Best college for archaeology?

College Search & Lists
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Hello there!
I am a student just fresh from high school. Took the IB and the SATs together.
I am looking for undergraduate school for archaeology and I need some help deciding my college choices…

Just a list of general information:

  • SAT: 2140 (Cr: 740 Math: 760 Wr: 640) --> I know my Wr score sucks. It was way below my usual performance but I can’t re-take the SAT due to time constraints.
  • SAT II: Maths and Chemistry but results will be released later in June.
  • GPA: Not sure but it should be around 3.6 to 3.8
  • International student who needs financial aids
  • Christian (if religion matters?)

I want to study archaeology in undergraduate school and move on to graduate school in UK (hopefully Oxford…!!)
So it would be great if someone could suggest universities that BEST PREPARE me for the top graduate universities.
The area of interest is biblical archaeology but perhaps I would find more areas of interest while I study more deeply?
It would be wonderful if the university is very supportive regarding research fundings and evokes free-learning environment.
I won’t mind LACs or research universities.

This decision to take the archaeology major was rather a recent one (previously I wanted to take med) so the subjects I have studied in high school are largely focused on science and maths - never took any history subjects.
So preferably, the university does not require one to take SAT II History or IB History would be a better choice for me.

Thanks so much for your help! I really appreciate it!

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Have you finished secondary school? if so, you will have trouble finding colleges that are still taking students- especially that meet all your requirements. Application are typically submitted in Oct-Jan and decisions come out November-April.

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The internet is your friend: http://colleges.startclass.com/d/o/Archeology

Now figure out which ones you can get into (google the Common Data Set and Section C ) to see how you compare to admitted students. Then check to see what percent of the student population is international. That international percentage can give you an idea of whether/how much aid might be available (although it’s not a guarantee - some schools just take wealthy internationals.). Research their merit aid and financial aid - starting with exactly how much you can afford to pay - an important conversation to have with your parents.

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4

As the post above noted, the earliest you can enroll at this point is fall 2016.

Also, note that your interests have already changed and could (in fact, likely will) change again. Think about what you’d like in a college – setting, size, location, etc.

Archaeology has become very scientific in its methods and employs lots of specialists from different disciplines (botanists, zoologists, dental and medical experts, geologists, chemists…etc.). A background in the sciences will help much more than hurt you.

As an international student needing financial aid, you’re in a bit of a tough spot. The best aid and archaeology programs are at the elite private universities, which are extraordarily selective. The good news is that you can get into a good graduate program from MANY different colleges if you do well.

Among universities, definitely take a look at Brandeis and Tufts. As reaches, Cornell, Wash U, and Hopkins are your best bets. NYU is superb but extremely iffy with financial aid. The same goes for BU to a lesser extent. The other good private U programs (Chicago, Penn, Harvard, Brown, maybe Stanford) are unlikely, I think. USC is a possibility if you could snag a merit scholarship.

Among LACs, Wheaton (IL) would be an excellent choice academically, but its financial aid for internationals is poor. Oberlin would be a much safer financial bet, I think, as well as Haverford and Wesleyan. The latter two are slight reaches with that GPA. Lycoming, Dickinson, and maybe Wooster are other possibilities. If you’re female, Bryn Mawr is obviously excellent, and most of the other Seven Sisters are also quite good.

Be sure that colleges of interest regularly offer two years of biblical Hebrew. You need a solid grounding in Hebrew before you can do any other relevant Semitic languages in grad school, and much of the archaeological work done in Israel is published in Hebrew.

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5

These are some colleges I like for archaeology, particularly if you have at least some interest in social anthropology:

Beloit College: Has an outstanding anthropology museum.

Bryn Mawr College: Tends to graduate future PhDs.

Hamilton College: The anthropology department is supported by an excellent geoscience department. Offers an esoteric geoarchaeology major.

(You can cross-reference these schools with the advice above regarding Hebrew.)

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6

In the US, archaeology is not often offered as a stand-alone major. Instead, it usually is found as a subspecialty track in departments of anthropology or classics or Near Eastern studies. Some universities do, however, offer an interdisciplinary major in archaeology. For your stated interest of “biblical archaeology,” you probably should apply to a department of Near Eastern studies, or possibly, classics (archaeology related to New Testament, and certain aspects of Eastern Christianity). As part of your studies, you would need to do some coursework in the relevant ancient languages.

Some universities to consider:
Near Eastern studies: U Penn, Harvard, Berkeley, UCLA, Chicago, Michigan, Johns Hopkins
Classics: U Penn, Harvard, Berkeley, UCLA, Cincinnati, Bryn Mawr (for female students—though students at Haverford can take courses at Bryn Mawr, and students at both schools can take courses at U Penn), Michigan; possibly, Ohio State, Minnesota
Interdisciplinary Archaeology: Boston U, USC, Cornell, Brown, Yale, North Carolina

As noted above, Wheaton College in Illinois offers a degree in Biblical Archaeology. Wheaton is a conservative Christian college, but it’s solid academically.

You also should not overlook Religion departments. You often ca find coursework in biblical archaeology and languages. This can be supplemented with technical archaeology courses in other departments. Duke or North Carolina would be such departments.

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7

Thank you so much for your careful responses! I’ll definitely look for more information.

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