10 reasons to choose usTen reasons students from 40+ universities choose Sanisera
Thirty years of fieldwork, 4,000 students and one promise: you will leave as an archaeologist, not as a spectator. We all love Indiana Jones and his hunt for treasure, but you will understand that our goals are research and giving value to the historical heritage, so that it is respected and passed on to future generations. You and we will contribute to that together.
1. Real research, not a tourist dig
You join live research projects, not a demonstration. In Menorca you excavate a Roman port town and its late antique necropolis, analyse its human and animal bones in our laboratory and map its ancient harbours. In Jerez you excavate a church crypt with burials of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries; in Belchite, a medieval synagogue beneath a Civil War battlefield. In the Pyrenees you discover medieval sites with LiDAR, drones and AI, in a Romanesque landscape declared World Heritage by UNESCO; in Murcia you turn real excavation data into maps and publication drawings; and in Egypt you discover its iconic pyramids and the great sites of the Nile Valley, sailing the river with an expert in Egyptian archaeology. What you excavate, record and analyse ends up in scientific publications, with your name in the field records. The archaeology is real, and so is your contribution.
2. Built for academic credit
Every course has a syllabus with learning outcomes, 50 to 101.5 instructional hours, letter grades from A to F and a Certificate of Completion. A sixteen-day session in Menorca gives you 101.5 instructional hours, which can be recognised for 4-5 semester credits, depending on your university; take two consecutive sessions and you reach 203 hours, 8-10 semester credits, in a single month. Your Course Director signs a Student Evaluation Report if your department asks for it. Students from more than 40 universities in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia have earned credit this way. Show the syllabus to your advisor before you register and the paperwork is done.
3. Small groups, expert instructors
Six to fifteen students per session, never more. Your instructors hold master's and doctoral degrees and excavate for a living; our director has led fieldwork in Spain, Italy and the United Arab Emirates for more than thirty years. Every single day you have in your hands the trowel, your phone as a recording tool and the software.
4. A path from your first trowel to advanced research
Start with Course 006 in the Roman city of Sanisera or Course 064 in the medieval town of Belchite and learn to excavate from scratch. Move on to the necropolis (010, 008) or to the crypt of San Mateo in Jerez (053), then to advanced osteology (018) or zooarchaeology (062). Add the digital toolkit of a modern archaeologist with GIS, LiDAR, drones and AI (050, 060, 063). Whatever your level, there is a course that takes you one step further.
5. The Mediterranean is your classroom
Menorca is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with turquoise coves two minutes from the dig. Jerez is the home of sherry and flamenco. The Pyrenees hold the densest concentration of Romanesque churches in Europe. Belchite is one of the most powerful memory sites of the twentieth century. And Egypt is Egypt. You will learn archaeology where archaeology happened.
6. Honest, all-in tuition
From USD 1,650 for a sixteen-day session, with accommodation, accident insurance, daily transport to the site, course materials and your certificate included. No hidden fees. A USD 450 deposit holds your place; it is part of the tuition, not an extra fee. The balance is due 60 days before you arrive, and if money is tight we will agree a payment plan with you. Compare that with any US field school.
7. A season that fits your calendar
Sessions run from April to October, so you can dig in spring break, over the summer or in the fall. Each session lasts sixteen days with two rest days; combine two sessions and stay with us for a month. Rolling admission: apply when you are ready, and secure your place early for July and August.
8. Everything in English
Lectures, fieldwork, laboratory, readings, assessment and certificates: all in English. You do not need a word of Spanish to learn with us, although you will pick up plenty over a café con leche.
9. Safe, simple and looked after
Wherever your course takes you, we have been there before you. Accommodation is arranged and included at every location, from the student residence in Ciutadella to the apartments in Jerez and the Pyrenees, the campsite bungalows in Murcia, the house in Belchite and the hotels and Nile cruise in Egypt. Your instructor meets you on arrival, accident insurance is included, medical care is always minutes away, and the director answers your WhatsApp within hours, before, during and after your trip. Spain is one of the safest countries in Europe and our locations are small, welcoming towns. Parents ask us the hard questions every year; we are happy to answer yours.
10. An asset for the rest of your career
A field school on your transcript, a graded certificate, up to three letters of recommendation from your Course Director, support for your thesis, and a network of more than 4,000 alumni who went on to graduate school, museums, heritage agencies and excavations around the world. Your story starts with an application form.
Ready? Apply now, or write to info@archaeology.institute and tell us your dates and interests. We answer within 48 hours.
