Expert: John J. Shea - 12/27/2007

Question
Hey John,
I've been reading past questions and answers on your page and they have been very informative. I know you've been answering many questions about archae career options lately (I laugh every time you suggest people to read previous answers), but it would be great if you could lay out a safe education path following high school if someone was interested in a career in archaeology. I understand that many things can change during one's undergraduate years, but it would be nice to know exactly which programs you suggest. For example, does it make a difference if one chooses the science faculty over the arts faculty? In short, is archaeology more of an 'art' or a 'science'? Would you recommend attending a school that has a combined Arts and Science program? (Basically, let me know which programs are good to have under belt in case i DO end up wanting to go into archaeology)
I live in Canada so I don't necessarily need advice on good Canadian schools to attend for my undergraduate degree, but if you or your students have any insight about the University of British Columbia as a starting point, please let me know.
Thanks for your time. Looking forward to your response :)

Answer
Dear Anthony
Archaeology straddles the academic divide between arts and sciences.  Your best course of action is to take some of both.  Take biology, geology, and chemistry among the sciences.  Among the humanities, take some history, art history, and at least one scholarly foreign language that is relevant to archaeology (French, German, Spanish, Russian).  In behavioral sciences, take as much anthropology as is available.  Also take a basic course in statistical data analyis.  At some point, early on, attend and archaelogical field school.  Best to find out early in your education if you like fieldwork.
Do look at my previous answers, though, there is more detailed advice there.
I do not have the expertise to evaluate UBC's qualifications.
Sincerely
John Shea
John Shea