The Register of Professional Archaeologists

The Register of Professional Archaeologists (the Register) is a listing of archaeologists who have agreed to abide by an explicit code of conduct and standards of research performance. To become an Registered Professional Archaeologist (RPA), an archaeologist must hold a graduate degree in archaeology, anthropology, or another related discipline (including but not limited to art history, classics, history, or museum studies) and have completed a thesis or dissertation, or its equivalent, that addresses a substantive archaeological question.

Registering as an RPA is a voluntary act. By joining the Register, an archaeologist recognizes their personal responsibility to colleagues, clients, and the public and agrees to be held accountable for their professional behavior. By formally acknowledging this relationship between personal actions and the wider discipline of archaeology, the act of registration holds a professional archaeologist to a set of high ethical standards that sets them apart from others involved in archaeology.