BOSTON UNIVERSITY FIELD SCHOOLS

Boston University offers two field schools, one in Belize and another on the island of Menorca, Spain. For more information on these two programs, consult the links below.

Boston University Belize Field School (http://www.bu.edu/abroad/programs/belize/belize/)

Boston University Menorca Field School (http://www.bu.edu/abroad/programs/spain/menorca/)

You can view some photos of the Menorca Field school here.

OTHER FIELDWORK OPPORTUNITIES

Both the Belize and the Menorca field schools are terrific options, however they are only two of the many many field schools offered throughout the world. Boston University students may petition to have the field school of their choice accepted by their student advisor. Information on Boston University's field school policies and instructions for getting a field school approved are available here (http://www.bu.edu/archaeology/undergrad/field_schools.htm) at the Boston University Archaeology Department webpage.

If you're searching for a field school outside BU, the AFOB (Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin) is a great place to start. This resource is printed annually by the Archaeological Institute of America. You can view fieldwork listings at the AIA's website, or you can purchase a copy of the bulletin online. The Archaeology Department at Boston University also usually has a copy lying around for student use, and in the future the Archaeology Club hopes to have its own copy to lend out.

At the moment, the Archaeological Institute of America is still compiling entries for the 2006 AFOB Bulletin, but fieldwork opportunities are already being listed online.

Heritage Preservation Services - This division of the National Park Service offers internship programs for undergraduate and graduate students. Many of the positions are more office oriented than fieldwork oriented but still provide excellent opportunities to advance your experience in the field of archaeology. Most of the internships are located in Washington DC, but a few are spread out elsewhere in the US. The application deadline for the 2004-2005 academic year is October 8th so be sure to check it out soon.

Earthwatch Institute also sponsors a variety of fieldwork opportunities throughout the world, not only for archaeology but for a large variety of scientific research purposes. Their expeditions are not for academic credit, however, and if you're aiming to fulfill your field school requirement at BU you should probably check with your teaching advisor.

Shovel Bums - Yet another place to search online for archaeological job opportunities.

Maria Sousa, program coordinator of the Archaeology Department at Boston University, is also an excellent source for archaeology job opportunities, although many of these opportunities are aimed at those who have already received their degree. She sends out emails regularly to BU students regarding these opportunities, so if you're not on her mailing list already you're missing out. You can contact her at mhsousa@bu.edu. Check out opportunities from her past emails here.

You can also search for field schools by searching universities' webpages under their Archaeology or Anthropology Department listings. This process may be more time consuming, but you also may find interesting opportunities that you won't find posted elsewhere.

Lastly, we hope in time to have a variety of fieldwork opportunities posted here on our own webpage. With the help of field school veterans, we'll have personal evaluations posted on the excavations they've done and information for those interested in attending those field schools.

FIELD SCHOOLS ATTENDED BY BU STUDENTS

Programme for Belize Achaeological Project (PfBAP) - A very informative web page all about a field school in Belize through the University of Texas. If you stay 2 weeks more than their 4 week field school and talk to your advisor, BU will accept this field school.

Harvard University Field School at Tiwanaku, Bolivia - An amazing ancient city site high in the Andes mountains of South America. The program is worth 8 credits: 4 to cover your field school requirement and the other 4 count as an archaeology area course in South American Archaeology. Several BU students have attended this field school and enjoyed it immensely. If you'd like to talk to them directly about their experiences email the club and we'll hook you up.

Jamestown Field School - This field schools conducts excavations on Jamestown Island, the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. Casey Horna (class of 2006) attended this field school during the summer of 2004 and had a terrific time. If you'd like to ask her any question about the school, you can email her at cdh@bu.edu.

SHARE THE EXPERIENCE

If you've had the exciting/grueling/humorous/enlightening pleasure of attending a field school in the past, we want to hear your opinions. Your thoughts and comments are a great resource for others trying to pick a field school to attend. If you've had an experience you'd like to share, please email us at buarch@bu.edu. Please include the name of the field school, the university or organization it was sponsored by, and (if possible) email addresses or websites where students can inquire for more information. Pictures, of course, are always welcome.