<p>Hello,
I am currently a high school sophmore and plan on pursuing a career in archaeology with a particular interest in ancient history (and not Classics, I want to be able to focus on cultures besides just Greece and Rome). Many colleges that I have seen offer archaeology only as part of an Anthropology major, and/or offer very few ancient history and language courses. For an archaeology career, would it be more beneficial to have an ancient history undergraduate major (my main interest, I'm especially looking for programs with diverse ancient language offerings) or anthropology (which I find interesting, but isn't really my passion)? Additionally, does anyone know of good schools for either? Thank you!</p>
<p>Well, you didn’t say which ancient cultures interest you. I’ll assume that you are referring to ancient near eastern cultures. You should plan on getting a doctorate in this area if your plan is to work in this area professionally.</p>
<p>Here are the options, but which options are open to you depend on the particular school you eventually attend:
Option 1: An interdisciplinary major in Archaeology.
Option 2: A major in Near Eastern Studies. Depending on the scope of coverage in the department, it may offer specialty tracks. The relevant ones for your interests include Ancient Near Eastern studies (Akkadian/Sumerian/Hittitite); Egyptology; Classical Hebrew/Biblical Studies (incl. Aramaic, Syriac, Ugaritic); and, Persian Studies. Course offerings in a Near Eastern Studies Dept with a broad scope would include not only the languages, but also history and archaeology.
Option 3: A major in Classics. Depending on the scope of coverage in the department, it might offer specialty tracks in Classical Archaeology or Ancient History. You could supplement this with relevant courses in the languages, history, and art/archaeology of other ancient cultures.
Option 4. A major in History. The usual requirements in a history major require that you take coursework in both pre-modern and modern history, and that you also distribute your coursework across several geographic areas, for example, American, European, and Asian/Middle Eastern/African history. These distribution requirements are important for comparative purposes as well as to expose students to the various broad subfields of the discipline. Some departments recommend or require a subconcentration of 3-5 courses in a particular geographic area, chronological period, or theme (e.g., social history). One such subconcentration could include Ancient History. Due to the primary focus of your interests on the ancient world, however, the other distribution requirements of the typical history major might not serve your purposes. You could supplement this with relevant language and art/archaeology courses.
Option 5. A major in Art History. The usual requirements in an art history major require some geographic and chronological distribution of coursework. Some departments recommend or require a subconcentration of 3-5 courses in a particular geographic area, chronological period, which could be ancient art. A concentration on ancient would include archaeological aspects. You could supplement this with relevant language and history courses.
Option 6. A major in Anthropology. The usual requirements for a major require that you take at least one course in each subfield of anthropology. Major departments offer a subconcentration in archaeology. One advantage of a major in archaeology via an anthropology dept. is a comparative perspective and coursework in archaeological methods. You could supplement this with relevant language, history, and art/archaeology courses in other depts. If you had an interest, for example, in Mesoamerican cultures, the coursework would be found in an anthropology dept.</p>
<p>If the university you eventually attend does not have a Near Eastern Studies dept. your best bet might be to major in Classics, but try to supplement this with courses in Biblical Hebrew. Such courses could be found online, or in a religious studies or Jewish studies program. You also could do a study abroad program, for example, in Egypt or Israel. </p>
<p>If you had an interest in ancient Asian archaeology and history you would major or take courses in an East Asian or South Asian Studies dept., depending on your interests. Relevant language coursework might include Sanskrit or Classical Chinese. Some relevant courses might be found in the history, art history, and religion depts. </p>
<p>Here are links to some Near Eastern Studies depts that might offer the type of programs that might fit your interests:
Michigan: [Near</a> Eastern Studies](<a href=“http://www.umich.edu/~neareast/index.html]Near”>http://www.umich.edu/~neareast/index.html)
Harvard: [HERS</a> Output](<a href=“http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/courses/NearEasternLanguagesandCivilizations.html]HERS”>http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/courses/NearEasternLanguagesandCivilizations.html)
Chicago:[An</a> Introduction to the Department | Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations](<a href=“http://nelc.uchicago.edu/]An”>http://nelc.uchicago.edu/)
Johns Hopkins: [Home</a> | Near Eastern Studies | Johns Hopkins University](<a href=“http://neareast.jhu.edu/]Home”>http://neareast.jhu.edu/)
Penn: [Near</a> Eastern Languages & Civilizations](<a href=“http://www.sas.upenn.edu/nelc/]Near”>Home | Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations)
UCLA: [UCLA</a> Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Department](<a href=“http://www.nelc.ucla.edu/]UCLA”>http://www.nelc.ucla.edu/)
Berkeley: [Department</a> of Near Eastern Studies](<a href=“http://neareastern.berkeley.edu/]Department”>http://neareastern.berkeley.edu/)
Brown: [Egyptology</a> and Ancient Western Asian Studies](<a href=“Egyptology and Assyriology | Brown University”>Egyptology and Assyriology | Brown University)
[Joukowsky</a> Institute for Archaeology](<a href=“http://brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/]Joukowsky”>Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology | | Brown University)
Washington: [Undergraduate</a> Program](<a href=“http://depts.washington.edu/nelc/undergraduate.html]Undergraduate”>http://depts.washington.edu/nelc/undergraduate.html)
Yale: [Yale</a> > Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations > Introduction](<a href=“Introduction | Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations”>Introduction | Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations)
Cornell: [Fall</a> 2011 Course Descriptions](<a href=“http://neareasternstudies.cornell.edu/courses/Fall-2011-Course-Descriptions.cfm]Fall”>http://neareasternstudies.cornell.edu/courses/Fall-2011-Course-Descriptions.cfm)</p>
<p>Without knowing exactly what subfield you’re aiming for, I’d say your best bet might be to double up in Anthropology and Linguistics, and to minor in Classics if your school doesn’t offer your subfield and/or the relevant languages. Feel free to juggle those around as you see fit.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to pick up field experience and German and French. Also Italian, if you’re looking to go into Hittitology. (Reading fluency in those languages is a big plus for you when you start applying to grad school.)</p>
<p>Rutgers-Newark actually offers a major in Ancient and Medieval Civilizations. And no its not only focused on Greece or Rome. You are able to choose from classes in those 2 or the Near East/Far East. It also requires you to take 12 credits in a language. The language you can choose from is Greek, Arabic, Latin, Chinese, and Italian I believe. I’m interested as well in Ancient and medieval periods of time, however I don’t think the career prospects are wide enough, besides teaching. The Chinese might help business wise as they are a rapidly growing nation. But other than that, it’d be off to Grad School, and by the time I get a Ph.D, I’d be maybe 35(since I’m 25 atm, and already have an associates degree, so maybe another 2 years to get my bachelor’s, then another 4-5 years to get my Masters/Ph.d. Too long without any means to support myself.) But if anything good can begotten with only a Bachelor’s I’d love to hear suggestions.</p>
<p>Wow, thank you all so much, this was very helpful!</p>
<p>Not to pimp my alma mater… but Boston University has a archaeology major–100% separate from Anthro (I was an anthro major and there was a major falling out between the professors years ago, therefore 2 majors). Also I believe their two strong subjects were Greek/middle east and ancient Americas. I know digs are required to graduate (you spend one semester abroad gaining real skills). Highly recommend you check it out.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I agree with this. However, why don’t you consider studying in Europe, e.g. German Universities? I think some European countries have excellent reputation regarding academic studies about Ancient Civilizations.</p>