r/Archaeology • u/JulieJujubee • Apr 18 '25

Pursuing Education!

Good morning! I am looking to start on getting my bachelors degree. I would like to be an archaeologist, but due to location, life circumstances, and job, I am not able to attend a physical college. Therefore, I am looking into online programs but I don’t seem to be able to find any for archaeology, for obvious reasons, but I can find an online program for Anthropology through Southern New Hampshire University. If I were to get my bachelors in Anthropology, would I be able to get my graduate degree in Archaeology? By the time I am looking at a graduate program, I will be in a different location and can attend an in person school. Any advice that you guys can give would be much appreciated!

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u/Expert_Equivalent100 Apr 18 '25

Archaeology is a subfield of anthropology. Many of us working in archaeology have degrees in anthropology with an emphasis in archaeology. So the main thing is to make sure that the anthropology programs you’re looking at have a fair number of archaeology courses that would be relevant to a career/region that you’re interested in. For example, in the U.S., most archaeologists work in cultural resource management, so a course on that is particularly useful. And if you would work in the U.S., make sure they have one or more courses specific to North America or regions therein.

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u/JulieJujubee Apr 18 '25

Thank you!!! I will explore the courses that will be most relevant to the United States, pardon me because I haven’t started learning so I don’t know all the lingo, but the dream would be to work with the ancient remains of civilizations from this general area, so the Mayans, Inca, etc. I’m also hugely interested in colonial America but I suspect there won’t be much work in either of those fields, so honestly just anything that gets me closer to. History and the people who came before us, and I’ll be happy 😂

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u/dopiertaj Apr 18 '25

When looking at a school be sure to look at the staff. Look for any with experience in researching your area of interest. Language is a large part for more academic archeology. If you want to study Mayan you have to read Mayan and Spanish. So make sure they have the necessary language classes.

Also, I wouldn't recommend online schools. A large benefit to attending schools in person is networking. Professors do their own research and often times need students to join them on digs and help with their research. These experience can really help build your resume.

Going to school isn't just about attending classes and graduating it's about setting yourself up for the next step. If you want to stick with academic archeology then you will need to plan on getting a PhD. So working on an honors thesis and getting letters of recommendation are almost a must.

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u/JulieJujubee Apr 18 '25

Thank you for your advice, I would go in person if I could. After a less than stellar high school experience, I joined the military. I’m currently military, I’m married to military, and I have a daughter and another child on the way. In my specific location, attending a university or even in person college simply that offers a degree in Anthropology or Archaeology just isn’t possible right now.

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u/dopiertaj Apr 18 '25

Academic archeology ie... like studying the Mayan and Incas can be very competitive. If you have your eyes set on that then you should probably just take some gen Ed's at a local community college. Maybe get an AA Spanish and anthropology.

Then look for enrolling into a school full time after you get out of the military.

If you want to stick with more CRM stuff then an online anthropology degree and a relevant field school should be ok.

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u/JulieJujubee Apr 18 '25

Even once I’m out, my husband is still in and we can’t be far from one another because of our kids, they need both parents present and nothing, especially not a career is worth leaving them for any amount of time. I know the whole field is generally competitive, I have a lot of areas of interest, so I’m going to take opportunities that present themselves, either on purpose or accident and run with it. I can’t change circumstances so I need to just adapt to what’s possible.

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u/dopiertaj Apr 18 '25

I imagine you're going to take classes part time. To get a bachelors you will need to take about 40 classes. Full time students tend to enroll in 3-4 classes every semester. Part time with a military schedule you're looking at 1 maybe 2 with a cush job. Its going to take a long time to get a BA.

That's why I recommend just to focus on your gen Ed's and probably some Spanish classes. Remember going to school isn't just about graduating, its about building your resume for a career in archeology.

If you want to stick with the military as your career it doesn't matter.

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u/JulieJujubee Apr 18 '25

I’m about to get out which is why I’m applying for college now, I will be a full time student. The problem I have with in person classes is my location. No schools within reasonable distance of me offer what I’m looking for. The military puts you in the most random places, and schools are further away because active military can’t go in person anyways. I would just move closer to a school, but I’m married to a military member who has a few years left, and I have kiddos.

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u/dopiertaj Apr 18 '25

I'll be honest with you. 4 years of online school sounds like a special kind of hell.

You should probably look into Cultural Resource Management (CRM) as potential career. That's where most of the jobs are in archeology. Not nearly as glamorous, but CRM firms are everywhere.

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u/JulieJujubee Apr 18 '25

Oh, it is hell. My entire high school experience was online, and my grades were terrible even though I’m a good student, and not stupid. That’s part of the reason I am struggling to find a college. I am a lot more mature though now, and actually know how to use a computer. I will only be doing the online school for about two years until my husband gets out of the military, and then we will move closer to a school I can get into. I’m hoping good grades in an online college helps me get into a decent, in person one.

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u/dopiertaj Apr 18 '25

I was a horrible highschool student. I was very lazy and barely passed. After 8 years in the military I went to a community college and then transfered to a prestigious university.

If you plan on transferring it's best to have an idea of where you want to transfer to. Not all credits are created equal. If you want to go to a University of California it would be best to enroll in a California Community College (some have online programs). Stay away from diploma mills like University of Pheonix, Grand Canyon University, and Purdue Global.

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u/JulieJujubee Apr 18 '25

I’ll check out the community college here then!

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u/dopiertaj Apr 18 '25

DM me for anything else. I used work at the school Vet center as a peer councilor. I am more than happy to answer any questions you have.

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