The Center for the Study of the First Americans is part of the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University. The department has 23 faculty members; seven prehistoric archaeologists, seven nautical archaeologists, five socio-cultural anthropologists, and four biological anthropologists. The department offers BA, BS, and PhD degrees.

Center faculty make up the core of the prehistoric archeologists and participate in the education and training of graduate and undergraduate students. We have developed a set of specialized undergraduate and graduate courses for students specializing in First American studies. These include First American Archaeology, Paleolithic Northeast Asia and Alaska, Method and Theory of Peopling of the Americans, Geoarchaeology, and Lithic Technological Organization.

In addition to classroom education, undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to become involved with Center research projects in both the field and laboratory. These provide hands-on training experiences in diverse setting from Texas to Alaska.

Center graduate students also take courses from other Anthropology faculty to obtain a full understanding of the field. Also, because the study of the First Americans is an interdisciplinary field, students are encouraged to take courses in other departments and colleges across the university. Courses in geochemistry, geophysics, geomorphology, sedimentology, pedology, ecology, and many other fields are available at Texas A&M University.

The Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University in 2019 was ranked seventh in the nation for the placement of PhD Archaeology Graduates among 100 doctoral programs. Click here to read more about the rankings.

Our graduates are now teaching at Florida State University, University of Louisville, University of Tennessee (Chattanooga), Eastern New Mexico University, and other universities.

For more information about degree programs, see the Department of Anthropology website. Also, please contact us directly if you would like to discuss the program.