Archeology

Types of Degrees Archeology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many archeology graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	201
Master’s Degree	48
Basic Certificate	37
Undergraduate Certificate	26
Doctor’s Degree	14
Associate Degree	9
Graduate Certificate	4

What Archeology Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to archeology were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Archeology Majors

Archeology majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Archeology Majors

A major in archeology prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Archeology Majors

Archeology majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Archeology Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with archeology:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Anthropology and Archeology Professors	9.9%	$83,940
Archeologists	3.9%	$62,410
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Archeology?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 201 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in archeology in 2021, making it rank #257 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 70% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of archeology majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	7
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	16
White	148
International Students	10
Other Races/Ethnicities	18

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Archeology, too. About 5.0% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• Taiwan
• Mexico

How Much Do Archeology Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of archeology students with a bachelor’s degree is $27,671 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $27,671 (25th percentile) and $27,671 (75th percentile).

It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to archeology.

Salaries According to BLS

Archeology majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $65,310 to $115,590 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Archeology

Some careers associated with archeology require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for archeology careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.4%
Some College Courses	0.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	34.5%
Master’s Degree	20.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.9%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.9%
Doctoral Degree	39.4%

Online Archeology Programs

In 2020-2021, 73 schools offered a archeology program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	6	0
Bachelor’s Degree	3	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	19	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Archeology Worth It?

The median salary for a archeology grad is $94,080 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 136% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,083,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Archeology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to archeology.

Major	Number of Grads
Political Science & Government	49,282
Economics	49,055
Sociology	38,475
General Social Sciences	18,997
International Relations & National Security	14,306
Anthropology	11,415
Criminology	11,039
Geography & Cartography	8,526
Other Social Sciences	2,414
Urban Studies	1,507
Sociology & Anthropology	541
Demography & Population Studies	88

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.