Graduate Program

Graduate Program Director: Steven Simms, Professor

Cultural resource management (CRM) archaeology provides industry and government agencies with an evaluation of heritage resources that by law have to be "taken into account” prior to the alteration of our public landscapes. CRM is now an institutionalized element of the environmental management industry in the United States and many other countries. Archaeologists identify and record all prehistoric and historic cultural resources from ancient villages and camps, to pioneer cabins, 19th century gold mines, and human skeletons. Archaeologists help industry and agencies find ways to protect what is of value by avoidance and occasionally by mitigation, and they facilitate land management. Federal and State laws and regulations govern the practice of archaeology by issuing permits, and a national Register of Professional Archaeologists certifies professional standards. The minimum degree requirement for the permits and the professional registry is a Master’s degree.

Senior archaeologists working in CRM realize the need for graduate training to be more than applied archaeology. In order to produce career-path archaeologists, graduate training needs to include adequate knowledge of the scientific research contexts of archaeology, and experience in the conduct of research to prepare students for careers, and not just as technicians in a transient labor force.

The Master of Science Degree in Cultural Resource Management Archaeology is an applied program designed to meet industry needs for:

·Practical field, archival, and analytical skills.

·Sense of problem and ability to develop research design in scientific archaeology.

·Written communication skills, technical and general.

·Knowledge of the laws, regulations, and procedures guiding heritage management and CRM business practice.

·Internship choices in private firms, government agencies, and museums.

·Professional ethics and qualifications enabling application to the Registry of Professional Archaeologists.

MISSION STATEMENT: Our program educates and trains graduates who will meet the standards of the Register of Professional Archaeologists, and will become project directors and principal investigators. Our Core curriculum targets these goals, and is supported by an elective curriculum in Method and Area that reflects faculty expertise and facilitates student thesis research. Students are mentored to become independent scholars conducting original research.