Our Future Is Applied: The Applied Archaeology MA Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Future of Education and Training in Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Since 2009 the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Applied Archaeology MA program has prepared students for archaeology careers outside of the academy. Through constant contact with employers and alumni, as well as an advisory board of archaeology professionals, the IUP program has been responsive to changes in the job market. The Applied Archaeology program is staffed by faculty with applied experience who are dedicated to preparing students for nonacademic jobs. The program relies on courses that foreground the regulatory context for much of archaeology as well as the skills required for compliance and public archaeologies. This coursework is combined with internships, external mentoring, and a variety of field and laboratory experiences that help students meet the Secretary of Interior’s Standards and be prepared for professional practice. The efficacy of this program is evident in that, of the more than 100 graduates of the program, 80% continue to be employed in archaeology. Enrollments in the MA program have buoyed the overall department numbers during periods of declining enrollments so that the Applied Archaeology program has provided a stable future for both alumni and the IUP Anthropology Department.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)   •
• The Future of Education and Training in Archaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36545.0