Archaeology Masters - Are You Paid or Paying?

[swampghoul]

I recently got accepted to a super rad master's program in archaeology in England (consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world [brag brag blah blah]). I was so happy and proud of myself and absolutely psyched to go until I started talking to my sister about it. For some context on all the confusion I'm about to express: I had probably one of the worst career centers for archaeology at my undergrad institution. There were literally no resources and nobody in the office knew anything about getting started in archaeology. On top of that, there were only two archaeology professors in the entire college, and they were massively overworked and therefore unable to sit down with any of us and talk about what we should expect from grad school.

My sister is currently doing her PhD in evolutionary biology in the States, and we started talking about my program and possibly deferring to next year due to COVID-19. I understand that there are major differences in terms of resources and procedure between our fields, and major differences between British and American grad school structure, but she mentioned that she was paid to do both of her degrees-- they were fully funded (?terminology?). In contrast, I would be paying roughly $30,000 for my one-year degree. This is, I'm sure you would agree, a whole heck ton of money. I thought it was normal. Now I just feel like I'm being scammed by a system that I don't understand.

Everybody I've talked to (fellow grads) from my college indicated that I would also be paying a lot of money in the US, but now I'm not sure. Are there programs at home that would be fully funded or where tuition would be covered by my contributions to the department? Is it usual or even possible to be paid for my masters degree in archaeology? What is your understanding of what is normal to pay or be paid for an archaeology masters degree? This seems like something that should be totally obvious, so I'm feeling unbelievably stupid right now and am considering pulling out of the program completely.

 

Additional facts because I feel like it might come up:

1. I understand that the UK higher ed system is known for being predatory when it comes to international students who will pay higher fees. It's generally understood that they have lower admissions standards for us and I was fine with being one of those putzes as long as I was getting a really good education.

2. I wanted to go to the UK because I want to study British/insular pre- to early-medieval archaeology specifically, and I want to be able to work in the field during my program. It wasn't a frivolous travel-oriented choice and I genuinely thought being there would be the best move for my career.

Edited May 9, 2020 by swampghoul

[Ethanophone]

Your sister is right that in the U.S. qualified students generally receive funding for grad school. In contrast, funding is much more competitive in the UK--and even moreso for an international student. While I would not say the UK programs are bad, there are differences that may make it difficult to get a position at a University in the United States, if that is your intention.

HOWEVER, if you have a reason for studying in the UK (as you seem to), and you are seeking a career path in archaeology outside of academia (as you perhaps are), then attending a UK school may be beneficial. And, if you excel at what you do, perhaps the rare funding and scholarship opportunities will manifest for you. Without a doubt, though, you should be prepared to fund yourself if you go that route, and factor in if you can take on the costs and/or debt before going into the program.  

Just my two cents!  

[TaciturnTales]

You are not stupid. This stuff is incredibly convoluted, and especially hard if you have no one to guide you. So, I'm am still learning things, too, but I have been dealing with this graduate school stuff for a couple of years now. For context, I am applying to M.A. programs in Classical Archaeology for the fall of 2021 and I would like to curate, which means that I'll probably also need a Ph.D. 

Let's talk funding. I have been told by multiple people, professors included, that I should not pay for graduate school. In fact, I decided to not go to graduate school this year because of this. I was accepted by the school that I wanted to go to and had been interviewed for two of the three assistantships that I applied to, but then funding was pulled because of the pandemic and no one was going to be hired. I don't know what your debt from your undergraduate degree looks like, but personally I am not willing to go further into massive debt for a career that will not likely pay me a lot anyway. I feel like what you said about being scammed by the system is correct; it's like for undergrad where they get 18 year old students to sign for massive amounts of debt when they don't really understand the terms or the ramifications. But don't get me started on that.

As for what funding would cover, that really depends. Every field is different in terms of funding - some have more available, some have less. While researching graduate programs I have seen a huge difference in what is offered by different programs. For example, some offer assistantships (teaching or research) to every admitted student, which include a full tuition waiver, a modest stipend to help with living expenses, and even health insurance (these are the ones I am focusing on). Others might offer all of this, but a waiver for only half tuition. Some might only offer funding to those applying for the Ph.D. program. I've also seen some (usually schools that are full of themselves and cater mostly to the wealthy) that insist on you paying for the first year of your program outright and then MAYBE you'll get an assistantship. You really just have to do your research and ask questions, because this stuff is not always on the program's website.

Now lets talk about England. I remember one of my professors warning me about going to graduate school in England and I wish I could remember why. I think it had something to do with that making it more difficult to get hired in the U.S.? Like, the way archaeology students are taught over there is vastly different? In any case, you should be able to find graduate programs in the U.S. that have a focus on your particular interests. With Classical Archaeology, I find that pretty much all graduate programs have professors that run field schools abroad or exchange programs with European universities, etc. If you're doing archaeology, odds are that you can find a way to get yourself overseas.

Lastly, are you planning to pursue a Ph.D.? Consider that a one year program is kind of short and you might want to look up the pros/cons of a one year versus a two year program. If you do want a Ph.D., you'll want a graduate program that gives you the option to write a thesis. I'm not sure, but I don't think a lot of one year programs do that.

Anyway, I hope this was helpful. Feel free to message me if you have other questions or need help organizing information to compare grad. programs, etc. My life in quarantine basically consists of me living and breathing graduate school nonsense.

[tundratussocks]

I'm really sorry about your undergrad experience!  I think I can offer a little insight - I've worked as a U.S. archaeologist for a bit now and am also looking at grad programs in a niche sub-specialty in the U.K.

Archaeology/Anthropology degrees are less funded than the sciences.  However, in the U.S. competitive applicants can typically secure funding to cover most of their expenses, although you may have to be less fussy about what programs you pursue. I know quite a lot of people who have gone to a variety of schools to get an Arch MA and many of them will tell you that schools with funding correlate with the amount of support you'll get throughout your program.

But, like Ethanophone said, the UK is more competitive with funding especially for international students, so this kind of attitude doesn't necessarily apply.  I would approach it more as a personal issue: are you willing to go into this amount of debt for the perfect program, and what kind of life will this lead you to in order to pay that debt off?  I think you've already answered this for yourself. 

Funding related, have you looked into Fulbright?  They have "partnership" awards with a few U.K. programs, and with that you'd get tuition remission plus a stipend for 10 months. If you're willing to defer a year it might be worth applying for the Fulbright this cycle just to see if you can get it.