Expert: Ralph Salier - 1/17/2012

Question
I am a high school senior and live in Virginia. I have been accepted at Sweet Briar College, James Madison Univ. and George Mason Univ., I was wondering if you have any knowledge about their archaeology programs. any input would be helpful.
Thank you

Answer
Hi Taylor,

James Madison has a good Historical Archaeological program but it is small.  GMU's program is also small and tends to focus on archaeology out side of the US. Sweet Briar does have an Archaeology Major but I've not heard much about it and don't know any one who has graduated from the program.   

I assume t hat you want to stay in Virginia?  Since U of Penn, Seton Hall, U Maryland, Columbia all have programs that are better known and have a wider acceptance.

What kind of archaeology do you want to study?  The university or college you choose can have a huge impact on the type of archaeology you want to study and in fact, most choose their area of interest first and then select the college or university based on that.  

North American Archaeology (generalist - Historica, prehistoric, physical Anth, ect.)
A regional part of NA like Southwestern or Eastern
Meso-American (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras ect.... This would include Aztec, Olmec, Maya and so on)
South American (Inca, Moche, Nazca ect...)
European (historic period, prehistoric, early man, Roman, Greek, ect...)
Egyptiology
Middle Eastern (Babylon, Mesopotamia, Ur, ect...)
Subcontinental (India, Pakistan, Burma - Mojenje Daro, Moguls, Darpa, Religious, ect...)
Asian (China, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, etc...)
and a lot more

So, do you have a particular area of interest?

I'd be more then happy to help you chose a school  based on area of interest.

Also, you need to consider a "back up plan".  Many years ago, Mary Leaky told me that I should always have a backup plan.  Study something besides archaeology that would provide full time employment if working in archaeology can not be pursued.  It was great advice.  These alternatives can be something like plumbing, electrical work, economics, sociology etc... Just in case.  It worked well for me.

Ralph