Archaeology

Study the human past. Archaeologists examine material remains to understand past human life and cultural activities. You might learn about people who lived within the past 100 years, or many thousands of years ago. Explore human development, evolution, and adaptation. Study different regions and learn how to collect and analyze artifacts.

Put your education to work

An archaeology degree gives you endless options!

You might continue on to grad school and become an academic teacher and researcher. Or you might work in law, international development, or education. Build your career in Western Canada or abroad. Work for an archaeological consulting firm.

Learn problem-solving skills and get a broad field of knowledge that will set you up for success.

What you will learn in this program

Degrees offered

BA / BA Honours in Archaeology
- with Co-operative Education »
BSc / BSc Honours in Archaeology
- with Co-operative Education »
Minor in Archaeology

Degree requirements

Admission requirements

View the admission and application requirements for this program.

Go to Office of the Registrar »

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Field Schools

Fieldwork is an important part of the student experience. You’ll have opportunities to spend time in the field locally as well as internationally.

Learn more

The Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Calgary is unique in North America. It is one of only a handful of universities offering a degree in archaeology. Faculty members are currently working in North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Oceania, Africa, and Arabia.

We encourage fieldwork during your education, an important component of the archaeological process. Fieldwork builds experience in analytical techniques and the knowledge of past cultures needed to become a professional archaeologist.

Physical anthropologists study human remains for evidence of disease, age, gender, diet and other traces of the human past found in skeletal material and relate this to culture and behaviour. Included in physical anthropology are paleoanthropology and bioanthropology. Palaeoanthropologists study the fossil remains of human ancestors and reconstruct their behaviour. Bioanthropologists study adaptation and variation in living humans.