Applications for the 2025 field season are now open! Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis through April 1st or until the program fills. Apply early if you want to be sure to have a spot. If you are interested in preserving Mongolia's cultural and natural heritage through research and public outreach, NOMAD Science assembles an annual international, interdisciplinary team to conduct fieldwork in northern Mongolia. This is a physically and mentally challenging opportunity with the promise of great adventure for the right type of person!
While many of our participants are working towards an archaeology degree, team members come from a variety of disciplines, educational backgrounds, generations, and nationalities. All of our programs feature cross-cultural collaboration, with approximately half of the team members being Mongolian and the other half foreign. Whether this is a requirement for your bachelors/masters/PhD program, or you are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, check out our program choices below. No previous experience necessary for most of our programs.
If you find external funding that you’d like to apply for (it’s never too early!), and we can support you in any way (letters of support, brainstorming project ideas, looking over proposals, etc.) please contact us. The program fee covers all costs for the duration of the project for food, transportation, permits, and equipment. This does not include international travel to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, travel insurance, or personal camping gear.
As always, NOMAD Science is grateful for the partnership of the Institute of Archaeology and co-director Dr. J. Bayarsaikhan for all of the programs listed below.
Session I: Salvage Archaeology and Field Conservation
Description: Building on the last 6 years of salvage work by NOMAD Science, this 3.5-week program is designed to identify and salvage threatened material related to illegal looting activity in northern Mongolia. Thieves have targeted nearly every known cemetery in the region, hauling away untold treasures and destroying much of Mongolia’s priceless cultural heritage. Our teams travel to these disturbed cemeteries and recover what we can – which has historically actually turned out to be quite a bit! Despite the missing components and jumbled contexts, archaeologists can still learn a lot about ancient peoples from what remains. However, without our intervention, much of what remains will decay, be destroyed, lost, or looted again. This program is designed for participants interested in cultural heritage preservation, field conservation, salvage archaeology, and bioarchaeology. Participants will be stationed at a base camp and travel to various nearby cemeteries on a daily basis. The remaining looted cemeteries are located on the tops of steep hills with limited access by vehicle, and so participants should be reasonably physically fit.
Dates: June 22- July 18, 2025
Fee: $3,550 USD
Description: Throughout this challenging but rewarding course, participants will travel by horseback and on foot through remote regions of Mongolia’s taiga and tundra to investigate known archaeological sites, discover and map new sites, and search for the source of the region’s rich stone tool industry. Preliminary work in the 2019-2024 field seasons has resulted in the discovery of several archaeological sites with great scientific promise in the mountains of northern Mongolia. The team will return to these sites to collect and map these finds, will build predictive models to help locate new sites, will work with National Park Rangers to help interpret and share their findings, and will follow tips to locate important resources used by the region’s ancient people. This program is designed for fit, adventurous participants who are up for a physical and mental challenge, willing to work as a team, and who’s curiosity always leads them over the next ridge.
Dates: July 22-August 18, 2025
Fee: $3,950 USD
Description: This is a very different kind of offering for NOMAD Science. Unlike our other programs, this one DOES require previous experience and a strong stomach. In the winter of 2023-2024, a herd of reindeer was caught in an avalanche and perished. From this very unfortunate event, we hope to gather some important data about reindeer domestication using zooarchaeological methods. Participation will be limited to just a few brave souls who are willing to travel to a very remote region and handle reindeer carcasses in various stages of decay. As the trail to this region is tricky and long, you must have previous horse riding experience that includes rough trail conditions.
Dates: August 14-September 5, 2025
Fee: $4,250 USD