CAS: Archaeological and Environmental Sciences

For more information, please see the CAS Bulletin. Please contact Alysa Williams (alysaw@bu.edu), Assistant Director of Academic Advising at CAS, with any questions.

Upon completion of the CGS program, students must have earned credit towards the following 10 courses:

• Humanities: 3 courses
  • Choose two from CGS HU 103, CGS HU 201, or CGS HU 202
  • CGS HU 104*
• Natural Sciences: 2 courses**
  • CGS NS 201 and CAS EE 270
• Rhetoric: 2 courses
  • CGS RH 103 and CGS RH 104*
• Social Sciences: 3 courses
  • Choose two from CGS SS 103, CGS SS 201, or CGS SS 202
  • CGS SS 104*

*Required course taken during the Summer term.
**CGS NS 201 fulfills the CAS BI 107 requirement for the major. Majors in Archaeological & Environmental Sciences should take CAS EE 270 or another required course in place of CGS NS 202 in Term 2 of the sophomore year. Please note that students who are exempt from CGS NS 202 must enroll in at least one CGS course in Term 2 of sophomore year.

The major in Archaeological & Environmental Sciences engages students in the study of scientific approaches that illuminate human interaction with environments in the past. By integrating perspectives and methods from both the natural and social sciences, students gain a well-rounded understanding of the deep history of human modifications of the environment and a deep-time perspective on sustainability. The degree allows students to accumulate considerable scientific expertise in an area, or multiple areas, of their choice, building upon a broad background in basic chemistry, biology, and data analysis methods.

The major in Archaeological & Environmental Sciences requires a total of 14 courses (56 credits), all completed with a grade of C or higher. Those courses include seven required core courses; at least four required methods courses; and three additional electives, including at least four units of directed study or honors thesis research.

Required Core Courses (7)

Students in Archaeological & Environmental Sciences take a core of seven required courses:

• CAS AR 190 Introduction to Archaeology
• CAS EE 107 Introduction to Climate and Earth System Science
• CAS BI 107 Biology 1 (CGS NS 201 fulfills this requirement)
• CAS CH 171 Principles of General Chemistry (or CAS CH 101 or 109 or 111)
• CAS EE 270 Data, Models, and Analysis in Earth & Environment
• CAS AR 307 Archaeological Science
• CAS AN/AR/EE 520 Theory and Method in Environmental Archaeology

Required Methods Courses (at least 4, of which at least one must be coded AR and one coded EE)

• CAS EE 302 Remote Sensing of Environment
• CAS EE 317 Introduction to Hydrology
• CAS EE 351 Paleoclimatology and Paleoceanography
• CAS EE 371 Introduction to Geochemistry
• CAS EE 375 Introduction to Quantitative Environmental Modeling
• CAS EE 509 Applied Environmental Statistics
• CAS EE/MR 544 Coastal Sedimentology
• CAS AR 506 Regional Archaeology and Geographical Information Systems
• CAS AR 507 Low Impact Field Methods in Archaeology
• CAS AR 516 Paleoethnobotany
• CAS AR 518 Zooarchaeology
• CAS AR 550 Human Osteology

Required Electives (3)

• Two additional courses at the 200-level or above coded CAS AR or CAS EE, to be chosen in consultation with faculty advisors
• At least 4 units of directed study with an AR or EE faculty member in applied or laboratory research (e.g., CAS AR 401, 402, 491, 492, 503, or 556; or CAS EE 401, 402, 491, or 492)

For required courses, please see the CAS Bulletin. Please contact Bob Murowchick (remurow@bu.edu), Director of Undergraduate Studies, with any questions.

• Completion of the CGS required courses and appropriate electives
• Cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.00

Boston University students completing a degree in CAS must also complete the following requirements.

• BU HUB Requirements
  • Students who take the specific CGS courses noted on the pathway above will fulfill all BU Hub requirements except the units listed below. These remaining Hub units will be fulfilled through the following courses:
  • Quantitative Reasoning II (1 unit) (AR/EE 520)
  • Creativity/Innovation (1 unit) (electives: e.g., AR 565, EE 310, EE 522, EE 533, EE 593)
  • Teamwork/Collaboration (1 unit) (AR/EE 520)
  • Writing-Intensive Course (1 unit) (electives: e.g., AR 230, AR 280, AR 551, AR 575, EE 509)
  • You fulfill the remaining Hub units – Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy (1 unit) and Teamwork/Collaboration (1 unit) through the courses you take for your CAS major and/or other electives.
• CAS requirements
  • Second Language requirement
• Archaeological and Environmental Sciences major requirements
  • CAS requires a minimum of 128 credits, excluding PDP, ROTC, and CAS FY and SY courses.