The University of Alberta is one of the top 5 institutions in Canada and is known nationally and internationally for their innovative research. They aim to foster creativity through a mixture of theoretical and practical courses. Through the Undergraduate Research Initiative, students of all levels of education can access funding for research and creative activities.
Department of Anthropology
The Department of Anthropology specializes in archaeology, biological anthropology, and socio-cultural anthropology. Courses are offered in Prehistory, Indigenous and Prairie Archaeology, as well as human skeletal and dental biology, disease processes in antiquity, and forensic anthropology. They have a number of different reference collections and laboratory spaces, including the Bryan/Gruhn Ethnographic Collection and a Photographic Studio.
In conjunction with the Department of History and Classics, the Anthropology Department provides a certificate of Archaeology at the undergraduate level. The certificate training covers the theoretical and methodological foundation of the discipline, as well as practical training through courses like field schools, osteological identification, and mapping software. The program aims to give students the necessary knowledge and skills to pursue graduate studies in related fields or to enter directly into the workforce.
Experimental Archaeology
U of A has an excellent collection of experimental stone tools, flintknapping materials, and microwear references in their Archaeology Teaching Lab. The university is offering an Experimental Archaeology course (Anth 490) for the first time in the 2021 winter semester. Students could also engage with experimental archaeology in the Independent Research course (Anth 472).
