary programs combining art, architecture, classics, language, and history to study ancient and classical civilizations or historical archaeology.  Four other guides will be useful in locating these programs.  The "APA Guide to Graduate Programs in the Classics in the United States and Canada" is available from the American Philological Association, 19 University Place, Rm. 328, New York University, New York, NY 10003-4556 for $12 (http://www.apaclassics.org/APA-MENU.html).  The "Directory of M.A. and Ph.D. Programs in Art and Art History" is available for $10.50 from the College Art Association, 275 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001 (http://www.collegeart.org/).  The Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology web page has extensive departmental listings at http://classics.lsa.umich.edu/welcome.html#departments.  Finally, the "Guide to Graduate Programs in Historical and Underwater Archaeology" is available from the Society for Historical Archaeology, P. O. Box 30446, Tucson, AZ 85751-0446, and online at http://www.sha.org/sha_col1.htm.