anthropology departments?

warblersrule
Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:22:29 +0000

I’m an archaeology and biology double major & geology minor at Duke, which is a great place for archaeology (although UNC might be better). If your daughter has an interest in historical archaeology, here are some things to consider.

1) Does she have a particular field of interest? ASU is great for Native American archaeology, Johns Hopkins is superb for Egyptian archaeology, Texas A&M rules supreme in underwater archaeology, etc.

2) Choose colleges with a geology department. Courses in stratigraphy, petrology, geomorphology, and GIS will be a tremendous benefit. Most excavations have to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and a background in geology would be quite helpful. Basic courses in botany and zoology will also prove helpful.
http://www.usd.edu/esci/geodepts.html

3) Keep in mind that historical archaeology is a relatively small field and can be hard to break into. This holds true for anthropology as well, although it’s a broader field. Taking art history, economics, history, computer science, and foreign language courses can broaden your scope and options. You are highly unlikely to get wealthy in this field.

4) There are plenty of schools great for undergrad in archaeology or anthropology. The “top” schools (Penn, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley, Michigan, etc.) are best saved for grad school. For historical archaeology, I would suggest slightly less selective schools with a better undergrad program.

Washington & Lee, UVa, College of William & Mary, UNC Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, Penn State, Brandeis, Boston University, Washington, Bowdoin, George Washington, Hamilton (offers an interesting geoarchaeology major), Haverford/Bryn Mawr, Maryland-College Park, UT Austin, Washington U in St. Louis, Wesleyan, the College of Wooster, Cornell U, and NYU immediately come to mind.

5) When evaluating departments, ask lots of questions.
-What graduate programs do students get into?
-How big are classes?
-How many courses are usually offered?
-Are the classes a mix of undergraduates and graduates (common in archaeology)?
-Does the college offer a field school?
-How many faculty (especially tenured) are in the department, and how many students major in the subject?
-Does the department have significant funding? Resources? Facilities?