School of Arts and Sciences
Archaeology
Archaeology

BA in Archaeology

Archaeology students reconstruct how people lived, worked, and created meaning across time and space by examining material traces of past societies. This interdisciplinary major integrates methods from the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Students combine rigorous coursework with hands-on work, such as fieldwork or lab time in recovery, conservation, or interpretation of artifacts. The Archaeology major equips students with critical thinking skills and practical expertise for careers in research, cultural resource management, museums, and beyond.

Program Requirements and Policies

  • Eleven courses are required to complete the Archaeology major.
  • No major course may be taken Pass/Fail.
  • New course requirements go into effect for students matriculating Fall 2026 and beyond. Students who matriculated prior to Fall 2026 have the option of completing either the new or old requirements.

New Course Requirements 

*Beginning Fall 2026

Four (4) required courses:

Archaeology: Choose one (1) of the following: 

  • ARCH 26: Ancient Egypt (HIST 76 and ILVS 26)
  • ARCH 27: Classical Archaeology (CLS 27 and HAA 19)
  • ARCH 28: Ancient China, Korea, and Japan

Archaeology: Choose one (1) of the following: 

  • ARCH 30: Introduction to Archaeology (ANTH 50)
  • ARCH 31: North American Archaeology (ANTH 51)

ARCH 116: Archaeological Methods, Ethics, and Dilemmas (ANTH 116)

Earth & Climate Sciences:  

  • If Fall 2024 or later: ECS 1: Introduction to the Earth, Resources, and Environments and ECS 2: Earth, Resources, and Environments Lab 
  • If taken prior to Fall 2024: EOS 2: Environmental Geology + Lab 

Seven (7) elective courses from Archaeology, Methods, and History with the following distribution:

Three (3) Archaeology courses selected from: 

  • ANTH 129: Archaeology & Colonialism
  • ARCH 26/126: Ancient Egypt 
  • ARCH 27: Classical Archaeology 
  • ARCH 28: Ancient China, Korea, and Japan
  • ARCH 31: North American Archaeology 
  • ARCH 35: Ancient Natural Disasters 
  • ARCH 49: Archaeology Of Complex Societies
  • ARCH 51: Special Topics in Archaeology
  • ARCH 52: Special Topics in Archaeology
  • ARCH 127: Archaeology of the Modern World 
  • ARCH 128: Mesoamerican Archaeology 
  • ARCH 163: Aegean Archaeology 
  • ARCH 164: Greek Art and Archaeology 
  • ARCH 167: Tyrrhenian Archaeology 
  • ARCH 168: Roman Art and Archaeology 
  • ARCH 184 Archaeologies of the Contemporary
  • ARCH 185: Think like an Archaeologist! 
  • ARCH 187: Problems In Classical Archaeology 
  • ARCH 188: Problems In Classical Archaeology 
  • CLS 37: History of Ancient Greece 
  • CLS 87: Special Topics in Old World Archaeology
  • CLS 169: North Africa in Antiquity
  • ENV 153: The Deep History of Climate Adaptation  

Minimum of one (1) History course selected from:

  • ARCH 26/126: Ancient Egypt 
  • ARCH 35: Ancient Natural Disasters 
  • CLS 37: History of Ancient Greece 
  • CLS 38: History of Ancient Rome 
  • CLS 47/147: Greece, Rome and China 
  • CLS 85: Special Topics in Ancient History
  • CLS 108: Alexander the Great: History, Myth, Legend, and Legacy 
  • CLS 144: Athens: Marathon to Socrates 
  • CLS 146: Ancient Greek and Roman Medicine 
  • CLS 149: Ancient Gaul: The Identity of France in Antiquity
  • CLS 169: North Africa in Antiquity
  • CLS 185: Seminar in Ancient History
  • HIST 6: World Trade, 1000-2000
  • HIST 13: Africa to 1800 
  • HIST 17: The Americas
  • HIST 23: Colonial North America & The Atlantic World To 1763
  • HIST 40: History of Pre-Modern China
  • HIST 58: The Byzantines & Their World 
  • HIST 72: World of Islam
  • HIST 157 Empresses, Saints, & Scholars: The Women of Byzantium 

Minimum of one (1) Methods course selected from:

  • ANTH 149-FS: Select Topics: Mohegan Archaeological Field School
  • ARCH 175: Introduction to Geospatial Humanities 
  • ARCH 190: Materials In Archaeology and Anthropology
  • BIO 7: Environmental Biology
  • BIO 10: Plants and Humanity
  • BIO 143 Evolutionary Biology w/ Lab
  • BIO 144: Principles of Conservation Biology
  • CHEM 2: Chemical Principles w/ Lab
  • CLS 161: Introduction to Digital Humanities 
  • CLS 181: Introduction to Quantitative Textual Analysis 
  • CLS 162: Natural Language Processing and the Human Record 
  • DH 118: Uncovering the Past: Historical Soc in Digital Age 
  • ECS 32: Geomorphology
  • ECS 34: Earth Surface Processes + Lab
  • ENV 120: Introduction to Environmental Fieldwork
  • ENVS 121: Drones for Data Collection, Mapping, and Analysis 
  • GIS 101: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
  • GIS 102: Advanced Geographic Information Systems 
  • GIS 103: Intro to Remote Sensing
  • GIS 203: Spatial Statistics
  • GIS 204: Interactive Web Mapping

One (1) additional History or Methods elective selected from the History and Methods course lists given above

One (1) capstone project

Students have three (3) options:

  • Take one (1) upper-level seminar in Archaeology for which the final product is a research paper (minimum 6,000 words):   
    • ARCH 51: Special Topics in Archaeology (run as a seminar)
    • ARCH 52: Special Topics in Archaeology (run as a seminar)
    • ARCH 126: Ancient Egypt
    • ARCH 163: Aegean Archaeology 
    • ARCH 164: Greek Art and Archaeology 
    • ARCH 167: Tyrrhenian Archaeology 
    • ARCH 168: Roman Art and Archaeology 
    • ARCH 184 Archaeologies of the Contemporary
    • ARCH 185: Think like an Archaeologist! 
    • ARCH 191: Advanced Seminar or Study in Archaeology (seminar version)
    • ARCH 192: Advanced Seminar or Study in Archaeology (seminar version)
  • With instructor approval, pursue an independent study, a directed reading, or a directed research project under one of the following course numbers: 
    • ARCH 191: Advanced Seminar or Study in Archaeology (study version)
    • ARCH 192: Advanced Seminar or Study in Archaeology (study version)
    • ARCH 193: Senior Capstone A and B (2 semesters)
  • With advisor approval, complete an honors thesis under the following course numbers:
    • ARCH 194: Senior Honors Thesis A and B (2 semesters)
       

Old Course Requirements

*for students who matriculated at Tufts prior to Fall 2026

Four required courses:

  • Anthropology: ANTH 39: Gateway Course in Sociocultural Anthropology (may substitute ANTH 20: Global Cities or ANTH 27: Human Rights and Justice in Cultural Context)
  • Archaeology: ARCH 27: Classical Archaeology (co-listed as HAA 19 and CLS 27)
  • Archaeology: ARCH 30: Introduction to Archaeology (co-listed as ANTH 50)
  • Earth & Climate Sciences: ECS 1 + ECS 2: Introduction to the Earth, Resources, and Environments + Earth, Resources, and Environments Lab (if taken Fall 2024 or later) or EOS 2: Environmental Geology + Lab (if taken prior to Fall 2024) 

Seven elective courses from History, Natural Science, and Archaeology with the following distribution:

Two (2) History courses taken from:

  • CLS 26/126: Ancient Egypt (HIST 76, ARCH 26/126, and ILVS 26)
  • CLS 37: History of Ancient Greece (HIST 50)
  • CLS 38: History of Ancient Rome (HIST 51)
  • CLS 47/147: Greece, Rome and China (HIST 105)
  • CLS 85: Special Topics in Ancient History
  • CLS 108: Alexander the Great: History, Myth, Legend, and Legacy (HIST 101)
  • CLS 142: The Rise of the Greeks (HIST 148)
  • CLS 143: Greeks and Barbarians (HIST 149)
  • CLS 144: Athens: Marathon to Socrates (HIST 151)
  • CLS 146: Ancient Greek and Roman Medicine (HIST 150)
  • CLS 149: Ancient Gaul: The Identity of France in Antiquity
  • CLS 185: Seminar in Ancient History
  • HIST 6: World Trade, 1000-2000
  • HIST 13: Africa to 1800 (AFR 13)
  • HIST 17: The Americas
  • HIST 23: Colonial North America & The Atlantic World To 1763
  • HIST 40: History of Pre-Modern China
  • HIST 58: The Byzantines & Their World (CLS 39)
  • HIST 72: World of Islam
  • HIST 157 Empresses, Saints, & Scholars: The Women of Byzantium (CLS 110)

Two (2) Natural Science courses taken from:

  • ANTH 40: Biological Anthropology
  • ANTH 49: Gateway Course in Biological Anthropology
  • ANTH 132: Myth, Ritual, And Symbol
  • ANTH 150: Human Evolution
  • ANTH 182: Human Physique
  • BIO 7: Environmental Biology
  • BIO 10: Plants and Humanity
  • BIO 143: Evolutionary Biology w/Lab
  • BIO 144: Principles Of Conservation Biology
  • CHEM 2: Chemical Principles W/ Lab
  • CHEM 8: Environmental Chemistry
  • ECS 32: Geomorphology

Three (3) Archaeology courses taken from:

  • ANTH 129: Archaeology & Colonialism
  • ANTH 149-FS: Select Topics: Mohegan Archaeological Field School
  • ARCH 26/126: Ancient Egypt (HIST 76, CLS 26/126, and ILVS 26)
  • ARCH 28: Ancient China, Korea, and Japan
  • ARCH 31: North American Archaeology (ANTH 51)
  • ARCH 49: Archaeology Of Complex Societies
  • ARCH 51: Special Topics in Archaeology
  • ARCH 52: Special Topics in Archaeology
  • ARCH 116 Archaeological Methods, Ethics, and Dilemmas (ANTH 116)
  • ARCH 127: Archaeology of the Modern World (ANTH 127)
  • ARCH 128: Mesoamerican Archaeology (ANTH 128 and LAS 128)
  • ARCH 163: Aegean Archaeology (HAA 103 and CLS 163)
  • ARCH 164: Greek Art and Archaeology (HAA 104 and CLS 164)
  • ARCH 167: Tyrrhenian Archaeology (HAA 105 and CLS 167)
  • ARCH 168: Roman Art and Archaeology (HAA 106 and CLS 168)
  • ARCH 175: Introduction to Geospatial Humanities (CLS 125 and UEP 103)
  • ARCH 187: Problems In Classical Archaeology (CLS 187)
  • ARCH 188: Problems In Classical Archaeology (CLS 188)
  • ARCH 190: Materials In Archaeology and Anthropology
  • ARCH 191: Advanced Study or Seminar in Archaeology
  • ARCH 192: Advanced Study or Seminar in Archaeology
  • CLS 87: Special Topics in Old World Archaeology
  • CLS 160: Computational Methods for the Humanities

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