Field Schools
Anthropology or Archaeology Field Schools, usually held during the summer months, offer great opportunities to acquire practical experience with anthropological research methods through hands-on fieldwork. Most field schools focus on one of the main anthropology subdisciplines: Cultural, Archaeology, Physical/Biological. There are many, many field schools programs, located all around the globe. The following list is a small sample of what is out there. If a field school experience interests you, explore this list and consult your advisor for suggestions. Depending on the program, credit transfers may be possible. Field schools can be expensive but some offer scholarships and other sources of financial aid. The Elfrieda Frank Scholarship program at Colby provides financial support for students wishing to enroll in archaeological field schools in the Americas. Applications can be made through the normal DavisConnects funding cycle. Check with DavisConnects for additional information about funding possibilities for summer field schools.
Cultural Anthropology (some examples)
- Mountains and Plains Archaeological Field School. Provides professional-level training in field research methods at three Wyoming locations.
- American Anthropological Association. Contains links to various field school opportunities as well as other helpful information.
- Arizona State University Field Schools. Offers many field school opportunities across several different branches of anthropology.
- The Open School of Anthropology and Ethnography. Several field schools with heavy emphasis on language acquisition. Learn Spanish and Maya.
- Haitian Creole Language and Summer Institute. Heavy emphasis on language acquisition. Opportunity to work with NGO’s on reconstruction efforts in Haiti.
- Anthropological Summer School Project in Malta. Allows large amount of autonomy. Guest lectures from notable European anthropologists.
- Ethnographic Field School in Thailand. Students will learn about Thai culture and society and about significant regional Southeast Asian social issues while they simultaneously learn to conduct anthropological (ethnographic) research in a true field setting.
- The Institute for Sustainable International Studies in Belize (ISIS Belize) offers a variety of field courses in the winter intersession and the summer. The courses offer students a chance to explore cultural, social and medical anthropology as well as archaeology in English-speaking Belize, Central America.
- The Institute for Field Research. Programs are directed by leading scholars and cover the spectrum of the discipline — from survey and excavation to bioarchaeology, architectural preservation, zooarchaeology and GIS.
- Tradition Architecture and Territory in Peru This course is for students interested in achieving a better understanding of Peruvian architecture during Viceroyal times.
- The Isla Mujeres Ethnographic Field School (on the small Caribbean island, Isla Mujeres, Mexico). Their main program is an 8 week long Advanced Methods course where students create a professional research proposal, conduct the research and present their data in an open-to-the-public conference on the island, as well as prepare academic journal style articles intended for publication.
- OSEA – The Open School of Ethnography and Anthropology (Based in the Maya community of Pisté, near Chichén Itzá, Yucatan, México, Since 2004)
Archaeology
- Archaeological Institute of America. Contains links to many fieldwork opportunities.
- University of North Dakota Archaeological Field School. Learn the fundamentals of Archaeology without leaving the country. Opportunity to gain temporary paid employment in archaeology following successful completion of the course.
- Balkan Heritage Field School. Varied fieldwork opportunities concentrated in eastern Europe.
- Ecomuseu Cap De Cavalleria. Learn about archaeology in Menorca (the Mediterranean).
- The Institute for Field Research. Programs are directed by leading scholars and cover the spectrum of the discipline — from survey and excavation to bioarchaeology, architectural preservation, zooarchaeology and GIS.
- University of Wyoming, Rocky Mountains. Offers training from basic to automated field methods, including the entire research process for graduate and undergraduate students.
- University of Wyoming, Mountains and Plains. Offers professional-level training in field research methods to undergraduate, graduate students and others.
- University of Wyoming, Croatia. Offers professional-level training in field research methods to undergraduate, graduate students and others.
- Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. Through immersion in a five-week experiential learning program, students will learn the fundamental techniques of archaeological site identification and recording, excavation, and basic artifact processing and analyses.
- Historical Archaeology Field School. Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC), in association with St. Mary’s College of Maryland, announces its 2017 field school in historical archaeology. The 2017 field season will be focused on the Calvert House site. The Historical Archaeology Field School is an ideal experience for students concentrating in Anthropology, Archaeology, History, Museum Studies, or American Studies, or for any student with an interest in learning about the past through archaeology.
- PIARA Archaeological Field School at Hualcayán, Peru. Through community collaboration, delve into the world of GIS mapping, bioarchaeology, and critically informed methods.
Physical/Biological Anthropology
- Arizona State University Field Schools. Offers many field school opportunities across several different branches of anthropology.
- Forensic Anthropology Field School. Utica College’s summer field school in Southeastern Europe.
- NSF Undergraduate Fellowships in Biocultural Anthropology. A summer program in biocultural anthropology (This field school offers substantial fellowship support).
- Turkana Basin Institute. Combine physical anthropology with archaeology and geology while studying in Kenya.