Prospects and Jobs for Graduates
Michigan Tech's MS in Industrial Archaeology has a strongly applied character designed to furnish students with the skills and tools needed to succeed in the future work. Course work includes exposure to specific practical and professional skills in addition to theoretical and intellectual content. Thesis projects are often developed in conjunction with outside sponsors, and incorporate real-world situations concerned with site identification, interpretation, preservation, and management.
The Masters program logically leads to four potential career trajectories:
• Museum work
• Government agencies
• Private industry
• Ph.D. Programs
The doctoral program serves similar purposes, as the emerging market for advanced degree-holders in the industrial heritage areas includes both academic and non-academic careers. We seek to prepare students for opportunities in such academic fields as historical archeology, the history of technology, and material culture studies. We also intend to position graduates for opportunities in the private sector and in government agencies where an advanced degree is likely to become a useful and important certification.
To date, all of the MS graduates from Michigan Tech who have applied to Ph.D. programs have been accepted. They have enrolled at Brown University, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, University of Nevada-Reno (2), and University of Arizona (2). Several graduates have accepted jobs with state or regional museums; one was curator at Sloss Furnaces National Historical Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama before moving to the Detroit Historical Museums. Another is the curator at the Michigan Iron Industry Museum, a third is historian at the Soudan Mines State Park in Minnesota, while a fourth works as an archaeologist with the New York State Museum. Other government agencies that have hired our graduates include the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Nevada State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma State Historical Society, the Historic American Engineering Record/National Park Service, and the US Forest Service. In addition, several program graduates have gone on to successful careers in private CRM and engineering consulting firms throughout the USA. One MS graduate who completed a doctorate at Nevada-Reno is now teaching at the University of Montana .
Overall Placement Record
- Entering students (1991-2004): 63 students (40 males, 23 females)
- Completed degrees: 43 students (27 males, 16 females)
- Currently enrolled: 11 students (8 males, 3 females)
Positions secured:
- Seeking advanced degrees: 10 graduates
- CRM firms: 26 graduates
Backgrounds of Entering Students
- Anthropology:28
- History:11
- Art/photography/design:6
- Engineering and math/physics:3
- Business, IT, computer science:4
- Humanities/social sciences:4
Countries represented: Canada, New Zealand, Virgin Islands, Italy.
