ARCHA-BA - Archaeology (BA)
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Program Overview
Archaeology is the study of human societies through their material remains. Archaeology is a discipline that offers direct access to the experiences of a wide range of people in numerous cultures across the globe. Increasingly, archaeology bridges past and present societies through the study of the human heritage and its role in contemporary societies. Stanford's Archaeology program provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to the material remains of past societies, drawing in equal parts on the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
The Archaeology curriculum draws on faculty from a wide range of University departments and schools. To complete the requirements for the major, students must take courses from the offerings of the program and from the listings of other University departments. The program culminates in a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Archaeology.
The mission of the undergraduate program in Archaeology is to provide students with a broad and rigorous introduction to the analysis of the material culture of human societies, drawing on the questions and methods of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students in the major learn to relate these analyses to the practice of archaeology in the contemporary world. The program seeks to help each student achieve a high level of understanding through concentrated study of a particular research area. Courses in the major draw on faculty from a wide range of University departments and programs. Archaeology majors are well prepared for advanced training in professional and graduate schools.
Preparing for the Major
Suggested Preparation for the Major
Students who plan to pursue graduate work in Archaeology should know the admission requirements of the particular departments to which they intend to apply. These vary greatly. Early planning is advisable to guarantee completion of major and graduate school requirements. See Archaeology graduate programs here.
How to Declare the Major
To declare a major in Archaeology, students should:
Apply for the BA in Archaeology on Axess.
Contact the Archaeology student services officer, who provides a course tracking form, answers initial questions, and helps choose a faculty advisor.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
The BA in Archaeology requires a minimum of 65 units in the major, with an overall minimum grade of C (with the exception of the core courses) and no more than ten units may be taken for pass/no pass credit. Coursework must form a coherent program of study, and be approved by the student services officer and the program faculty director. The degree requirements are divided into six components. A course may only be used once to fulfill a degree component and may only be used to satisfy requirements for one major.
Students must meet the minimum unit count totaling 65 units:
Core | 15 Units
Methods & Skills: Statistics | 5 Units
Methods & Skills | 10 Units
Theory | 10 Units
Electives | 20 Units
Capstone | 5 Units
Undergraduates may fulfill course requirements in Methods & Skills, Theory, and Electives from graduate-level courses with the approval of the instructor and Archaeology Center director.
All three courses must be taken for a letter grade and have a minimum passing grade of B. Completing these three courses should amount to 15 units.
course (Introduction to Archaeology) is recommended as a first course. Many upper-level courses in Archaeology require this course as a prerequisite.
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Quantitative skills and computing ability are indispensable to archaeologists. Students must take one statistics course for five units to fulfill the statistics requirement.
Courses taken to fulfill the statistics component cannot be used to satisfy any other degree requirement. A course can only be applied to one degree component.
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To fulfill the Methods & Skills component, students must take courses on archaeological Methods & Skills, ten units.
Methods & Skills courses may include archaeological formation processes, botanical analysis, cartography, ceramic analysis, dating methods, faunal analysis, geographic information systems, geology, geophysics, genetics, osteology, remote sensing, soil chemistry, and statistics, among other topics.
Courses taken to fulfill the Methods & Skills component cannot be used to satisfy any other degree requirement. A course can only be applied to one degree component.
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Students must take ten units from any course designated explicitly as Theory. Courses in this area may include archaeological, art-historical, sociocultural, historical, and material culture theory.
Courses taken to fulfill the Theory component cannot be used to satisfy any other degree requirement. A course can only be applied to one degree component.
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Students must complete 20 units of Electives on regions, themes, or other areas of interest. They are encouraged to do so by consulting with their faculty advisor and the Archaeology SSO to design a course plan.
The electives are broken down into emphasis categories below allowing students to identify courses based on their varied interests in archaeology, and students may choose courses from multiple emphasis categories.
Heritage: Courses for students interested in understanding the roles and reception of past material culture in present-day societies and cultures, navigating tensions that emerge within local, national, and international governments/communities and exploring how heritage work can contribute to healing and reconciliation.
Biological & Environmental Archaeology: Courses for students interested in understanding how humans lived and interacted with their surroundings and the environment.
Archaeological Science & Technology: Courses for students interested in how the sciences and technologies applied to material culture help us understand past societies.
Materiality & Society: Courses for students interested in the relationship and interaction between humans, their objects, and the societies they built together.
Regional: Courses for students interested in a particular region of the world such as the Americas, Mediterranean, Asia/East Asia, and Africa.
Non-ARCHLGY courses can be used to fulfill this requirement with the prior approval of the Archaeology curriculum committee and Archaeology Center director. Please contact the Archaeology student services officer for more information on this petition process.
Courses taken to fulfill the elective component cannot be used to satisfy any other degree requirement. A course can only be applied to one degree component.
Heritage courses are for students interested in understanding the roles and reception of past material culture in present-day societies and cultures. Navigating tensions that emerge within local, national, and international governments/communities and exploring how heritage work can contribute to healing and reconciliation.
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Law (Cultural Resource Management), Community Engagement & Relationships, and Museum Collections
Biological & Environmental Archaeology courses are for students interested in understanding how humans lived and interacted with their surroundings and the environment.
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Bioarchaeology, Zooarchaeology, Paleoethnobotany, Food Archaeology
Archaeological Science & Technology courses are for students interested in how the sciences and technologies applied to material culture help us understand past societies.
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ArcGIS, Lithics, XRF Analysis
Materiality & Society courses are for students interested in the relationship and interaction between humans, their objects, and the societies they built together.
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Food and Foodways, Agriculture, Human Settlement, Trade, Archaeology of Colonialism, Gender, Power, Disease
African regional courses are for students interested in that particular region of the world.
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American regional courses are for students interested in that particular region of the world.
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Asia/East Asia regional courses are for students interested in that particular region of the world.
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Mediterranean regional courses are for students interested in that particular region of the world.
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Students must take part in a field experience approved by the Stanford Archaeology Center, and enroll in any coursework that is required for participation in the field experience. Experiences are typically offered during summer months and funding may be provided. Students may petition for exemption to this requirement, but the exemption will normally be granted only in exceptional circumstances. Read more about Field Experiences here.
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Students may count up to 5 units of research and independent study toward the Archaeology major, including but not limited to those courses listed above.
Related Courses
Archaeology is an interdisciplinary program. Students should meet with their advisor about degree requirements and the applicability of courses from other university departments to the Archaeology major or minor. Applicable courses are commonly found in History (HISTORY), Anthropology (ANTHRO), Classics (CLASSICS), and East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) but are not limited to these departments. Students should consult their advisor and the program director for course approvals.
Overseas Studies Courses in Archaeology
For course descriptions and additional offerings, see the Bing Overseas Studies website listings. Students should consult their department or program’s student services office for the applicability of Overseas Studies courses to a major or minor program.
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ARCHLGY103 is one of our three required core courses. Completing your core courses will include completing the major’s WIM requirement.
Students will have three options for their capstone requirement, and all will have to enroll in a Senior Capstone Seminar (ARCHLGY 130) course for 5 units.
ARCHLGY 130: Senior Capstone Seminar for Archaeology Majors is offered to students in their final year of study as either a stand-alone course on designing research projects and writing or as a touchpoint for students who are launching the writing phase of their senior projects or honors thesis.
ARCHLGY 130 is a variable unit course (1-5 units). Students can take the course in multiple quarters during their senior year adding up to the required 5 units.
It must be taken as part of any of the three Capstone options below.
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The honors program in Archaeology gives qualified majors a chance to work closely with faculty on an individual research project culminating in an honors thesis. Students may begin honors research from several starting points, including topics introduced in the core or upper-division courses, independent interests, research on artifacts in Stanford’s collections, or fieldwork experiences. Interested Archaeology majors of junior standing may apply for admission by submitting an honors application form, including a four to five-page statement of the project, a transcript, and a letter of recommendation from the faculty member supervising the honors thesis. Applications are due by May 1st of their junior year. Archaeology majors are eligible to apply for honors candidacy. The thesis is due in early May of their senior year. It is read by the candidate’s advisor and a second reader selected by the student or, at the student’s request, appointed by the undergraduate curriculum committee. Students will be invited to present at the SAC Spring Symposium in May or may arrange to present their research results in another public forum.
Students interested in working on a SUAC Capstone Project with the Stanford University Archaeology Collections (SUAC) can do so individually or as a team. Projects are tailored to the student’s interest within the scope of current initiatives underway at SUAC. Students will work with staff at SUAC and their faculty mentor at SAC. Projects may take various creative forms, such as deep research or materials analysis of a particular artifact, research reports on sites or collections, or the development of a virtual or physical exhibit. Students will be invited to present at the SAC Spring Symposium in May or may arrange to present their research results in another public forum.
The Senior Project is for students who want to design their capstone individually or as part of a team. Students will participate in ARCHLGY 130, Senior Capstone Seminar for Archaeology Majors to explore their ideas and begin developing a project proposal. During the winter quarter, students will start and/or continue the research and development of the project. Students will be invited to present at the SAC Spring Symposium in May or may arrange to present their research results in another public forum.
The honors program in Archaeology gives qualified majors a chance to work closely with faculty on an individual research project culminating in an honors thesis. Students may begin honors research from several starting points, including topics introduced in the core or upper-division courses, independent interests, research on artifacts in Stanford’s collections, or fieldwork experiences.
Interested Archaeology majors of junior standing may apply for admission by submitting an honors application form, including a 4-5 page statement of the project, a transcript, and a letter of recommendation from the faculty member supervising the honors thesis. Archaeology majors are eligible to apply for honors candidacy. The thesis is due in early May of the senior year and is read by the candidate’s advisor and a second reader appointed by the undergraduate committee.
Applications are due by May 1st of your junior year.