The MA graduate concentration in Public Archaeology requires 36 credits. The MS option in Public Archaeology requires at least 6 additional graduate credits in sciences, such as Chemistry, Biology, Geology, and Mathematics. Students earning an MA/MS with a concentration in Public Archaeology who wish to earn a Ph. D. in Anthropology must apply for and gain admission to the doctoral concentration in archaeology.
Public Archaeology students work closely with a faculty advisor, identified in the 1st semester of the first year in the program. Two additional faculty members will be chosen to form the committee, ideally at the end of the student’s 2nd full-time semester. In addition to the coursework requirements listed below, the student must, in consultation with the committee, identify and complete an internship project with an appropriate agency, museum, or other entity involved in public archaeology. Typically the internship will be completed between the first and second years in the program. The internship must include a management experience, broadly defined, that is agreed upon by the student, the internship entity, and the committee. Associated with the internship, the student will take 3 hours of Anth 597 and will write a short paper exploring some aspect of the management experience.
In the 3rd and 4th full-time semesters, Public Archaeology students write a master’s paper demonstrating skills learned in the program. This paper serves as one part of the master’s exam; in addition, the student’s committee will conduct an oral exam based on the master’s paper, the student’s internship experience, and their relevance to public archaeology.
NOTE: This version of the curriculum applies to students entering the program in Fall 2014 and beyond. Previous classes should use the curriculum in the Anthropology Graduate Handbook from the year they entered.
A. CORE REQUIREMENTS (15 hours total)
GROUP I (9 hours)
Anthropology 570: Science in Archaeology
Anthropology 574: History and Theory of Archaeology
Anthropology 579: Current Debates in Archaeology
GROUP II (3 hours)
Anthropology 592: Managing Cultural Resources
GROUP III (3 hours)
Anthropology 570/581: Anthropology of Heritage
B. THEMATIC ELECTIVES (12 hours total)*
GROUP I: Lab Methods/Skills (6 hours required, up to 9 possible; may include classes in Biology, Chemistry, Geology, etc.)
Anthropology 522: Lithic Analysis
Anthropology 570: Quantitative Methods in Archaeology**
Anthropology 573: Zooarchaeology
Anthropology 573L: Archaeological Measurement and Laboratory Analysis
Anthropology 580: Ceramic Analysis
Anthropology 582L: Geoarchaeology
GROUP II: Area and Theory (3-6 hours)
Anthropology 501: Native American Art I
Anthropology 502: Native American Art II
Anthropology 509: Seminar in Native American Art
Anthropology 531: Indigenous Peoples of North America
Anthropology 521: Southwest Archaeology
Anthropology 576: Southwestern Archaeology seminar
Anthropology 523: Archaeology of Eastern North America
Anthropology 570: Historic Archaeology of the Spanish Borderlands
Anthropology 582: Museum Methods
Anthropology 585: Seminar in Museum Methods
Anthropology 586: Practicum: Museum Methods
Anthropology 593: Cultural Resource Management Archaeology
C. INTERNSHIP/PRACTICUM (9 HOURS) –Consultation with Advisor required
Anthropology 597: Problems (max of 6 credit hrs allowed)
Anthropology 598: Advanced Problems (no limit on credit hours)
* Appropriate courses from Anthropology or other departments may be substituted for these electives with the approval of the advisor.
**If students do not have statistics background from previous academic work, this class or an equivalent course is required.