MA Archaeology

Start date: September 2022

The MA Archaeology is a flexible degree that prepares you for a career in research, the commercial sector or heritage management.

Join a world-leading department with an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research as you take thematic and skills-based options that integrate social and scientific techniques for a deeper understanding of the past.

This course allows you to discover archaeology for the first time, or deepen your existing knowledge. You will gain an effective grounding in archaeological practice and research, with the opportunity to study a suite of modules from prehistory to the medieval period. Alternatively you can opt to follow a focused pathway, enabling you to concentrate your studies on our specialised research areas through your dissertation, and core period modules.

You will also have access to advanced facilities in the Department of Archaeology, including fully-equipped and dedicated laboratories for human skeletal remains and animal bone analysis, stable isotope analysis, microscopic suite (CAF) and an MA study room. Our analytical suite is extensive, allowing students to access a range of techniques for their research projects.

Our assessments are varied, providing a mix of vocational and research opportunities, including:

• poster and conference presentations
• article critiques
• essays
• seminar presentations
• professional reports
• in-class practical assessments

Class sizes are kept to a minimum but vary depending on the modules selected.

You may also have the opportunity to participate in staff research excavations in Europe (Crusades project), the Isle of Islay, or more locally at the famous Silchester Roman town excavation. 

Research in Archaeology is nurtured by world-class research clusters. These clusters provide an interdisciplinary environment for advancing social and scientific approaches to past communities and environments as well as issues of fundamental significance, including environmental change, health, diet, social diversity and inclusivity, and cultural heritage. We benefit from excellent resources for both humanities-based and science-based archaeological research, and have strong research links and collaborations with departments across the University and external institutions.

As part of your degree you can take an optional Research and Enterprise Placement module, during which you will be placed with a member of staff, or with a museum or archaeological unit such as the British Museum or Oxford Archaeology, to gain experience of working within an external commercial environment.

• Year 1

Compulsory modules (80 credits)

• Dissertation
• Theoretical Approaches in Archaeology 
• Preparing for Independent Research

Optional modules (100 credits)

• Our Closest Cousins? Archaeology of the Neanderthals 
• Interpreting Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain 
• Themes and Approaches in the Study of Mesopotamia 
• From Village to Metropolis: The Urban Phenomenon of Ancient Rome
• Viking Interactions in the West 
• Colonisation and Cultural Transformation: the Archaeology of Crusading 
• Applications of Micromorphological Analysis
• Analysis of Human Remains 
• Archaeological Graphics          
• Research and Enterprise Placement    

 

IELTS: 6.5 overall with no element less than 5.5 (or equivalent)

Entry requirements: A good second-class honours degree (2:1 or above) or equivalent from a university outside the UK, in archaeology, history, environmental studies or any related field.

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score, you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

Our recent graduates have gone on to further study through funded PhD projects, as well as finding employment in professional archaeology, museums, publishing, journalism, radio and television, the heritage and leisure industries, the fields of conservation including the natural and built environment, government office, and teaching.

 

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.