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HRM Professional Program

  • Applications: Closed
  • Admission to this program has been suspended.

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Program Format

Masters

This program consists of a cohort orientation program on the Burnaby campus, course requirements and a thesis for a minimum of 38 units. Students are expected to complete the program requirements in six (6) terms (2 years), but have up to nine (9) terms (3 years).

Students complete all of:

  • Participation in the Program orientation in the first week of fall term classes to introduce students to their cohort, Program faculty, Program goals and course delivery format, thesis requirements, and British Columbia as a context for heritage resource management practice.
  • HRM Law and Policy (5) – ARCH 531 – Fall Term
  • HRM Practice and Ethics (5) – ARCH 541 – Fall Term
  • HRM Business Management (5) – ARCH 551 – Spring Term
  • HRM Research Design and Methods (5) – ARCH 561 – Spring Term
  • and a thesis ARCH 898 - MA Thesis (18) (see FAQs). This thesis is prepared in accord with SFU standards and tailored to meet requirements for specific jurisdictions and the Register of Professional Archaeologists.

Graduate Certificate

The program consists of an orientation on the Burnaby campus and four online courses for a minimum of 20 units that provide intensive preparation in the essential dimensions of HRM archaeology. Students are expected to complete the courses in two (2) terms, but have up to nine (9) terms (3 years).

Students complete all of:

  • Participation in the Program orientation in the first week of fall term classes to introduce students to their cohort, Program faculty, Program goals and course delivery format, and British Columbia as a context for heritage resource management practice.
  • HRM Law and Policy (5) – ARCH 531 – Fall Term
  • HRM Practice and Ethics (5) – ARCH 541 – Fall Term
  • HRM Business Management (5) – ARCH 551 – Spring Term
  • HRM Research Design and Methods (5) – ARCH 561 – Spring Term

Courses                    

Term 1: Fall

ARCH 531 - HRM LAW AND POLICY

Course Description
This course provides a broad survey of international heritage authorities and rules with an emphasis on HRM policy in Canada and the United States. Particular attention is given to how the development of rules and organizations affect archaeological practice.

Course Details
Approximate time commitment: 10 hours weekly
Typical assignments include weekly readings, discussion and exercises.

By completion of this course, successful students will be able to:

  • identify principal international/North American legal authorities and their impact on the field of HRM
  • explain the essential roles of law and policy in HRM process and practice

ARCH 541 - HRM PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND ETHICS

Course Description
This course focuses on the complexity of operating within an HRM field characterized by overlapping, and at times contradictory, professional standards and ethics. The emphasis is on opportunities to add value to knowledge creation and mobilization through creative engagements with clients, Indigenous and local communities, governments, partners, and publics.

Course Details
Approximate time commitment: 10 hours weekly
Typical assignments include weekly readings, commentaries and blogging.

By completion of this course, successful students will be able to:

  • identify the principal ethical standards in HRM work
  • explain the roles ethics play in the professional HRM practice in archaeology and HRM
  • negotiate common ethical dilemmas in HRM, especially in relation to Indigenous peoples

Term 2: Spring

ARCH 551 - HRM BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Course Description
This course contextualizes the business of HRM by targeting five clusters of essential concepts and tools in business management -- accounting and finance; marketing, sales, and contracting; human resources, labour, economics, corporate governance, and risk management; business operations and project management; and business models, innovation, and globalization.

Course Details
Approximate time commitment: 10 hours weekly
Typical assignments will ask students to solve business management problems grounded in HRM case studies.

By completion of this course, successful students will be able to:

  • identify conceptual & analytical frameworks for applying business management principles in HRM
  • demonstrate the utility of business management tools and skills in HRM

ARCH 561 - HRM ARCHAEOLOGY RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Course Description
This course examines the hallmarks of excellent research in HRM archaeology through studies of successful and less successful research designs and methods. The course provides essential guidance for student thesis preparation.

Course Details
Approximate time commitment: 10 hours weekly
Typical assignments will ask students to develop and deploy research method tools as they refine their thesis prospectus.

By completion of this course, successful students will be able to:

  • identify principal conceptual & analytical frameworks for research in HRM
  • explain and critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of research designs
  • demonstrate the appropriate application of quantitative & qualitative research methods in HRM
  • launch and complete the plan for their thesis research

Terms 3-6 (MA Program Only)

The Professional HRM Program includes four terms for thesis research, writing, and presentation/defence. 

ARCH 898 – MA THESIS

Students in the HRM MA Program complete a written thesis followed by a formal public defence adhering to policies and procedures of SFU Graduate regulations for Master's thesis.

Master’s candidates should choose a thesis topic of compelling interest to them, or one that relates to their current or desired future employment. See our current HRM student profiles for examples of thesis projects.

The following list offers further ideas for thesis research:

  • CRM project report expansion and enhancement;
  • Problem-driven synthesis of understudied region or phenoment;
  • Analysis of policy or planning problem (e.g., professional lecensure; First Nations economic development via HRM archaeology, treatment of research data and conclusions as privileged information);
    Critical comparative analysis of national, regional or administrative HRM contexts, rules, or organizations;
  • Assessment of a field or analytic method (e.g., winter testing);
  • Jurisdiction- or issue-specific "Recommended Management Practices" for guiding HRM research, practice or both;
  • Collection-focused research (e.g., mining implements from ancient quarries).

Note that several jurisdictions in Canada and the United States require or favour applications for professional status supported by a thesis completed on archaeological topics within that jurisdiction.

Our Goals Are To

  • Prepare students for satisfying careers as heritage resource management leaders committed to collaborative management of diverse heritage comprised of multiple values.
  • Boost the quality of heritage resource management by creating and mobilizing practical knowledge and skills in each of the field’s four principal areas—law/policy, practice/ethics, business/management, and research design and methods.
  • Maintain excellent learning environments and open and constructive communications among students, alumni, faculty and heritage owners, as well as heritage resource management regulators, practitioners and stakeholders.
  • Increase the number, diversity, expertise, and integration of heritage resource management practitioners who hold graduate credentials, meet professional qualification standards for multiple jurisdictions, and share commitments to professional, conservation-oriented management of diverse heritage from treasured pasts.

COURSEWORK HOURS & ANTICIPATED STUDENT TIME COMMITMENTS

Each course is 5 credit hours and requires an average of 3.5 instructional hours per week for 13 weeks. Therefore, each course requires an average of 45 hours (3.5 x 13=45.5), a total of 182 instructional hours for the entire HRM program.

Course

Total Credit Hours

Instructional Hours per week (for 13 weeks)

Total Instructional Hours

Approximate Total Student Time Commitment

ARCH 531

5

3.5

45.5

~150 hours

ARCH 541

5

3.5

45.5

~150 hours

ARCH 551

5

3.5

45.5

~150 hours

ARCH 561

5

3.5

45.5

~150 hours

 

 

 

~182

~600 hours
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