Project Profile
Integrated Graduate Training in Archaeological Sciences
University of Arizona
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Abstract
The University of Arizona’s IGERT program is an outgrowth of the emergence of the interdisciplinary field of archaeological science, in which expertise in one or more fields of scientific inquiry is integrated with training in archaeological theory and method. The program will integrate archaeology, geosciences, physics, tree-ring studies, and… more »
The University of Arizona’s IGERT program is an outgrowth of the emergence of the interdisciplinary field of archaeological science, in which expertise in one or more fields of scientific inquiry is integrated with training in archaeological theory and method. The program will integrate archaeology, geosciences, physics, tree-ring studies, and materials science and engineering into a coherent program of field- and laboratory-based training that will prepare doctoral graduates for employment in academia as well as the public and private sectors. The study of archaeology, and of the environmental contexts within which the human species evolved and diversified, requires the application of multiple techniques drawn from the sciences and engineering. These include techniques for (a) dating archaeological and paleoecological records; (b) reconstructing past climates, plant, and animal communities; © locating buried and submarine sites; (d) reconstructing extinct technologies and their impacts on past environments; and (e) identifying past exchange systems by tracing inorganic materials to their geological sources.
Graduates of the IGERT program will acquire specific expertise in one or more of these areas, together with a knowledge of the broad range of archaeological sciences, plus a firm grounding in archaeological theory and techniques, blending experiences acquired in classrooms, laboratories and fieldwork. IGERT support will also provide minority undergraduate students and high school science teachers internships in archaeometric laboratories at the University, and will be paired with IGERT-supported graduate students to develop materials for school science curricula.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the multidisciplinary backgrounds and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In the fifth year of the program, awards are being made to twenty-one institutions for programs that collectively span the areas of science and engineering supported by NSF. « less
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