Usually offered in the Fall quarter, this is the training course for new I Dig UCI agents who want to get experience as part of a campus-based archaeology project. Students will complete 120 hours of hands-on field and laboratory work across the following domains:

1. 40 hours Excavation Training

   1. stratigraphic analysis and profile drawings

   2. Shovel Test Pits (STPs)

   3. Archaeological drawing (top plans)

   4. Laying out excavation units

   5. Excavation techniques with standard tools

   6. Data recording in field forms

2. 20 Hours Survey Training

   1. landscape archaeology

   2. Transects, sighting compass, map orientation, basic geoarchaeology

   3. Site formation and hydrology

   4. Field walking including ecological identification

   5. 
      

3. 20 Hours Archival Training

   1. Working with digital databases as research tools (maps, imagery, reports, etc.)

   2. Understanding paper documentation of older excavations and unpublished reports, forms, etc.

   3. Digital Scholarship and web archiving of excavation documents (notes, forms, plans, etc.)

   4. Using archives and special collections for research

4. 20 Hours Collection Management Training

   1. Basic Artifact conservation, storage, and handling

   2. Finds data entry

   3. Photography and ceramic drawing

   4. Artifact identification, classification, and analysis

   5. Exhibition design, labelling, and preparation

5. 20 hours General CRM training

   1. Understanding EIRs, LRDPs, and mitigation reports connected to development projects

   2. Field project logistics

   3. NAGPRA; CEQA; and other legal/ethical frameworks for archaeological fieldwork and collections

   4. Report writing and developing content for public facing digital platforms