What do I need to eventually earn a degree in Egyptology?

Question

I asked this question 3 months ago, but didn't get an adequate answer.

I want to eventually get my masters in Egyptology, and I know that I need an Associates and a Bachleours degree. I read that I should follow a Liberal Arts program as my associates. But my problem is that I don't know what to choose there.

Here's a link:

http://www.mec.cuny.edu/academic_affairs/aa_publications/advisement_table.asp

And now my bachleours, I don't know what to study there. Any help? Or should I just figure that out while I'm doing my associates.

I got all this information from here: http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/resources/egyptologist.html

Please help, as I want to start my associates in March of 2011.

Happy New Year!! :)

Thank You

Feel free to email me at: [e-mail]

Answer 1

You need archeology and the sure knowledge that there are no jobs in your field. Most colleges do not teach Egyptology and therefor do not hire professors. Expect to get a PhD from a top college, write a few books, and have a major find, just to get a starting level job.

Answer 2

Two Important Things:

1. You DO NOT need to get an Associates before you get your Bachelors degree. Most people go straight to a 4-year Bachelors program without getting a Associates degree. An Associates degree means almost nothing now anyway. It's only a baby step above a high school diploma.



2. You cannot start a program in the middle of a semester. You have to apply to a college/university by the deadline then start in either the (January-May-ish) spring or (August-December-ish) fall semester.



As for what you should major in - take a look at the following: History, Anthropology, Sociology, Archeology, or any other similar liberal arts degree.



All colleges have counselors/advisors. Talk to one. They will help you straighten everything out.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, MES-CUNY is not a good place to start if you are interested in a career in Egyptology. Hunter would be the best choice within CUNY, though not necessarily the only choice. For Egyptology, it is important to learn French and German, but MES offers only French. Courses in Arabic, Hebrew or Greek could also be beneficial, and such courses are available at Hunter but not MES. Hunter also offers a major in Anthropology including courses in Archaeology, and Art History courses may be offered as well. Hunter offers a "study abroad" opportunity in Egypt and courses in Middle Eastern history and a course on the Archaeology of Egypt. (in the Classical department). You could even major in Classics-Classical Archaeology.



If it is not too late to enroll at Hunter, or another college outside CUNY, I would encourage you to start somewhere other than MES-CUNY. If you must start at MES, I would encourage you to transfer to Hunter as soon as possible.



Please note that most graduate programs in Egyptology are at very prestigious universities (e.g. Brown, Penn, Yale, Johns Hopkins) and you will need a high undergraduate GPA and high GRE scores to get into the graduate level programs.

Answer 4

The U of Chicago has the most famous school of Egyptology.



http://nelc.uchicago.edu/graduate/programs/egyptology



At the bottom of that page, grab the .pdf about course requirements for a Ph.D. program in this field. In order to do any serious research in this area (and get paid for it), you'll need a Ph.D.