Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology
Degree Requirements
The B.A. in Archaeology requires a minimum of 60 units in the major, with an overall minimum grade of 'C', and no more than 10 units may be taken for pass/no pass credit. The major requirements are divided into four academic components: core, methods and skills, theory, and electives. All majors must complete at least one summer field school and enroll in the Senior Capstone course (ARCHLGY 130: Senior Research Seminar for Archaeolgoy Majors & Minors) during their senior year.
A course may only be used once to fulfill a component, and may only be used to fulfill the requirements for one major.
Please contact our Student Services Officer for questions regarding the Archaeology Major program or to declare. Students should declare by the beginning of their junior year.
Meet with the Student Services Officer!
Archaeology Major Academic Components
Core Courses
15 units must be taken for a letter grade (minimum passing grade of 'B')
ARCHLGY 1 Introduction to Archaeology is recommended as a first course. Many upper-level courses in Archaeology require this course as a prerequisite. Students should normally take the capstone course in their final year of coursework in the major.
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| ARCHLGY 1 | Introduction to Archaeology (Gateway) | 5 |
| ARCHLGY 102 | Archaeological Methods (Intermediate) | 5 |
| ARCHLGY 103 | History of Archaeological Thought (Intermediate) | 5 |
| Total: 15 |
Analytical Methods and Skills
Quantitative skills and computing ability are indispensable to archaeologists. To fulfill the analytical methods and skills requirements, students must take one statistics course, and may choose to fulfill the remainder of the unit requirements with a variety of courses on archaeological skills and methods. Archaeological skills include archaeological formation processes, botanical analysis, cartography, ceramic analysis, dating methods, faunal analysis, geographic information systems, geology, geophysics, genetics, osteology, remote sensing, soil chemistry, and statistics. With the approval of the instructor and Archaeology director, undergraduates may fulfill part of this requirement from graduate-level courses (typically courses with catalog numbers of 200 or higher).
15 units must be taken for a letter grade (minimum passing grade of 'B')
To fulfill the analytical methods and skills requirements of the major, students must choose one of the following statistics courses:
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| PSYCH 10/STATS 60 | Introduction to Statistical Methods: Precalculus | 5 |
| ECON 102A | Introduction to Statistical Methods (Postcalculus) for Social Scientists | 5 |
To fulfill the remainder of the analytical methods and skills requirements, students will take a minimum of ten units from the following courses:
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| ARCHLGY 21Q | Eight Great Archaeological Sites in Europe (Sophomore Introsem) | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 110 | Environmental Archaeology | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 115 | The Social Life of Human Bones | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 119 | Zooarchaeology: An Introduction to Faunal Remains | 5 |
| ARCHLGY 124 | Archaeology of Food: Production, Consumption, and Ritual | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 125 | Archaeological Field Survey Methods | 3 |
| ARCHLGY 126 | Archaeobotany | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 134 | Introduction to Museum Practice (formerly Museum Cultures) | 3-5 |
| ANTHRO 98C | Digital Methods in Archaeology | 3-5 |
| ANTHRO 130D | Spatial Approaches to Social Science | 3-5 |
| ANTHRO 175 | Human Skeletal Anatomy | 5 |
| CLASSICS 115 | Virtual Italy: Methods for Historical Data Science | 5 |
| Total: 10 |
Theory
At least 10 units must be taken for a letter grade (minimum passing grade of 'B')
Topics include archaeological, art-historical, sociocultural, historical, and material culture theory. With the approval of the instructor, undergraduates may fulfill part of this requirement from graduate-level courses (typically courses with catalog numbers of 200 or higher).
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| ANTHRO 34 | Animals and Us | 5 |
| ANTHRO 90B | Theory of Cultural and Social Anthropology | 5 |
| ANTHRO 113 | Culture and Epigenetics: Towards A Non-Darwinian Synthesis | 4-5 |
| ARCHLGY 130 | Senior Research Seminar for Archaeology Majors and Minors | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 151 | Ten Things: An Archaeology of Design | 3 |
| ARCHLGY 156 | Design of Cities | 3-5 |
| Total:10 |
Electives
Select from any of the courses listed below. Courses are arranged around a regional or thematic focus, and therefore, may appear more than once. Students have the option of taking courses around a theme or concentration, and are encouraged to do so by consulting with their faculty adviser(s) to design a course plan. Courses other than those on this list can be used to fulfill this requirement with prior approval of the student's faculty adviser and program director. With the approval of the instructor, undergraduates may fulfill part of this requirement from graduate-level courses, typically courses numbered 200 or higher.
20 units must be taken for a letter grade (minimum passing grade of 'B')
World Archaeology: Europe
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| ARCHLGY 83 | Pots, People and the Press: Greek Archaeology in the Media | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 128 | Europe before the Romans | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 118 | Engineering the Roman Empire | 4-5 |
| ARCHLGY 145 | Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Maritime Archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean | 3 |
| ARCHLGY 165 | Roman Gladiators | 3-5 |
| CLASSICS 52 | Introduction to Roman Archaeology | 3-5 |
World Archaeology: Americas
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| ARCHLGY 65 | Looking out from California: North American Prehistoric Archaeology | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 84 | The Kingdom of Peru | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 102B | Incas and their Ancestors: Peruvian Archaeology | 3-5 |
| ANTHRO 30Q | The Big Shift | 4 |
World Archaeology: Asia
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| ARCHLGY 111 | Emergence of Chinese Civilization from Caves to Palaces | 3-4 |
| ARCHLGY 135 | Constructing National History in East Asian Archaeology | 3-5 |
Heritage
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| ARCHLGY 80 | Heritage and Human Rights | 3-5 |
| ARCHLGY 95 | Monumental Pasts: Cultural Heritage and Politics | |
| ARCHLGY 135 | Constructing National History in East Asian Archaeology | 3-5 |
| ANTHRO 112 | Public Archaeology: Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project | 4-5 |
| ANTHRO 112B | Advanced Study in Public Archaeology | 2-5 |
Urbanism and Cities
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| ANTHRO 112 | Public Archaeology: Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project | 5 |
| ANTHRO 112B | Advanced Study in Public Archaeology | 2-5 |
| ARCHLGY 156 | Design of Cities | 3-5 |
Archaeological Field School
Students must take part in a Stanford Archaeology Center field project directed by a Stanford faculty member, and enroll in any coursework that is required for participation in the field project. Projects are typically offered during summer months and funding may be provided. Learn more about our field schools!
Collateral Language Requirement
All Archaeology majors must demonstrate competence in a foreign language beyond the first-year level. Students can meet this requirement by completing a course beyond the first-year level with a grade of 'B' or better, and are encouraged to choose a language that has relevance to their archaeological region or topic of interest. Students may petition to take an introductory-level course in a second language to fulfill this requirement by demonstrating the connection between the language(s) and their research interest(s).
Archaeology Senior Capstone (REQUIRED)
Complete the following Course:
- ARCHLGY130 - Senior Research Seminar for Archaeology Majors and Minors
For the class of 2025, students will have three options for their required capstone requirement, all will have to attend a Senior Research Seminar (ARCHLGY 130), and it will be added to the Core Degree Component.
ARCHLGY 130: Senior research seminar for Archaeology majors and minors is offered to students in their final year of study as either a stand-alone course on designing research projects and writing or as a touchpoint for students who are launching the writing phase of their senior projects or honors thesis.
CAPSTONE OPTION 1: Honors Thesis - The honors program in Archaeology gives qualified majors a chance to work closely with faculty on an individual research project culminating in an honors thesis. Students may begin honors research from several starting points, including topics introduced in the core or upper-division courses, independent interests, research on artifacts in Stanford’s collections, or fieldwork experiences.
Interested Archaeology majors of junior standing may apply for admission by submitting an honors application form, including a four to five-page statement of the project, a transcript, and a letter of recommendation from the faculty member supervising the honors thesis to the student services specialist, no later than the end of the fourth week of the spring quarter. Archaeology majors are eligible to apply for honors candidacy. The thesis is due in early May of the senior year. It is read by the candidate’s advisor and a second reader selected by the student or, at the student’s request, appointed by the undergraduate committee. Students will be invited to present at SAC Spring Symposium in May or may arrange to present their research results in another public forum.
Contact the Archaeology Student Services Officer for the honors application form and submit it by the fourth week of spring quarter of your junior year.
CAPSTONE OPTION 2: SUAC Project - Students interested in working on a capstone project with the Stanford University Archaeology Collections (SUAC) can do so individually or as a team. Projects are tailored to the student’s interest within the scope of current initiatives underway at SUAC. Students work with staff at SUAC and Faculty Mentors at SAC. Projects may take various creative forms, such as deep research or materials analysis of a particular artifact, research reports on sites or collections, or the development of a virtual or physical exhibit. Students will be invited to present at SAC Spring Symposium in May or may arrange to present their research results in another public forum.
Contact the Archaeology Student Services Officer for more details.
CAPSTONE OPTION 3: Senior Project - The Senior project is for students who want to design their capstone individually or as part of a team. Students will participate in autumn quarter in Archlgy 130, Senior Research Seminar for Archaeology majors/Minors to explore their ideas and begin developing a project proposal. During winter quarter, students will start and/or continue the research and development of the project. Students will be invited and required to present at SAC Spring Symposium in May or may arrange to present their research results in another public forum.
Research and Independent Study
Students may count up to 5 units of research and independent study toward the Archaeology major:
| COURSE | TITLE | UNITS |
|---|---|---|
| ARCHLGY 190 | Archaeology Directed Reading/Independent Study | 1-5 |
| ARCHLGY 195 | Independent Study/Research | 1-5 |
| ARCHLGY 199 | Honors Independent Study | 5 |
Honors Program
The honors program in Archaeology gives qualified majors the chance to work closely with faculty on an individual research project culminating in an honors thesis. Students may begin honors research from several starting points, including topics introduced in the core or upper-division courses, independent interests, research on artifacts in Stanford's collections, or fieldwork experiences.
Junior Archaeology majors may apply for honors by submitting an honors application form by May 1st.
Application
- A 4-5 page statement of the project.
- Unofficial transcript
- A letter of recommendation from the faculty member supervising the honors thesis.
Archaeology majors are eligible to apply for honors candidacy. The thesis capstone is due in early May of the senior year and is read by the candidate's adviser and a second reader appointed by the undergraduate committee.
Overseas Studies Courses in Archaeology
For course descriptions and additional offerings, see the listings in the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses website or the Bing Overseas Studies website. Students should consult their department or program's student services office for the applicability of Overseas Studies courses to a major or minor program.