Archaeology (Graduate Field)

Program Website

Field Description

The MA Program in Archaeology at Cornell is designed to provide students with an intensive orientation to the field, appropriate to both students with BA degrees in the liberal arts who have  experience in archaeology and those seeking to build a solid foundation for future work or study. The goal of the program is to offer students the intellectual resources and institutional support necessary to prepare them for successful admissions to top tier PhD programs and for careers in the heritage sector.

Cornell archaeology supports a diverse array of interests, ranging from material culture studies to public archaeology, archaeological science to heritage studies, archaeological method and theory and more. Archaeology at Cornell is deeply committed to multidisciplinary studies. Faculty in Archaeology belong to the fields of Anthropology, Classics, History of Art, Landscape Architecture, Near Eastern Studies, City and Regional Planning, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Fiber Science and Apparel Design.

The ideal trajectory toward the MA should result in the completion of all requirements within 12-18 months, although extensions to 24 months are allowed when warranted by a student’s research program.

Data and Statistics

Research Master's Program Statistics

Field Manual

Manual