Archaeology is taught at almost all liberal arts colleges; and beginning archaeology courses are also taught in high school and community colleges. Therefore it would be a good idea for future archaeology students to discover all options regarding the study of archaeology. For instance, a student might want to take his first courses close to home and therefore the future student should check out his local community colleges and state colleges.
However there are a few websites that list the most popular colleges and universities for archaeology. US College Ranking.com lists Harvard University as the top school for anthropology (archaeology is a sub-field of anthropology). They list the ten top schools, which are in numerical order: Harvard, University of Michigan, Stony Brook University, University of Chicago, Stanford University (number 5 and 6), University of Berkley (Medical Anthropology), Washington University, Columbia University, Yale University, and Princeton University (number 10).
The largest student enrollment for archaeology is listed by education portal.com as Arizona State University, Ohio State University, University of Florida, University of Minnesota, University of Central Florida, University of Texas (at Austin), Texas A & M University, Michigan State University, University of South Florida, Pennsylvania State University.
Therefore, it appears that the Ivy League Universities are the most popular universities for archaeology. The state universities appear to have the highest enrollment in archaeology.
However, some small private colleges may have excellent archaeology programs, so it is important that the future archaeology student not only look for the most popular archaeology universities, but also do some research on a college or university that they might be interested in.
A student might want to study at a college close to an archaeological dig or connected with a particular dig in a particular region. Therefore the student should research this university or college to find out if it has the best educational program for his particular needs.
In all cases, check out your state colleges or universities which offer excellent programs in almost all subjects. Some state universities focus on a particular program, such as in each state there are state colleges and each one may have a different focus.
Therefore in order to find the best archaeological college or university for your particular needs it is best to decide first where you want to study…in what country…with what archaeological dig…in what state. Then pick the best from the area where you want to study.
Make sure to check on the finances of a university. Does it fit into your financial budget? The Ivy League schools are the most expensive. The state colleges and universities are the least expensive. It all depends on you and what you are capable of. If you can get a scholarship to one of the top Ivy League schools, you will have it made, and can study where you like.
To check for the best archaeological schools by state, go to a2zcolleges.com.
References:
http://uscollegeranking.com/science/top-ranking-college-for-archaeology.html
http://education-portal.com/archaeology_colleges.html
http://a2zcolleges.com/Majors/Anthropology_Archaeology.html
