Archaeology (with a placement year)

Our degree in Archaeology integrates traditional archaeology with the practical application of scientific methods that are applied to today’s archaeology.

It is a professionally-focused degree in archaeology with a strong fieldwork component and a focus on human osteology or the environment.

Your degree pathway in the second and final years will comprise a number of compulsory core modules that characterise this combination of archaeology and applied archaeological science. We offer a number of clear pathways, which will provide you with a specialism in, for example, prehistoric archaeology or in cultural resource management.

Placement
The course is underpinned by the opportunity to undertake a placement and by a substantial individual research dissertation in a topic of your own choosing.

The placement year gives you the opportunity to gain real experience and professional training within your degree in order to kick-start your career. It is unique and valued throughout the archaeological world.

We have sent students to every continent over the 40 years the programme has been running.

Professional accreditation
Students who have completed the placement year can apply for Associate Membership of the Institute for Archaeologists.

Rankings
Our BSc (Hons) Archaeology and BSc (Hons) Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology programmes received 94% overall satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2020.

Year 1: Archaeological Theory and Method (core), Archaeology of the British Isles (core), Field Course I (Malham) (core), Human Evolution (core), Humans: Past and Present (core) Scientific Frameworks (core) Year 2: Advanced Methods in Archaeology (core), Archaeology Field Course (core), Artefact Studies (core), Instrumental Analysis (core), Laboratory Science (core), Theoretical Archaeology (core), Celts, Greeks & Romans: the Iron Age in Europe (option), Ecology and Bioarchaeology (option), Heritage Management with GIS (option), Introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) (option) Year 3: Placement Year 4: Archaeometry (core), Individual Project (core), Forensic Archaeology (option), Geohazards: Past, Present, and Future (option), Human Osteoarchaeology (option), Hunter Gatherers: Present and Past (option), Reconstructing Past Environments (option), The Viking Settlement of the North Atlantic (option)

The teaching and learning strategy takes into consideration the learning outcomes, progression through the levels of study, the nature of the subject and the student intake, and the need for you to take greater responsibility for your own learning as you progress through the programme. The assessment strategy is designed to support the learning outcomes of each programme and each specific module. A wide range of formative and summative assessment methods are used, including essays, worksheets, laboratory reports, group-work, poster (in the placement year) and oral presentations, reflective journals and examinations.