Majors & Minors

Distinguished Majors Program

Undergraduate Student Research and Projects

Interested in majoring or minoring in archaeology?

The interdisciplinary major in archeology combines the faculty and resources of several departments to create a program of study in prehistoric, historic, and classical archaeology. The discipline is concerned with the recovery, analysis, and interpretation of the material remains of past cultures and societies. The topics of study pursued within the program can vary widely, ranging from issues of human origins and cultural evolution to the study of Classical Greece and Rome; from the structure of ancient Pueblo societies in the American Southwest to the study of colonial life in Virginia. The program provides majors with a knowledge of archaeological method and theory and a thorough grounding in specific cultural areas. There are approximately 20 archaeology majors in a given year. Many majors combine archaeology with a second major in a related field such as anthropology, history, art history, psychology, classics or biology depending upon their particular interests. Upon graduation many archaeology majors are admitted to graduate school in a specialized area of archaeological interest, while others pursue professional degrees in areas such as Law or Medicine. A number of our former students are employed by museums, or work in the areas of historic preservation, artifact conservation, and Cultural Resource.

Major Requirements

Students wishing to declare a major in Archaeology will need to complete 30 credits (10 courses) of course work as follows:

Completion of the 3 core courses: Introduction to Archaeology (ANTH 2800), Introduction to Classical Archaeology (ARTH 2055), and a course in archaeological field methods (ANTH 3810);

5 courses which explore specific areas and issues of archaeological research in various parts of the world (other courses from the Departments of Anthropology, History, and Art may be substituted in consultation with the Program Director or major advisor);

 

Click Here to Download Archaeology Major's Checklist

• 2 courses (selected in consultation with the Program Director or major advisor) from such related areas as Classics, Religious Studies, Chemistry, Biology, and Environmental Sciences

 

Minor Requirements

• 3 core curriculum classes: Introduction to Archaeology (ANTH 2800), Introduction to Classical Archaeology (ARTH 2055), and a course in archaeological field methods (ANTH 3810);
• An additional nine credits to be chosen in consultation with the Program Director or major advisor.Click Here to Download Archaeology Minor's Checklist

If you would like to declare a major or minor in Archaeology, please contact
Tyler Jo Smith, Program Director.

Distinguished Majors Program (DMP)

Students with superior academic performance are encouraged to apply to the Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) in which they write a thesis demonstrating independent study of high quality.
 

• Students must have satisfied all College area requirements as stated in the Undergraduate Record with a GPA of at least 3.4 in all University courses.
• Students must have a GPA of at least 3.4 in all courses taken as part of the archaeology major.
• Students need the permission of an advisor. This person may be any member of the program's faculty who is willing to take on the responsibility of supervising the thesis, and is normally someone to whom the students have already demonstrated their ability in a specialized course at the 4000 level.
• Students must also select a second faculty member to serve on their committee along with the major thesis advisor.
• Students must enroll for ARCY 4998 and ARCY 4999 in the Fall and Spring of their 4th year, respectively.

 

Application deadline: The deadline for the DMP application is April 30th of the student's 3rd year. In special circumstances, students may apply early in the Fall semester of the 4th year. The application can be found here.

Final Submission deadline: The deadline for final submission of the DMP is April 15th of the 4th year.  Three copies are to be submitted (one to advisor, one to 2nd reader, one to DMP director). In consultation with the advisor, the copies can be delivered in either in print or electronic formats.

For more information and applications, please contact: Tyler Jo Smith.

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Undergraduate Student Research and Projects

The Interdisciplinary Archaeology Program strives to support individual and group research for our interested undergraduate majors and minors. Most notably, can develop an individual research project through the Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) during their 4th year or assist professors on one of their projects.

 

 

Archaeology majors Juan Salgado ('22) (pictured), Reva Siva, and Allanah Bell ('23) gave a presentation on "Who's Home?: Archaeological Excavations of Byzantine Life at the Athenian Agora," at UVA's Undergraduate Research Symposium in Spring 2022.