Archaeology with French

This course offers a Single Honours Archaeology degree programme with an additional French language qualification. Apart from progressively developing general and specific archaeological knowledge and skills, through excavation, fieldwork, overseas fieldtrips, laboratory and practical work, students on this course develop linguistic proficiency in French and analyse Francophone cultures (literature, cinema, linguistics, art, history) in the broadest sense. Different French-language entry level options are available on this course, from beginners to students with A-level French. The course includes a year of studying abroad at a French-speaking university and leads to a very versatile degree which opens the door to a wide range of international career options, both within and beyond the heritage and French language sectors.

World Class facilities
Students benefit from access to the internationally renowned 14CHRONO Centre for Radiocarbon Dating, the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, departmental collections and laboratories for study of artefacts, human, animal and plant remains and other scientific materials and instruments, including access to GIS, laser scanning and specialist teaching laboratories. The University’s McClay Library holds one of the most comprehensive collections of resources on Irish, British, European and World Archaeology in Ireland and the UK, and provides state-of-the-art study facilities. The McClay Library also holds a wide collection of resources for the study of French and Francophone cultures around the world.

Professional accreditation
This course includes a module pathway that is fully accredited by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) and University Archaeology UK (UAUK). Students on that pathway can become student members of CIfA, providing you with access to their e-learning modules, specialist professional networks and details of jobs in the profession. All students on this degree programme also automatically gain student membership with the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland, giving you access to further professional development resources and information of relevant job vacancies in the island of Ireland.

Year abroad
Between their second at third year of studying Archaeology with French at Queen’s, students on this degree programme spend a year abroad in a Francophone country, studying Archaeology at one of Queen’s French-speaking partner institutions. At present this is normally the University of Burgundy at Dijon, in the heart of metropolitan France, although other destinations may also be available.

The modules available on this course focus on different periods of World, European and Irish/British archaeology, from human origins to modern times and heritage, allowing students to develop both their theoretical background knowledge and their practical skills in equal measure. Archaeology modules in the first year of study are designed to provide students with a broad knowledge base, with second-year modules empathising the development of subject-specific skills, and third-year modules taking you to the cutting edge of research. Modules in French not only focus on developing students’ linguistic proficiency, but also cover the literature, cinema, linguistics, art and history of Francophone cultures.

The way in which students are assessed in this course is designed to support the learning outcomes of the programme and of each specific module. A broad range of formative and summative assessment methods is used. Some modules are assessed solely through project work or written assignments. Others are assessed through a combination of coursework, including essays, reports, portfolios, presentations, reflective journals, and exams.