Graduate Program in Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology

The MA program lasts one year divided into two semesters. Most of the courses can be taken online. If needed, an additional semester without courses can be taken for the completion of a master's thesis.

In October we start our fall semester (October to February) with five cources which can be taken online. We do our best to offer a schedule which avoids standard working hours in most of the North American time zones.

Our spring semester begins in February with four courses which can be taken online.

At the end of the spring semester (late June or July) students should come to Sofia for three intensive on-campus courses in the Archaeometry Lab of the New Bulgarian University.

After the lab courses in Sofia, you should participate in four weeks of fieldwork offered in partnership with the Balkan Heritage Foundation (www.bhfieldschool.org/program). The field school fees are included in the MA program fees (except for the Underwater archaeology field school). For details, please refer to the Field & Labwork section. Participation in other projects (not organized by the Balkan Heritage Foundation and NBU) is possible after authorization by the Program Board.

Our MA program presents a mix of specialized courses on the archaeology of Southeastern Europe, and the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as more generalized courses covering important topics in archaeological method and theory. Our aim is for students graduating from the program to be able to conduct archaeological research worldwide. Many of our courses prepare students for archaeological fieldwork, although others, such as Geographic Information Systems and Reflectance Transformation Imaging, are broadly applicable also to fields outside archaeology.

The online education form provides students with access to an international group of professors from the Balkans, Great Britain, the USA, Denmark and other countries, allowing program participants to engage with diverse perspectives and research traditions across continents.

Upon successful completion of the MA program, students will have the necessary qualifications for the following jobs: archaeologist, museum curator, cultural heritage manager, field archaeology manager, field archaeology technician.