Proposition 22-12/13: A Proposal to establish a Graduate Certificate in Cultural Resources
Management, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences
Sponsors: Rani Alexander (A and S); Margaret Goehring (A and S);
Proposed Committee: TBA
Actual Committee Assignment: TBA
Prior Approvals:
Approved – Provost “Planning Authorization” 10-11-11
Approved- College of Arts and Sciences March 7, 2013
Approved- Graduate Council 03/07/2013
Approved - ADAC – March 11, 2013
Next steps - Academic Deans Council, Exec. VP/Provost, and finally the Higher Learning
Commission (NMSU’s accrediting agency)
Proposal: Create a Graduate Certificate in Cultural Resources Management. The certificate will
be administered by the Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences.
Rationale:
Faculty members in the Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, have
developed a proposal for a new Graduate Certificate in Cultural Resources Management (CRM).

The proposal has been approved by the Department of Anthropology with endorsements
from the Departments of Geography and History.

In addition it has been approved by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate
Council.

No new resources are required or requested to host the graduate certificate program.

All the courses are regularly offered as part of the course offerings in their respective
disciplines; the faculty and departmental commitments already exist.
Through this proposition the Faculty Senate endorses and approves this proposal and asks that
NMSU’s Central Administration work to realize this degree program so that it may be offered to
students at the earliest opportunity (ideally Fall of 2013).
Program Overview
Cultural Resource Management is one of the most important growth fields in archaeological
investigation. Communities, states, and even the federal government, through laws and
professional practice, seek to ensure that the history of our region and its diverse peoples are
preserved. Cultural Resource Management, often abbreviated CRM, brings together
anthropologists, historians, engineers, architects, art historians, and people representing diverse
ethnic and cultural communities to examine local resources and sites to determine whether they
are of historical significance.
The work in this field is strongly regulated and defined by federal and state legislation, and to be
a professional in the field requires expertise in a wide variety of specializations, with a solid
grounding in CRM law and regulation, and one traditional discipline, such as anthropology.
NMSU Anthropology needs a certificate program in Cultural Resource Management (CRM) to
give students credit for more specialized archaeological training in order to pursue careers in this
field. This program provides for the needs of our current degree seeking students, and will serve
as a recruiting tool for non-degree seeking students wanting to augment their professional skills
with an academic certificate.
Evidence of Need
The majority of archaeologists at all levels of education (BA., MA. and Ph.D.) in the United
States work in the field of Cultural Resource Management, as either members of private sector
environmental consulting firms or as employees federal or state agencies such as the US Forest
Service, US Park Service, NMDOT, the Historic Preservation Division of New Mexico, and US
Bureau of Land Management. In the US, over 80% of degreed archaeologists work in CRM.
Many of the current students who pursue graduate training in Anthropology do so with the
expectation that they will have a career as an applied archaeologist, working in cultural resource
management. Indeed our track record of placing students in this area has been very positive, and
we find avenues such as the federal STEP and SCEP programs (now called Pathways) that
permit current students to work with federal land management agencies to gain first-hand
experience as interns while simultaneously working on their degree. This graduate certificate
will enhance the career opportunities for our students, will allow us to recruit current
professionals in the field to our program, and will position our graduates for competitive
professional positions.
A full version of the proposal has been forwarded to Dr. Tim Ketelaar, Chair of the NMSU
Faculty Senate, and is also available to Senators who have interest in reviewing the entire
document.
Attachments: Supporting documents (see attached).