St. Mary’s students and faculty value applied research and field study to enhance classroom experiences.

Affiliations with Historic St. Mary’s City and Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum / Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory generate rich opportunities for students to engage in internships, independent studies, laboratory, and hands-on professional research.

The Archaeology Program

Affiliations with Historic St. Mary’s City and nearby Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum/Maryland Archaeology Conservation (MAC) Laboratory provide students and faculty rich opportunities to engage in internships, independent studies, senior projects, and hands-on professional research, laboratory, and fieldwork. Students have the opportunity to be mentored by professionals in the field as they work with important archaeological and documentary collections housed at the two institutions. Lectures on history, archaeological methods, and material culture are amplified by hands-on experience in the lab and in the field. Students learn artifact identification by working with one of the best archaeological collections of colonial material in the country and participate in excavation, recording and analysis at one of the nation’s best preserved 17th century archaeology sites.