I've never heard of a program or certification on this. The old fashioned way of doing it was to write a thesis/dissertion on the ceramics of some site and then go on to compare ceramic assembleges from several sites.

Also bear in mind that there's being familiar with identifying ceramics - what they look like, where they are found, where they came from spatially and temporally, etc, and then there's the Southwest! - where some folks have been able to nail down depositional periods to a particular decade.

Most folks get this education through doing. I've not heard of a school or program that offers a specialization per se, but as Moorele notes, theses, papers, monographs, dissertations are often written about such things in support of coursework.

If you have ceramics in your area you should be able to research that without much difficulty and become "book smart" about them. Some CRM firms may have a ceramics "reference library" of the types of ceramics they have encountered over the years.

You might do some searching on the internet for workshops as well. The Texas Archeological Society here offers workshops in ceramics, lithics, and other aspects of archeology, as well as a two week field school in the summer. I have never taken one of their workshops, but I think they are geared more towards the amateur and taught by reputable archeologists here in the state. I have also seen workshops on various things in archeology run by schools or companies that are geared towards professionals. Otherwise just reading about ceramics can help get you started at your own pace.

oh okay. It would be quite nice if there was a field school, or workshop that dealt with ceramics for the most part. I know my anthropology minor has helped me absolutely zero percent with identifying any type of artifact!

You can learn a lot in a field school (or course) but that is far from being an expert. As several others have already indicated there is tremendous variation in ceramics and the best way to become an expert is to immerse yourself in the study fo them for some time (Thesis - 2 years, Dissertation 3-4 or more by the time you are done). On top of that, it is important to realize that ceramics are very regional - Aztec wares are very different from Vinette pottery and knowing one does not make you an expert in the other. One thing you can look into that carries world wide is the physics and chemistry behind what alllows clay to be plastic and able to be made into pottery. You can learn some basic terms (Temper, slip, mohs scale, etc) that can apply to all types of analysis, but beyond that regional experience is important.

You should not expect to have many skills in any archaeo field with a Minor in Anthro (even a major) as the undergrad level is typically only an introduction to the very broad spectrum of what we do. With a good program you may be able to develop some basic skills, and perhaps even have the opportunity to do detailed work on some very select projects - but there is still a long way to go.

If you are intersted in ceramics (or any other field) I would suggest looking around in your area to see what schools/researchers are working on, and see how you might be able to plug in, even as a volunteer. That would at least provide you an opportunity to see what is actually entailed and let you decide if it is something you want to pursue more. As an undergrad I was really hyped by the potential of pollen analysis in recreating paleo climates - after 3 months of staring through a microscope as part of a class I decided I would use data on pollen generated by others - if I ever wanted to be able to see straight again. =)

Good Luck in whatever you decide to do.
DM

Field schools can be good. On the job experience can be even better. About six years into my professional career, I found that my natural predilection for lithics studies had the desired result...I had gained a metric buttload of very useful knowledge on the subject. So I decided that on the next project I went out on (working at UNM/OCA at the time), instead of self-indulgently doing what came easy to me, I would ask to be the ceramics recorder. Good timing cuz the next few jobs I did took place in the heart of Cibola whiteware country and in the area transitioning into Mogollon country, with lots of White Mountain redwares. We recorded many pueblos, some small, some so large they looked like hills on the topo maps. Made my brain hurt.

Also, here in NM, the BLM and the New Mexico Archaeological Council (NMAC) co-sponsor workshops focused on various topics. This year I attended a "Cibola and Beyond" workshop that was very heavy on ceramics, and a Dinetah workshop that focused on the ancestral Navajo homeland, with plenty of time spent on Navajo ceramics and commonly associated Anasazi types. As a bonus, attending the workshops counts towards fulfilling BLM permittability requirements and satisfies some of the continuing education requirements for the NM SHPO.

A lot of people take laboratory analysis courses in college, where they run the gambit of artifacts. They also pick it up specific artifact knowledge while performing volunteer work, independent studies, and working on a senior thesis. My undergrad program did offer a ceramic analysis course but I didn't take it, so I can't really comment on it. Also, in graduate school, it's very common to pick a artifact/region/period for one's research.

I'm not really aware of any workshops that teach ceramics -- it's so specific to certain regions/periods that I'm not sure how it would work.

It's also possible that some of the posts you've seen just want a lab technician can perform somewhat run-of-the-mill analysis. It doesn't take a lot of experience to identify temper or classify something as incised or type of impression. However, it does take a great deal of experience to interpret what it means.