The summer field season is almost upon us, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum’s research arm, the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP), is now accepting applications for our 2015 Field School Program. Read on to see full details and requirements for this year’s field school!
- 2015 Dates: June 1st – 26th
- Location: St. Augustine, Fla.
- Research Focus: The “Storm Wreck” is a 1782 British Loyalist shipwreck located just off the shores of St. Augustine. Excavation on this site first began in 2010. This year, students will work with lighthouse archaeologists to map the site through recording and recovering artifacts from the wreck.
- Skills, Procedures & Lectures: Students will also be instructed in scientific diving procedures, archaeological recording and excavation, the use of hydraulic probes and induction dredges, marine remote sensing survey and analysis (magnetometer & side scan sonar), artifact collection and documentation and basic conservation laboratory methodology. Additionally, the field school will host an evening lecture series with instructors and visiting professionals from various public, private and academic institutions throughout Florida.
Requirements:
- Students must be scuba-certified and qualify as a scientific diver through AAUS (American Academy of Underwater Sciences) or a similar institution, or else qualify as a scientific-diver-in-training through LAMP’s scientific diver program. These requirements include a specific medical exam to be completed prior to field school and a swim test to be conducted upon arrival. More information and downloads of the medical exam form and other required paperwork are available below.
- Students must have DAN diving accident insurance covering at least $125,000 for skin and scuba diving injuries, or an equivalent policy.
- Students must hold current CPR and First Aid certifications.
Housing
LAMP maintains a Field House on five acres of rural property just outside St. Augustine. Expect dormitory-type conditions though the house is furnished with air conditioning, two bathrooms and a fully-operational kitchen. Students should provide their own bedding (sheets, pillow, blanket, etc). If students wish to camp on the land around the field house they should bring their own tent/gear.
Meals will be communal and prepared each day by the field school participants on a rotating basis. Each student will be assigned to a weekly Kitchen Patrol roster. The budget for purchasing food is derived from the field school fee charged to all students. Students are responsible for their own food on weekends.
Online Application Forms and Fees
<< Click here to download the application package >>
The fee for the field school is $2,500 for students seeking academic credit and $2,900 for students not seeking credit. A $250 deposit is due upon acceptance and the remainder is due on the first day of class; all fees are payable to LAMP. This fee includes housing, food (except on weekends when you are responsible for your own food), all diving gear (other than mask, fins, snorkels, & booties), air fills, dive locker, classroom and laboratory facilities. The deposit and remaining balance may be paid with check or credit card.
Graduate or undergraduate credit is available through Plymouth State University or through your own institution, if appropriate arrangements are made, at additional expense paid directly to the school for tuition. Plymouth State University tuition costs as of 2012 are as follows:
- Undergraduate In-state (New Hampshire): $380.00 per credit hour
- Undergraduate Out-of-state: $418.00 per credit hour
- Graduate In-state: $512.00 per credit hour
- Graduate Out-of-state: $559.00 per credit hour
Students may receive four credit hours for completing the full four week program. Tuition must be paid separately through the university issuing credit and the tuition cost is separate from the Field School fee payable to LAMP.
Students must provide their own transportation to and from St. Augustine, Florida. Students are also responsible for the required diving insurance, diving medical exam and CPR/First Aid before the start of the course, as outlined below.
Please download the application package, which consists of three one-page forms, and complete each form either digitally or by hand. When finished, please send to Dr. Sam Turner by email, fax or regular mail:
Dr. Sam Turner
Director of Archaeology, LAMP
81 Lighthouse Avenue
St. Augustine, Florida 32080
Fax: 904-808-1248
Phone: 904-829-0745
Participation in the Field School can be competitive depending on the numbers of applicants, which have been increasing each year. While not required, you may submit a resume and/or letters of recommendation with your application.
If any other questions arise, please call or email Dr. Turner at lampuser[at]staugustinelighthouse.org.