Belize: Archaelogical Summer Field School

At the time of application, all students are expected to meet the following criteria:

• At least 12 credits earned at UNH
  • Freshmen students not meeting the 12-credit requirement may be allowed to participate in the program. Approval is needed from both the Program Faculty Director. Contact the COLA Center for Study Abroad for guidance.
• A declared major
• A minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA
  • Students who do not have a declared major or who have an established GPA between 2.0 and 2.5 may still apply. Admission will be at the discretion of the program faculty director.
• Good standing with the Student Conduct System
  • A student who is on probation, regardless of the underlying violation, must successfully petition through the Academic Standards and Advising Committee (ASAC) for permission to participate. Students who have had a past violation will also be required to petition. Please contact your Dean’s Office for more guidance and the petition form, if needed.

It is important for all prospective participants to be fully aware of the conditions of the field school and expectations of the participants. Students are applying to join an archaeological field research project that is operating in Belize, Central America. This is a culturally diverse country and they will be working under conditions that will likely be quite different from those to which they are accustomed. The project requires all participants to live and cooperate in close quarters with others and involves hard physical labor in a hot, tropical environment, often hiking into remote parts of the jungle. Roads are not always going to be paved and in good condition and some riverside sites are only accessible via canoe.

The faculty director Dr. Eleanor Harrison-Buck has been doing archaeology in Belize for over 25 years and initiated the Belize River East Archaeology (BREA) project in 2011. She will be responsible for all aspects of the field school course, including lectures on archaeology, in-field instruction and supervision, and direction of all laboratory work. Permission to survey and excavate sites in the BREA study area has been granted by the Belize Institute of Archaeology.

The Archaeological Field School in Belize is part of Dr. Harrison-Buck's ongoing BREA research project, which she co-directs with Dr. Marieka Brouwer Burg, Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department at the University of Vermont. The Field School is not a typical study abroad—the program offers college students a rare opportunity to be active participants in the archaeological investigations of ancient Maya sites in the BREA study area. The field school is limited to no more than 12 students. In addition to the Director, the BREA project includes her co-director Dr. Brouwer Burg and four staff members who all have graduate-level training in archaeology. Because we keep the field school small, the program offers an incredible staff to student ratio, with intensive, one-on-one instruction in archaeological field and laboratory methods from staff who all have years of field experience and can share their various areas of expertise in archaeology. Field school activities will range from archaeological excavation to laboratory analyses of artifacts from Archaic hunter-gatherer and ancient Maya archaeological sites in the BREA study area. Project vehicles will transport students to and from the archaeological sites and occasionally sites may be accessed via boat. Students will have the opportunity to learn how to excavate, how to draw profiles and plan maps of their excavations, how to record archaeological data, how to process and analyze artifacts in the lab, and how to document previously unrecorded archaeological sites. Students will receive training in not only fieldwork but also lab methods (artifact cleaning and analysis). Course work will include hands-on field and lab work, a field journal, a written exam based on reading and evening lectures, and a final written report based on original field and lab research. The program also includes several site tours of nearby Maya ruins, including the large sites of Altun Ha and Lamanai, as well as optional trips during a free weekend.

It is important for all prospective participants to be fully aware of the conditions of the field school and expectations of the participants. Students are applying to join an archaeological field research project that is operating in Belize, Central America. This is a culturally diverse country and they will be working under conditions that will likely be quite different from those to which they are accustomed. The project requires all participants to live and cooperate in close quarters with others and involves hard physical labor in a hot, tropical environment, often hiking into remote parts of the jungle and carrying heavy loads. Roads are not always going to be paved and in good condition and some lagoon and riverside sites are only accessible via canoe.

Tuition and Fees 

The following charges will be billed to the student's UNH account for the program:

• UNH Summer Tuition for 4 credits
• Estimated program fee*: $2,320.00
• Other mandatory fees: $240.25

*The program fee includes the following:

• All student transportation in Belize once the project begins until it ends
• Excursions to visit several restored archaeological sites (all meals and accommodations)
• Lodging (students will share a cabana with other students)
• Three meals/day 7 days/week while at the lodge

The program fee does NOT include: 

• Roundtrip airfare (estimated at $750)
• Other miscellaneous personal expenses.

Payment Info and Refund Policy

A non-refundable deposit of $500 is due two weeks after receipt of an acceptance letter.

View all study abroad payment deadlines, cancellation and refund policy