AboutRalph Salier Expertise Archaeologist for the last 30 years. Norh American generalist and Hopwell culture/Red Ocher culture specifically. Lithics Expert and Ground Stone tools.
Experience
Past/Present clients Numerous museums in US and Canada. Several University Anthropology Departments.
Question QUESTION: Hello Ralph, I am asking today if you would be able to answer a question about ranking prospective schools that I have looked into for some preliminary research involving graduate programs. I am completing a BA in Anthropology focusing on Archaeology at the University of Washington at this point, my notable professors have been Dr. Grayson, Dr. Peter Lape, Dr. Angela Close, and Dr. Marcos Llobera. At this time I am still having a little waver in EXACTLY what I want to emphasize, my exposure being primarily GIS, zooarchaeology, some lithics, and classical Israel excavation, but the schools that I have narrowed my search down to at this time are:
University of Connecticut
Boston University
Pittsburgh University
Pennsylvania State University
I was hoping you could give me a possible ranking and explanation if you are familiar with those schools in regards to their graduate programs. Right now I am mostly interested in an MA as an additional full 8 years towards a PhD is a little daunting to me at this moment. I certainly am interested in the PhD program, but funding is a huge concern for me, as all of these institutions are very expensive compared to my current budget at the University of Washington.
The items that I am most concerned about with the programs are:
financial aid and funding
admissions acceptance
fields of interest
prominence and respectability of Professors
Thank you very much for your time and consideration!
ANSWER: Hi Sean,
Well first of all, please answer the questions below. This will help me to gain a better understanding of your expectations and desires.
1) what cultural area do you want to work in? Be specific since in a masters program you will be expected to begin specializing.
2) What do you hope to do with a Masters in Anthropology/Archaeology? Do you plan to teach at the university level? If so, a PhD is in your future.
3) U Wash has a good well rounded program but in recent years it seems to have lost some of its focus (Far East was a focus).
4) Do you have expectations for $$$ once you graduate? If so what is your expectation and what type of work to anticipate finding?
5) What are your grades and have you developed a good report with your profs?
6) Why these 4? what others are on the secondary list?
7) Do you have a back up plan? What other things are you interested in? Have you taken an interest survey to ensure that your focus is appropriate?
8) What other career paths have you considered?
In terms of rank, PSU would be on top although U Penn would be potentially a better choice
UC would be my next choice followed by Boston and then Pit. But this is some what dependent on your focus of study. You should let that rule the choice and then figure out the financing.
two notes of warning. With a Masters you can only teach at the local community college or 4 year college - NOT at a University - for this you will need a PhD. You can find work with the consulting companies but if you hope to work in the Mediterranean, finding good paying jobs is tough.
With a masters you may make as much as 50K a year but don't count on it. Even with luck, this is not real common. That is why you need a back up plan since your income needs to feed you house you and pay off the loans. For most people 50K won't cut it.
So, I await your responses.
Ralph
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: 1.) I am open on which area I want to specialize in culturally, some areas that are very interesting to me is Mediterranean, Indus Valley, Near Eastern, South Asian in those areas is primarily Iron Age and earlier. While those are more interesting to me, I am also quite interested in Incan, Mayan, and various other pre-colonial and prehistory civilizations in Peru up through Meso-America. I don't think I have quite gotten enough exposure to say specifically which culture would be absolute for which direction I want to go into, as all of those interest me greatly for studying.
2.) With a Master's program I am planning on fulfilling my back up plan requirements of going into CRM, state park and recreation and environmental reclamation/protection and other types of industry associated with the type of work that I will be proficient at with working knowledge and experience of GIS systems, survey techniques, lab techniques, and legal documentation and procedures affiliated with Cultural Resource Management. I want to do a PhD so that I can stay in academic research, but that may not be financially feasible if I struggle to fund a Masters. (The Master's is more or less to get my feet wet in focused academic studies, see if I am capable of going the whole way to a PhD. with my obstacles to overcome, and if I can find ways of funding outside of going into huge debt on loans. Ultimately, I want to do a PhD, conduct research, and publish as well as do creative writing.)
3.)University of Washington's archaeology program is concentrated on the Pacific Rim cultures (current research & field schools in Indonesia, Australia, and another on an island off of Spain in the Med that the name eludes me at the moment...), some Mediterranean prehistory and landscape archaeology. The professor's are still excellent, such as Professor Grayson is one of the best professor's to study under in Zooarchaeology that I've recently met, and is a fantastic professor. As it stands, I do not wish to continue studies at the University of Washington because the weather here does not agree with me (and it is VERY hard to get into a graduate program here from being an undergraduate, otherwise it'd be a no brainer).
4.) As I am a disabled veteran with the United States Navy, I am already receiving a sizable amount of untaxed income that provides a good cushion, but by itself is by no means livable or able to cover school, only bare necessities. My expectations is, with a MA I can go into public archaeology (private business sector dealing with CRM more or less?) ranging income between 45K starting towards a high end of 70k starting. High end projected possible income I've found is around 90-120k requiring only a MA but lots of experience, and is a rare opportunity. My personal expectation, with only the MA I will probably go into CRM, and I expect to be in the 45 to 70k a year pool for the first 5 years.
5.) My GPA is up and down. I transferred to UW with a GPA of 3.85 with 4 or 5 quarters of studies at a community college following my leaving the US Navy. Due to various difficulties and obstacles, my academic career has suffered in the Pacific NW because of my disabilities, which Seattle weather and environment has greatly exacerbated. My GPA at this time is 3.38 in my department, 2.79 in total studies, I expect to be receiving a 3.8 to a 4.0 on my field school studies in Israel this past Summer of 12 credits, and with my final quarters I suspect I can easily raise my GPA up to a 3.0-3.1 once all is said and done. I also have special consideration requests to drop 2 courses unrelated to my current academic course from my graded portion, which will bring my GPA up around 3.4. I have been establishing good report with the professors available, seeking their advice and recommendations from them. I plan on building more on that in this coming quarter as I meet more professors from my school that I have not had the opportunity to meet thus far.
6.) I have 2 or 3 geographical areas of interest that I wish to study at. In the North East, these are the 4 that I have found that support a MA in archaeology, have a variety of professors with similar interests to what I find to be fascinating and wish to study on, and programs seem to be compatible with my desires in furthering my academic career and ultimately leading to my fulfilling a PhD if I find that I am capable of the stretch of additional years of study.
I have not done extensive looking into other schools, but there are possibilities that I have considered in California, and around New Mexico/Arizona, and possibly in Texas. Those are the areas I am open to, but at this time the North East seems to be most promising (insofar). If I could find a west coast school that would offer me in state tuition, a good program, excellent professors, and a promising academic career towards a PhD that would certainly trump my interest in the New England region, but I have yet to find anything of the sort from local networking with professors and advisory staff.
7.)I have not taken a recent interest survey, and am unsure where to look to take one. The last time I took one, it was when I got out of the Navy, and recommended that I go into Computer Science, which is one of the reasons my GPA is so low at this time... I pursued that, and found that it is not a field that I wish to work in at any level. I know in terms of what I like to discuss, research, and the people of common interest I have found is in the fields of Anthropology, and in Psychology. I am greatly interested in Anthropological Linguistics, but aside from pursuing a career with the NSA or CIA I am unsure what I would do professionally with a degree in Linguistics. I do not have the bio or chem background to do physical anthropology, but that is a subject of great interest to me, involving human evolution, adaptation, and studies on Homo-Neanderthals, as well as the human brain. Cultural anthropology would certainly fuel a writing career, but otherwise I am mostly uninterested in a career in modern cultural studies. Psychology has also certainly been an interest as I have always been interested in studying human beings in various settings, understanding the psyche, condition/response, and various other studies in Psychology, however I am unsure if I would pursue a career in this field.
8.) To summarize 7:
Archaeology: Public Archaeology in CRM, Museum work, or academic research and writing
Bio/Physical Anthropology: Studies of Human evolution, origins, and Homo-Neanderthals (research)
Linguistic Anthropology: research, or NSA/CIA analyst positions
Psychology: unsure what I would do with this other than fueling creative writing.
Cultural Anthropology: same as Psychology
These are my leading interests at the moment in studies, as far as career paths... my contingency is CRM, and my backup to that is goverment work in CRM (I am already qualified and near guaranteed to get CRM work with the Army Corps of Engineers).
My leading interest in pursuing a career in Archaeology is in doing research, publishing on finds, and creative writing (creative writing would be more of an on the side, or hobby than a career).
background information on my personal obstacles to overcome: chronic severe pain and discomfort from back injuries sustained in the military, Fibromyalgia, and various other disabilities all caused by my military service. This affects my focus and concentration, which is why I am unsure of my capability of completing a PhD program at this time. In the sodden wetness of the Pacific NW my symptoms are greatly worsened. I am also pursuing social security disability because I am unable to maintain traditional work, but I believe academic is certainly obtainable in the long run if I can overcome these difficulties.
Thanks again for your time!
Answer Hi Sean,
Great answers. Given your disability and your dislike for cold damp climates, I would think that Arizona or Texas would be good choices for you.
Recognizing that you are having some issues with selecting a region or culture to work with, may I suggest that you focus on the US. There is a lot of work to be done here and the skills base you have plus the service you have provided to the nation places you in good stead to find good jobs with the govt. CRM is urgently needed in a number of parks and military bases around the US. I am constantly being approached to find people who can do this kind of work.
Both Arizona State and U Arizona have good grad programs and they also have a concentration on Meso America/ the Southwest that you may find interesting. In addition they have a great program in CRM. The University of North Texas also would be one to investigate. Florida State has a good grad program as well. California has several good programs but cost of living is CA is outrageous while Texas is comparably cheap.
As a vet, you should also look into Forensic Anthropology since there is always a need for the identification of human remains coming out of war zones. There are currently several positions open in Hawaii and Dover for people with those skills. Liguistics would be a good field too but you need a real gift for languages to succeed. On the other hand, if you have held a govt. clearance then getting work at NSA or CIA gets easier, also each of the services have their own spooks. If you feel that you can get into the mind of the opposition then this could be an interesting direction for you. I know that you question the value of interest surveys but now that you have had this exposure, you can find one on the internet that will give you some additional guidance.
My biggest concern is the condition of your health and your back. Archaeology is, if nothing else, hard back breaking work. It is worse then picking potatoes. You are on your hands and knees all day, back bent then getting up to shovel dirt, screen, carry bags, baskets of dirt etc... It is not all picks and brushes. Even as a site supervisor or director, you will need to do some of the lifting and toting expected in the field. Something to strongly consider. I have a friend who has fibromyalgia and some times he is in such pain, he can't work, let alone focus. This does not work well in the field.
Thus, Museology (working in a museum). Forensics (the kind you see on "BONES" the TV show. Cultural Anthro that is used by the CIA or NSA or even the Rand Corp. would be good. Inside, air conditioned, little to no heavy lifting, military thinking appreciated etc...
For these sorts of things U Maryland may be worth looking into or U Virginia.
I hope that this helps, I know that it may not be exactly what you were hoping for. I am more then happy to be of further assistance and provide further guidance. Just let me know.
