BA Archaeology

Overview

Explore the material remains of past societies – from the first hominins millions of years ago to the modern day – with our accredited BA Archaeology degree.

Exciting career opportunities

Archaeology is more than studying the past: it’s a discipline that actively prepares you for the job market. You’ll develop an impressive range of practical and academic skills, whether you want to move into the archaeology or heritage sectors or enter a wide range of other industries and careers. More than 40 major infrastructure projects are planned across the UK over the next 17 years, and archaeologists are required for exploratory excavations and analysis before construction begins. A 2016 report from Historic England found that England’s 3,000-person commercial archaeology workforce will need to grow by 25% over the next six years to meet demand. Many graduates from the Department of Archaeology use their breadth and depth of expertise across the humanities and sciences to enter careers such as teaching, policing, industry and commerce.

Train as an archaeologist at the University of Reading

• Ranked in the top 10 UK universities for Archaeology (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2021).
• The Department for Archaeology has an outstanding track record for student satisfaction, with scores consistently between 90-100% for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2010-2022, with Archaeology achieving the highest score for overall student satisfaction in the UK in 2022.
• The University of Reading is ranked 1st in the UK for research quality and research outputs in Archaeology (Times Higher Education Institutions Ranked by Subject, based on its analysis of the latest Research Excellence Framework 2021).
• 89% of leavers are in work and/or study 15 months after the end of their course (Graduate Outcomes Survey, 2018/19; First Degree responders from Archaeology).

Over three years, you’ll learn how to investigate, interpret and present our human past. Archaeology at Reading also allows you to put your learning into practice, through excavations, surveying or GIS (geographic information systems), and make a direct contribution to new subject knowledge. At Reading, you’ll examine archaeological issues that are critical to our shared global future, including:

• human diets and health
• climate and environmental change
• inequality
• migration
• identity.

By studying human development, you’ll understand how critical issues of today have roots in the past, and how previous cultures tackled comparable problems. We’ll support you to develop a broad range of subject-specific and transferable skills that span the humanities and sciences. Your learning will encompass:

• the investigation of artefacts recovered through excavations and standing monuments
• the rise of organised religion through to the Crusades
• handling human remains to learn about burial archaeology
• examining how ideas of gender are reflected and imposed through the material world
• how climate and environmental change has impacted lives past and present
• how stories about the past are conveyed through museums and the media.

Our wide range of optional modules allows you to shape your learning, focusing on the topics and periods that most interest you.

Entry requirements

Typical offer

BBB

International Baccalaureate

30 points deadlines We process applications all year round but recommend applying as early as possible to ensure you can have a place in your chosen degree. Please be aware that to ensure there is enough time to complete all administrative procedures, and VISA requirements, applications may need to be submitted no later than a month (or longer) before the start of the courses.