Home

OverviewCoursesPlans of StudySchedule & Deadlines

Program FacultyStudents & Alumni | FAQ | TestimonialsApply NowContact


Courses for the Graduate Program in Cultural and Heritage Resource Management:

ANTH 741: Introduction to Cultural and Heritage Resource Management (3 credits)
The purpose of this introductory course is to assist students in acquiring a baseline of knowledge regarding cultural resources management (CRM), its legislative foundations, practices and conventions, and the breadth of roles and careers that the industry supports. This will be accomplished in part through the contributions of students enrolled in the course, from their individual and regionalized experiences and knowledge about working in CRM. Students are encouraged to form a supportive, sustaining cohort capable of learning and teaching with and from one another.

ANTH 742: Advanced Methods in CRM (3 credits)
This course provides an overview of methods in cultural and heritage resource management. In North American archeology, method and theory have largely developed hand-in-hand. This course will frame the discussion of methodological approaches with a historical perspective on the development of the profession. The readings, assignments, lectures, discussion boards, and class sessions are all geared to help students gain proficiency in applying the broad methodological toolkit available to resolve real-world problems in cultural resource management.

ANTH 743: Community Engagement and Consultation (3 credits)
The fundamentals of effective community engagement and consultation are addressed in this course, providing students with the tools for seeking, discussing, and considering the views of stakeholder, descendent, and tribal communities. Consultation is geared towards a respectful and culturally situated exchange of ideas seeking consensus on identifying cultural and heritage resources, assessing their significance and value, and gathering feedback on how to avoid, minimize, or mitigate potential adverse effects. Students will also learn techniques and best practices for public engagement, as a platform for increasing public access to cultural and heritage resources, and for considering and showcasing their public values more broadly.

ANTH 744: Collections, Data Management, and Cultural Materials Preservation (3 credits)
This course provides an overview of archaeological curation and collections management, including the legal requirements and ethical obligations behind curation. We will discuss methods and best practices for collecting, processing, and cataloging of archaeological materials with the goals of obtaining maximum information during analysis, and preserving data potential for future researchers. Students will learn to plan for curation when initiating a project that may generate an archaeological collection, including choosing a curation facility and budgeting considerations. The course will touch on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) as it relates to the collection and curation of cultural materials. 

ANTH 745: International Heritage Management (3 credits)
This course examines international heritage management practices and global ethical and professional norms in order to contextualize domestic CRM in the US. Our survey will include exploring the linkages and areas for growth between international and domestic heritage practice. Weekly modules will focus on specific conventions and international legislation, and debate their power and efficacy with recourse to recent case studies in which they have been invoked. The course will also explore how cultural heritage is managed in other countries, and considerations to take into account when conducting CRM work abroad. The overall goal is to give students a comprehensive knowledge of and critical perspective on cultural resource management globally.

ANTH 746: Applied Archaeological Theory (3 credits)
Does cultural resources management (CRM) need theory? Can archeological theory help us understand CRM conventions and configurations, and does CRM have its own distinctive contribution to make to archaeological theory? This course explores these questions while surveying the key areas of theory that inform the work that CRM practitioners do, and also the place of CRM in cultural discourse. Some topics that the course will approach include the flow of ideas and the relationship between CRM and academic archeology, the work of theory building and the processual roots of CRM and how this is expressed as part of contemporary practice, the literature that has grown up around public archaeology, questions of significance and cultural value, movements of power and the politics of representation and appropriation.

ANTH 747: Business of CRM (3 credits)
This course provides an overview of the skills necessary for success in managing a CRM program. Students will learn how CRM organizations market and manage clients, prepare and submit budgets and proposals, and coordinate technical staff to successfully complete projects. Topics will address the range of issues that owners and managers are confronted with in their oversight of projects, including the management of employees, ethics and professional responsibilities, ensuring health and safety, and meeting the many contractual obligations of CRM projects.

ANTH 751: Project Management (3 credits)

Project management is the ability to use skills, tools, and techniques of management and leadership to successfully deliver project results. Project Managers in CRM are responsible for managing the project from the big picture through the day-to-day work activities, including the quality assurance/quality control aspects of projects. This course explores the different activities comprising projects and examines how projects are developed according to legal, regulatory, and procedural requirements. Students will gain experience with efficient, effective, and productive project management techniques critical for carrying out successful CRM projects. After reviewing proposals, work plans, and technical reports, and building upon prior knowledge gained from the CRM program and individual CRM project experience, students will apply project management techniques to gain a comprehensive understanding of a project life cycle and best practices in CRM project management. Students will be prepared to execute a project from start to finish. 

ANTH 752: Introduction to GIS for CRM (3 credits)
Builds foundational competence for using geographical information systems (GIS) in the the field of cultural resources management (CRM), including a basic understanding of how to work in ArcGIS, and the types of data analysis and presentation that are possible within GIS applications.

ANTH 749: Cultural and Heritage Resource Management Internship (1-6 credits)
An internship/practicum that develops the student’s understanding of CHRM practice. Students who are already working in CRM or a closely related field may use their employment as their practicum if the opportunity is available for them to learn a new skillset or train into new job duties beyond their current duties.

ANTH 799: Cultural and Heritage Resource Management Thesis (1-6 credits)
The thesis project employs substantive data analysis directed towards an explicit research problem. The thesis will include a statement of purpose or hypothesis to be examined, a research design, a literature review to place the research in context, original data collection and analysis, summary and discussion of results, and a conclusion. The thesis may be based on field, lab, collections, or literature analysis or any combination thereof. An oral presentation is required.