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