What college should I go to study archaeology? What subjects should I take? How long does it take to get a degree to be an archaeologist?

Dr. dig responds:
As with any professional career, becoming an archaeologist or palaeontologist takes time. The route most professionals take is to get a college degree. Some go on to get a higher degree, like an Master's or a Ph.D., in their field of specialization like conservation or museum studies.

Your college counsellor at school will be able to give you details about tuition at a four year college, and will probably be able to show you catalogues from several excellent universities.

What college you choose depends on what field of archaeology interests you most. Because there are so many different kinds of jobs in archaeology, it is difficult to pin down all the qualifications you might need; different fields of archaeology will require different qualifications and experience. Generally, common sense will tell you the sort of background experience is necessary for becoming any particular sort of archaeologist. If you are interested in the Greeks and Romans, you will want to look for a college with a good Classics department; and in High School you might want to take some languages, like French or German, or even a little Latin. If you want to specialize in underwater archaeology, you might consider taking a few classes in scuba diving. Universities with the best underwater archaeology program are obviously the ones located near the coasts. If you have a knack for chemistry, you might consider going into the field of archaeological conservation. If you want to become a palaeontologist, a scientist who studies dinosaurs and fossils, then you will want to take classes in geology and earth sciences. Practical training in subjects like photography, drawing, and computer applications will be useful for fieldwork.

There is so much variety in archaeology, you can do almost anything that suits your talents. Your best bet is to go to the library and dig out different books on archaeology to see what interests you most. Your college counselor at school will help you choose the best university for your studies.

But as with becoming any professional, there is nothing like gaining hands-on experience. You might want to check with your local or state archaeologist to see if you are eligible to participate in a local excavation, or perhaps there is volunteer work you could do in an archaeology lab or at a science museum. The best of luck in your future career as an archaeologist!

(Posted by reader) Becoming an archaeologist takes a long time, and a lot of work. I'm trying to do it and I'm only half way. Usually to be an official archaeologist, it requires that you go to graduate school for archaeology. Not only that you have to go to a field school where you learn how to dig for all the artifacts that go into museums.