For Academic Advisors

You can study archaeology in the classroom, but you need to know how to practice archaeology in the field. Theory and practice of two complementary, essential parts of the discipline. Most positions in archaeology – whether in academia, government or the private sector – requires practitioners to have a minimum of a BA/BS degree and a field school. Your student will have to attend a field school to become a professional archaeologist.

The Anthropocene Research Center is the largest provider of archaeology field schools in the world. We like to think we are also the best. Here are some of the benefits your student will get if attending an ARC field school:

• Affordable Tuition: ARC is an independent organization and not part of a university. Our expenses, therefore, are minimal and our overhead is low. We pass these savings to students, and our field schools are some of the most affordable.
• Scope & Reach: ARC offers dozens of field schools across the world, covering research of many civilizations and time periods. We offer traditional programs (excavations and survey) as well as specialized programs in archaeological science (zooarchaeology, Isotope analysis, photogrammetry, etc).
• Academic Credit Units & Transcripts: Students earn 8 semester credit units attending our traditional programs that are four weeks or longer. We do offer shorter programs for specific specializations and students earn less credits for those (for more information, see here). Our School of Record is Culver Stockton College and students get CS-C transcripts upon completion of each field school. Because students can transfer credits to their home institution and graduate faster, the cost of our field school is usually lower than the tuition paid at home institution. This helps make our programs even more affordable.
• Skills Certificate: In addition to academic letter grade and transcripts, graduating students receive our Skills Certificate. Each field school lists the skills that will be taught at the program on its syllabus. At the end of each program, students are rated on their mastery of each skill and receive a formal Skills Certificate. Students can then use this certificate when applying for jobs in the Cultural Resource Management (CRM) sector (see more on archaeology jobs below).
• Free RPA Membership: Each graduating student gets one year of free membership with the Registrar of Professional Archaeologists. With membership comes the official RPA number and continued education through the many RPA offerings.
• Insurance: All ARC programs provide full liability & accident insurance. Our international programs also provide $0 deductible health insurance (GeoBlue), evacuation insurance and Political and Natural Disaster (P&N) insurance. See our Health & Safety page for more information.
• Scholarships and 0% Interest Loans: We offer a range of Scholarships, as well as Payment Plans, which are loans with 0% interest rate.
• Measured & Transparent Program Quality: All ARC field schools are evaluated annually by the Center for Field Sciences, an organization dedicated to independently evaluated archaeology field schools across the world. CFS evaluations are published on their website, allowing students to select the best programs for their interest and needs.
• Research Based Programs: Our programs are research based. Students learn field skills through engagement in actual archaeological investigations, whether in the field or at the lab. Our programs encourage students to return for Honor Thesis, MA Thesis and even PhD research.
• Scale: We are the largest organization in the world offering archaeology field schools. We use this scale to reduce costs, work with top scholars and provide students with best-in-class training.

There are very few archaeology positions in academia, a reality not likely to change in the near future. Fortunately, there are plenty of jobs in Cultural Resource Management (CRM) – both in government and the private sector – that pay well and provide fulfilling careers (see chart below). Entry level positions (Field Tech) earn over $22/hr and within 18-24 months, a Tech can advance to a Crew Lead, earning more and getting full benefits. With an MA degree, Project Managers can legally sign off on official reports and earn significant sums ($80-180K per year) with full benefits.

Help direct students to CRM careers! Most entry level CRM positions require a BA/BS Degree and a field school. Explore Shovelums for current positions.

Our goal is to train the widest range possible of students. We have very few restrictions:

• Age: Students must be 18 or older by the day the field school begins. We are unable to accept legal minors in any of our programs.
• Physical Condition: Archaeology is frequently practiced in remote areas and involves physical labor. Students must be able to walk 3 miles and carry 20 lb backpack as a minimum physical qualification.
• Students with Disabilities: We are limited in our capacity to accommodate students with disabilities. That said, we will examine each case and try to find reasonable accommodation for applicants.
• Mature Students: A special waiver must be requested for students who are 74 or older. We will contact our insurance company and ask for such waiver on a case-by-case basis.

Everyone is welcomed to our programs. Note, however, that we work in remote areas and live in very basic field stations where dormitories, showers and bathrooms may be shared. Privacy may be impossible to have.

We travel as anthropologists, not trying to change the cultures we visit. We are research, not advocacy organization. Some communities may not embrace our ideas about equality and sexuality and may be less than welcoming for the LGBTQ+ community. Check this Travel Guard LGBTQ Travel Safety page.  Links at the bottom allow for country-by-country analysis of travel safety.

We welcome Consortium Agreements with home universities. Such an agreement must originate from the university where the student is matriculating and sent to admin@anthroctr.org. The student must complete her/his/their part of the agreement as the agreement frequently requires privileged information (student ID, major, etc.). We will process and return the signed agreement within three business days to the email from which the agreement originated.

If the university requires a hard copy of the Consortium Agreement, please make sure to instruct us accordingly.  Provide the exact name and complete address where the agreement should be mailed.