Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Field School


Sunday, June 29 – Saturday, July 12, 2025

Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Field School


Sunday, June 29 – Saturday, July 12, 2025
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Campus, Cortez, CO


    • Required Materials to Attach to your Application:
    • At Least two (2) Letters of Recommendation
    • A list of relevant trainings and coursework, AND
    • Resume or Curriculum Vitae

Important Dates:

    • Friday, 03/15/2025 11:59 p.m. MST: Complete applications due for priority consideration
    • NOTE: Incomplete applications will not be considered.
    • Monday, 03/31/2025: Applicants will be notified of selection status
    • Friday, 05/02/2025: Paperwork due for selected participants
    • Friday, 05/02/2025: Payment of $1,500.00 due to Crow Canyon for selected participants
    • Friday, 05/02/2025: Registration deadline for enrolling in University of Texas-Arlington for course credit
    • Monday, 06/29/2025: 2025 Cultural Resource Management Field School begins
    • Saturday, 07/05/2025: 2025 Cultural Resource Management Field School ends


Fee: $1500

    • Includes instruction, equipment, housing, and meals at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, and local transportation. 
    • Financial assistance may be available.
    • Transportation to and from Cortez, CO and your personal gear are your responsibility.

Earn college credit at Crow Canyon during CRM Field School!
Students may enroll in college course credit (3 credits) through the University of Texas at Arlington. For questions about college credit, contact Kelsey Hanson.


OVERVIEW

There is significant demand for a trained archaeological workforce nationwide, particularly in southwest Colorado as it contains the highest density of archaeological sites in the contiguous United States. Construction projects that disturb the ground and trigger local, state, and/or federal regulations require the services of contract archaeologists in an industry called Cultural Resource Management or CRM.
Fewer than 10% of practicing archaeologists work as university or college professors or for a museum or laboratory. Most archaeologists practicing today work under the auspices of Cultural Resource Management, whether as a consultant, or for tribal, local, state, or federal governments to review the work of private sector archaeologists.
Crow Canyon’s Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Field School is an intensive two-week course in Southwest Colorado that teaches practical cultural resource management (CRM) fieldwork skills for swifter entry into the private workforce after college. Held on private land on the Hawkins Preserve this course presents real-world opportunities to practice the principles of cultural resource management archaeology. Upon completion of the course, the students are able to:

    • Identify and document an archaeological site, including site mapping and photography.
    • Understand and contribute to recommendations for National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility of sites.
    • Fill out appropriate site records.
    • Navigate infield recording technology.
    • Conduct pedestrian survey.
    • Understand the laws and legislation that drive CRM.
    • Conduct basic laboratory analysis techniques.
    • Contribute to CRM report sections.

Course Format: Lectures, lab analysis, in-field survey and site documentation, evening programs, and field trips in the Mesa Verde region

Instructors: Dr. James Potter, Dr. Kelsey E. Hanson, and two highly experienced field directors
Questions: Contact Dr. Potter at jpotter@crowcanyon.org


Anonymous Testimonials from former CRM Field School Students:


“I think the best part about field school was how much it taught me about CRM and archaeology as a whole in those two weeks. It felt like I learned a whole semester’s worth of info in two weeks. And I was able to then apply what I learned each day, which really helped to cement it. It changed my whole perspective on what it meant to be an archaeologist.”


“…What an amazing two weeks. The best thing about field school was going into the field and identifying artifacts, putting those items into words and then translating it on to the iPad. I feel like this skill is so important in CRM and will be something I need regardless of where I land. I will be able to show other people in my office the skills I now know, when we eventually get iPads.”


Accommodations
Housing costs are included with this program. Accommodations are in modern, shared cabins on Crow Canyon’s campus. Students must provide their own sleeping kits (see gear list).

    • Cabins include shower and toilet facilities.
    • Crow Canyon provides Wi-Fi Internet service in campus buildings.
    • Laundry facilities are available to students.

Meals
Meal costs are included with this program.

    • All meals included, seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On-campus meals are served cafeteria-style in the lodge.
    • If you are working at the Haynie site or on survey, snacks, water, and a picnic lunch (sandwiches, fresh fruit, chips, and cookies) are provided. 

Campus
Crow Canyon’s 170-acre campus, located just outside the town of Cortez, features a large meadow, pinyon- and juniper-covered hillsides, and spectacular views of Mesa Verde and the La Plata Mountains. A short nature trail winds through the woods. Buildings on campus include the Lodge, cabins, 10 Diné-style hogans, two outdoor learning centers, and the Gates Archaeology Laboratory (the Gates Building), which houses classrooms, libraries, offices, and a material culture laboratory. A lounge area is also available in the Gates Building.

All facilities are smoke-free. Wildfires are a real danger in our area; if you smoke, please do so only in the designated smoking area, at the picnic table behind the lodge. Smoking by minors (under age 18) is prohibited. In addition to hosting human participants in Crow Canyon programs, our rural campus is also visited by a variety of wildlife, including deer, rabbits, marmots, birds, snakes, lizards, foxes, coyotes, and the occasional mountain lion.

Learn more about campus life.