The Future of Education and Training in Archaeology

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "The Future of Education and Training in Archaeology" at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

A common refrain from archaeological employers is that both graduate and undergraduate students lack the key skills and experiences needed to be competitive for the nonacademic job market. Perhaps unwittingly, many university and college programs continue to prioritize learning outcomes with academic careers in mind, and assume all archaeological knowledge and skills are transferrable across the job market. One solution to this widespread problem is to encourage more collaboration between university programs and CRM firms, public institutions, and government agencies. This symposium aims to have a cross-industry dialogue about how we are training students and young professionals, where gaps in our training exist, and how to equitably fill those gaps. Contributors will discuss innovative educational approaches for the future of archaeology, and how to continue to encourage diversity and inclusion in recruitment and education. The symposium will include case studies in techniques for training archaeologists in multiple settings, highlighting examples of successful educational/research partnerships and career pipelines for students.