ARCHEOLOGIST

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Archeologist, GS-0193:
A. Education: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) that included 3 semester hours each in the following course areas: (1) history of archeology; (2) archeology of a major geographical area such as North America or Africa; (3) regional archeology, archeological cultures, or sites in a specific part or portion of a major geographical area to acquire or develop a foundation for regional specialization for professional development; (4) theory and methods of archeology which include, but are not limited to, typology, classification, sampling, cultural evolution, diffusion, dating, and analytical techniques; (5) archeological field school, to provide a basic understanding of theoretical and practical approaches to research design implementation, field preservation techniques, and report preparation by participation in actual field work; AND six semester hours of related course work in: (1) geography, geology, or cultural geography; (2) history, historiography, or historical archeology; (3) environmental studies; (4) scientific writing (nonfiction English composition); and/or (5) surveying; AND archeological field school.
OR
B. Education - Related Curriculum:Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in anthropology (with emphasis on ethnology, physical anthropology, or scientific linguistics), history, American studies, or a related discipline which satisfies in full the educational requirements, provided the curriculum supplied academic course work sufficiently similar to the requirements as shown in A above (including archeological field school).
OR
C. Combination of Education and Experience: College-level education or training that provided knowledge equivalent to that described in A above, plus appropriate technical experience or additional education.
OR
D. Experience: Four years of archeological work experience that demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles and theories of professional archeology. The work experience must have included archeology field experience, which may include that gained in an archeological field school. Field experience should have included a combination of professional experience in archeological survey, excavation, laboratory analysis, and preparation of written materials. Applicants with such field experience should, after additional experience under the direction of a higher-grade archeologist, be able to demonstrate the ability to be a crew chief, directing the work of others at a single location as a part of a larger archeological project.

In addition to meeting the educational requirements above, applicants must have specialized experience as listed below:

Specialized Experience:
GS-11:
One year of specialized experience which includes: Providing site assessments, record and report preparation of anthropological, archaeological, and historical studies of cultural resources, general artifact analysis, and compliance of permit actions.

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).

OR

Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Archeology.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

GS-12:
One year of specialized experience which includes conducting cultural resources investigations to include records and literature searches, archival studies, and fieldwork consisting of reconnaissance and intensive surveys, test excavations, data recovery, excavations, archeological consultation, review of cultural resource reports prepared by others for adequacy, consultation with tribes, and compliance issues as related to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and other federal regulations.

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For the GS-12 grade, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

In addition to meeting the basic education and qualification requirements above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the selective placement factor listed below:
You must have successfully completed a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in archeology, anthropology, or closely related field plus: At least one year of full-time professional experience or equivalent specialized training in archaeological research, administration, or management; AND at least four months of supervised field and analytic experience in general North American archeology; AND demonstrated ability to carry research to completion.