Q. about archaeological major in college?

Question

I want to be an archaeologist and want to get my doctorate. Does it matter where I get my bachelors degree? Would a community college work, or do I need to go to a university. I plan on going to a university for my doctorate.

Answer 1

You need a 4 year degree in order to pursue a doctorate. You cannot go to  graduate school with only a 2 year degree.  I got my doctorate at an Ivy League University but I got my BA from a state college and my MA from a state university. So, ultimately, it doesn't matter where you get your BA as long as you make the grades, take the right courses, get good GRE scores, and have the right experience.

I should also offer you some advice about the types of courses you should take while working on your BA as well as  the types of activities that would look good on a grad school application.  

1.  Pay attention to the languages you will need to do research in the area you want to specialize in for your doctorate. For some places, you need several modern foreign languages along with a few ancient languages.  

2. Take a basic geology course.

3. Take several history courses, concentrating them on the area of the world where you want to do your doctoral research.

4.  Take an archaeology field school to get excavation experience.

5. If artifact analysis courses are offered, take those.

6. Take an evolutionary biology class.

7. Try to volunteer with a museum or get a part-time job with one.

8. Of course, take lots of anthropology and archaeology courses. Sometimes archaeology courses are offered in Classics or Ancient Studies as well.

All of these things should help you on your way to becoming an archaeologist.

Answer 2

You need a four year degree (B.A. or B.S.) in order to get accepted into graduate school. A two-year community college program won't do it. However, you need not attend a full university, in fact you might find you get a better education at a smaller college, where the undergrads get the professors' full attention, and your courses are taught by faculty, not graduate students.

What will count in your applications to graduate programs are your grades, recommendations, and your scores on qualifying exams such as the GRE's. Which undergraduate program you attended will matter somewhat, but not that much, as long as you excel.