An individual who obtains a master's degree in archaeology chooses to enter the field for a variety of reasons. Some master's students focus on modern areas such as museum studies, public archaeology, archaeological heritage management, principles of conservation or geoarchaeology, according to Boston University. Other modern areas might include geographic information systems in archaeology, environmental archaeology or the technology and analysis of archaeological materials. Still, other students choose to focus on an area of interest such as a particular time period, geographic area or culture.
Some master's degree programs require a student to complete a written thesis that presents the results of his original research, while others offer a non-thesis master's degree. A master's degree with a thesis and a year of field and laboratory experience typically takes one to two years to complete and is sufficient for a student to direct field crews or work for the government or private sectors.
To get into a master's degree program in archaeology, a student usually needs a bachelor's degree in a related field of study such as history. Otherwise, an individual without this education might have to complete supplemental coursework in his archaeology graduate program. Many programs also require a student to specify his research area of interest and submit Graduate Record Examination scores.
Students in master's degree programs in archaeology typically must complete about 27 or more credits---about six core classes and electives. They must also complete a culminating project and field experience to earn a degree, according to St. Cloud State University. These classes might cover subjects such as the arts, geography, language, science and history. Specific courses include theory in archaeology, site field methods, laws/ethics in the field, historical archaeology of ancient people, analysis of archaeological materials, human biology and paleopathology. At Cornell University in New York, which offers a master's degree program in archaeology, students can study topics such as early agriculture, stone age archaeology, Mayan history, Jerusalem through the ages, urban archaeology or even human biology and evolution.
A master's degree in archaeology prepares an individual to work for museums, cultural resource management firms or even state and federal governments. An individual additionally can be a lecturer and provide research in academia. In museums, he can give public presentations, conduct research and manage artifacts collections. When working for the government, these professionals can manage archaeologist sites in forests or parks. In addition, an individual can also work at digs or on field research sites. Some archaeologists actually work on construction sites to help preserve historical artifacts, conducting archaeological surveys to locate prehistoric and historic sites and excavate sites. Archaeologists who work as consultants can apply their skills to the areas of economic development or forensics as well. A master's in archaeology also prepares students for a doctoral program in this field.
Employment of social scientists such as archaeologists is projected to climb by 22 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average annual archaeology salaries in 2010 were $43,000, according to SimplyHired.