B.A. Archaeological Studies
Archaeology explores the lives of past peoples through the material culture they leave behind. Using knowledge gained in several disciplines, archaeologists across the globe ask a range of questions about the human experience, including how people settled a landscape, what they ate and how they ate it, what work they did and how they lived their religious beliefs, among many others. At Potsdam, Archaeological Studies students recognize the interdisciplinary and geographically diverse nature of archaeological research by taking classes from multiple departments and with a focus on various regions and time periods. Opportunities for hands-on research, such as through our annual field school, are plentiful.
Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- apply archaeological knowledge.
- access archaeological data and information.
- demonstrate fundamental archaeological knowledge.
- create and disseminate archaeological knowledge.
Career Outlook

Employment of anthropologists and archaeologists is projected to grow 6 percent from 2021 to 2031.
Inquire today:
In 2019, Professor Dr. Hadley Kruczek-Aaron led a field school with twelve students, focused on examining the former site of a Civil War training ground in downtown Potsdam.
Jeimi Toribio '23, a double major in archaeological studies and anthropology, discusses how the archaeology program at SUNY Potsdam has allowed her to explore the past through hands-on field experiences—most recently during an archaeology field school in the Adirondacks where she unearthed historical artifacts from the 1800s.
“Most of the time you get a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and then go on to do archaeology later in grad school, but I wanted to start from the beginning with archaeology. Potsdam's program was the right fit for what I had wanted to do, which was to get a strong fundamental base in archaeology. It was also the most economical choice for me since most other schools which had a BA in archaeology were around $40,000 a year and that was 12 years ago.”
Archaeology Major