Archaeology at UNT is housed in the Geography department. The program specializes in environmental archaeology, which focuses on the relationship between past peoples and the environments in which they lived. Faculty specialties include geoarchaeology, zooarchaeology, biogeography, ecology, evolution, as well as lithic and ceramic analysis.
Undergraduates interested in archaeology have several curriculum options, including majoring in Anthropology or Geography and minoring in Archaeology. If you are serious about pursuing archaeology as a career, particularly environmental archaeology, we strongly recommend that you major in Geography for several reasons. Geography offers the solid science background required to do well in a career in archaeology. The list of recommended coursework for archaeology students emphasizes many of the courses offered through the Geography department such as geology, geography, GIS. In addition, a well-rounded science background should include courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. Students who major in Geography should also minor in Archaeology.
Career and
Students are encouraged to meet with at least one of the archaeology faculty as soon as they decide they want to pursue a career in archaeology. Archaeology is a competitive field so students need to be proactive about career or professional development as early as possible. Given the small number of jobs and graduate program positions and the large number of highly qualified individuals, obtaining one of these positions can be challenging.
For example, for graduate school applications, students who achieve the following will have a greater chance of being accepted into the school of their choice as well as obtaining scholarships, fellowships and other types of funding:
To develop this kind of high quality graduate school application, students should use their undergraduate career to build the skills to make them competitive for jobs or graduate school. Ideally, undergraduate students should try to gain the following set of skills:
In addition, students should consider developing a strong background in science. Since archaeology studies the physical remains of past cultures, we often rely on scientific methods and theories to understand how these items were made and used, how they were preserved, and what past environments were like. Relevant courses include basic biology, chemistry and physics as well as courses in geology, geography, GIS, ecology, and evolution.
If you plan to apply to the UNT environmental archaeology program for graduate school, you will be required to have a course in basic chemistry, ecology, geology and statistics.
For more information, contact Dr. Lisa Nagaoka, Dr. Steve Wolverton,or Dr. Reid Ferring.