Top Archaeology Graduate Schools in the United States

Are you an aspiring archaeologist? We’ve done some research on the top six archeology schools in the United States.  You will have your own criterion to consider when selecting a school, but this is a good place to start.

Rank	University	Public/ Private	Rural/ Urban	Tuition	Graduation Rate	Job Placement Success	Class size	Faculty Size	More Information
1	Harvard University	Private	Urban	$20442/year	97.6%	76%	6655	4.4	http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~anthro/grad_arch.htm
2	University of Michigan	Public	Urban	$11908/full term	88%	59%	26208	4.8	http://www.umich.edu/~ipcaa/
3	University of Chicago	Private	Urban	$58995/ year	91.8%	62%	5066	4.8	http://anthropology.uchicago.edu/graduate/archaeology.shtml
4	Stony Brook University	Public	Urban	$14774/ year	61.4%	82%	16395	3	http://www.stonybrook.edu/anthro/graduate.shtml
5	Stanford University	Private	Urban	$12900/year	94.4%	70%	6602	3.7	https://www.stanford.edu/dept/archaeology/cgi-bin/drupal/prospective-graduate-students
6	Washington University	Private	Urban	$20475/semester	93.7%	69%	7046	3.4	http://bulletin.wustl.edu/artsci/archaeology/#text

When choosing an archaeology school, you should consider the degree level you wish to pursue. Some schools only offer an associate's or bachelor's degree in archaeology or anthropology. This will limit career advancement in the field. In contrast, other schools offer programs leading to masters and doctoral degrees which can provide opportunities for supervisor or curator roles within archaeological digs and museums, as well as teaching positions at colleges and universities.

It's also important that you research the credentials of faculty members, including their areas of specialization. Determine if a particular school allows you to study a specific concentration in archaeology. The life of an archaeologist is split between fieldwork and laboratory study. For this reason, you would do well to select a school that boasts a state-of-the art laboratory where you can study artifacts excavated from the field. Finally, archaeology and anthropology graduate level programs may often require that you complete a thesis, which is a written dissertation in which a you must thoroughly research a particular theory.


Sources:
http://www.uscollegeranking.org/science/top-ranking-college-for-archaeology.html
http://collegemeasures.org/reporting/institution/
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges