Archaeology Grad School

Graduate School
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<p>I am a sophomore majoring in Archaeology and Anthropology. I have a 3.7 general GPA and a 3.9 major GPA in Archaeology. (I'm about to add Anthro, so I don't know the GPA for that yet.) I volunteered at a dig for a Ph.D student this summer and I am going to go a field school run by my school in Guatemala. I have four years of Spanish from high school and I expect to be pretty fluent after going to Guatemala. </p>

<p>I want to go to graduate school for Pre-Columbian Archaeology, in either South America or Mesoamerica. (I'm working on narrowing that down more.) What should I be doing now to help my get into a good program? What are good programs to look at? Should I get a Masters before applying for a Ph.D? I know this is really early to be thinking about it, but I don't want to start applying and find out I need to know a third language fluently or something like that.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>My wife is a grad student in archaeology, and to the best of my knowledge the requirements are mostly the same as every other kind of program - research credentials, letters of recommendation, grades, field/practical experience, and GRE, in roughly that order. However, while in most fields GRE is of relatively low importance, archaeology often relies on extra-departmental funding which is usually awarded on the only quantitative measures available - grades and GRE. She was turned down by one university expressly (if privately) because they felt another student with higher GRE’s was more likely to obtain a university fellowship. So perhaps pay a little extra attention to those areas.</p>

<p>As to the languages, some departments will have a “general” language requirement, but most will really just expect you to be fluent in the relevent languages of your research. I would think your Spanish is going to be acceptable and advantageous, but there may be some archaic forms they may also require, such as Latin. In most cases they will not expect you to be at 100% day one - one program stated that fluency was not required until the end of the second year, and could be satisfied by either completion of minimal coursework or by passing a simple open book written test. Regardless, mostly they want to know that you have at least a minimal language aptitude and preparation. For your area of interest, you should be fine.</p>

<p>Masters? Only if you are independently funded or if that is where you want to stop. PhD students have increased funding opportunities.</p>

<p>Best schools? No idea - you are interested in a different area than my wife. Check out journals in your field, see whose research interests you and where they are teaching. While you are at it, see what their language expectations are - maybe you can get a head start.</p>

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<p>I don’t think it’s too early to start thinking about what it takes to get into grad school in archaeology if you want to be an archaeologist. But it’s even more important, at this point in your college career, to think about what kind of future career you intend to pursue as an archaeologist. Do you want to be a field archaeologist, run digs, and make your life’s work research in your area, South America?<br>
If the answer is yes, then a Phd is a good fit for you. If, however, you don’t think you want to run large digs and make a difference in the field with your explorations and research, then you may want to rethink a PhD in archaeo. This is a field where the money (grants) and jobs (professorships) go to primary researchers in charge of large projects with major universities and ties. There are very few if any jobs for PhD’s in archaeology for those who just want to teach. </p>

<p>Fluent Spanish is necessary for a career in pre-Columbian archaeo, as is the desire to spend much of your working life in the country of your research interest. There are language schools throughout South America where international students go for summers or breaks to improve their skills, which might be something you could do while still in college.</p>

<pre><code>As far as grad school admissions goes, I believe that the most important component of your app is your statement of purpose, and how your intended research interest fits with whatever school you’re applying to. Next, and equally important really, is the recommendation from an advisor who has credibility in the field. Then comes your experience (past digs, other relevant experience). After that, your grades and GREs come in, but they aren’t nearly as important as the first two components, imo.
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<p>If you are currently at a college that has a field project in South America, you likely have at least one professor at your school who has a good rep in the field. Get to know that person and have them get to know you. In other words, find a mentor. At that point, do whatever he/she tells you to do, and you should be fine.</p>

<p>But seriously, before you get too involved with the idea of a PhD in the field, I’d advise that you make sure that you can see yourself running large projects involving many others in South America with all of the organizational, logistical and management skills that presumes, as that’s what the job entails.</p>