Archaeology programs in Ontario

25 programs across 8 campuses, with published admission ranges starting at 70%. Sorted by the range each one publishes, lowest first, so you can see where you land.

Programs

Campuses

Lowest range

70%

What this leads to

The picture for archaeology as of 2026-08-17, not a description of this particular program.

Archaeologists study past human activity through the recovery and analysis of artifacts, structures, and landscapes. Work involves field surveys, excavations, laboratory analysis, and research. Most positions are with universities, museums, government agencies, consulting firms, or Indigenous organizations.

In its favour

You help preserve cultural heritage and ensure development projects comply with heritage laws, giving your work direct impact on communities.
Field work happens across Canada with variety in projects and locations, from coastal digs to boreal sites.
Diverse employer options—universities, museums, government agencies, consulting firms, Indigenous organizations—let you shape what kind of archaeology appeals to you.

Worth knowing

Technician positions start at $26.75–$32.91 per hour and are seasonal. Average Ontario pay is $31.76/hour with most earning $24–$37 depending on experience.
Most jobs in Canada are contract or project-based rather than permanent, meaning you piece together work between projects.
Very few open positions: 45 archaeologist jobs listed nationally makes entry-level competition fierce.

How AI is changing this work

AI is shifting site discovery from manual survey work toward automated scanning of satellite and lidar data, solving archaeology's core scale problem. AI now automates object detection and data collection directly from excavation records—graves, skeletons, ceramics, stone tools. However, automated pattern detection still requires mandatory expert verification before findings count as established knowledge. The field is automating the data-heavy grunt work—sorting, cataloging, initial site-finding—but field excavation, expert judgment about what matters, and interpretation remain human work. For a four-year degree starting in 2027, you're entering a field where routine technical tasks are disappearing but senior archaeological thinking is not.

Where this came from (6 sources)

All 25 programs

Other subjects

Ranges are what universities publish, not guaranteed cutoffs. Work out your top 6 to see which of these you actually clear.

Work out my top 6 Find what suits me