Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon

Walker Museum, which houses the University’s Division of the Arts & Humanities.

The University will offer a new undergraduate major in archaeology beginning in the 2025–26 academic year. The major will be housed within the Arts & Humanities Collegiate Division, bringing together faculty and coursework from multiple departments, including anthropology, Classics, and art history.

According to James Osborne, an associate professor of Anatolian archaeology and deputy chair of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, the major is designed to emphasize theory and fieldwork.

“I think the students who would take the major archaeology fall into two groups: one would be the group of students who are actually hoping to become archaeologists, who would think, ‘That’s the career path that I want to follow,’” Osborne said. “The larger group, I think, are students who will go into finance or medicine or whatever professional career they end up choosing but who are just interested in archaeology.”

“Maybe they take a course in the Core taught by someone who inspires them and think, ‘Hey, I’d really like to follow up on that,’” he added. “They’re not going to become archaeologists, but they just like it, so they might as well learn about it while they can.”

The College currently offers an archaeology track within the Middle Eastern studies major.

Osborne said that students in the major will take four foundational classes: Introduction to Archaeology, Archaeological Data Sets, World Archaeology, and Archaeological Theory. In addition, they will take three courses in archaeological methods covering topics like ceramic analysis, zooarchaeology, and physical anthropology.

Students can also draw from existing courses such as Archaeology of the Ancient Near East II: Anatolia and Mesopotamian Archaeology II: States to Empires. They will then select five electives from a range of offerings, including The Archaeology of Egypt I. Students must also complete a fieldwork requirement by participating in excavations, archaeometry, or lab-based research.

Unlike Classics and Middle Eastern studies, the archaeology major will not have a language requirement. According to Osborne, this will allow students to focus more on the hands-on archaeological content of the major, appealing to those interested in double majoring in other fields such as economics or biology.

Students will also have the ability to minor in archaeology, taking two foundational courses and four electives. Although the major is not integrated with study abroad, students may take classes and petition for departmental approval.

Osborne also noted that fieldwork is a central component of the program: “Archaeology is by definition something one does, not simply something one learns about it in the classroom.” He explained that students will have the opportunity to join faculty-led excavations or approved external opportunities with other universities or professionals.

He also noted that the College is committed to supporting student participation in fieldwork, working to expand funding options, including through the Quad Undergraduate Research Scholars Program and other grants.

“There’s a ton of archaeological stuff happening on campus that I think students aren’t actually particularly aware of, and hopefully this will help remedy that,” Osborne said. New classes for the major will likely be added to the course catalog by the end of the quarter, he added, and a dedicated website is expected to launch soon.

The Department of Middle Eastern Studies directed the Maroon to Osborne when asked for comment on the new major.