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Full Time: 3 Years
Our BA Archaeology course enables you to study the material traces of past societies from artefacts recovered through excavation to standing monuments; from the earliest humans to the first Empires and from the rise of organised religion through to the Crusades.
Join a university that's ranked in the top 10 UK universities for Archaeology (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2020), and gain a broad range of subject-specific and transferable skills spanning the humanities and sciences.
We are a friendly and welcoming department. We have an outstanding track record for student satisfaction, with scores consistently between 90-100% for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey, 2010-2020.
Handle human remains and learn about burial archaeology; touch objects from the past and see how we interpret this material; utilise skills in a contemporary mock crime scene investigation. Realise how ideas of gender are reflected and imposed through the material world; how climate change has impacted on lives past and present, and how stories about the past are conveyed through museums and the media.
Study within a research-intensive department at the cutting edge of social and scientific archaeology. 97% of our research was judged to be of international standing in the latest Research Excellence Framework 2014. You will have the opportunity to participate in a Field School during your course, gaining direct hands-on experience in all aspects of an archaeological excavation. Put your skills into practice, including excavation, surveying, GIS (geographical information systems) mapping, planning, and finds processing, and contribute to new archaeological knowledge through our discoveries.
We encourage you to get involved with archaeological excavations in the UK and Europe, such as prehistoric monuments, Roman cities to Medieval castles; but it’s not just digging. Archaeology is an academic subject that will teach you valuable theoretical and practical skills, with opportunities to use specialist equipment, work in laboratories and access three superb on-campus museums. You will also have the chance to boost your employability with our Study Abroad programme, whether in Malta, Denmark, Florida, Korea or other parts of the world.
Placement and/or study abroad
All archaeology degree programmes (single and joint honours) are also available as four-year courses, which give you the option of spending your third year on a placement or studying for one year at a University abroad, gaining valuable professional and international experience. You can also combine the two options by spending one semester studying abroad and then undertaking a half-year professional placement abroad or back in the UK.
We provide opportunities for you to undertake placements in a variety of contexts. Placements are an excellent way to enhance your work-related skills and develop a network of contacts, as well as strengthen your employability prospects.
Opportunities are available working across the Archaeological, Heritage, Planning and Museum sectors including: research institutions, government organisations, local planning authorities, archaeological consultancies, field units, specialists and archivists. Alternatively, you can choose a placement in a non-related business or industry, exploring different career options and enhancing your employability by drawing on the many non-vocational, transferable skills you obtain from an Archaeology degree.
Recent examples include:
- Traineeship with Oxford Archaeology
- Archaeological science placement at QUEST, the University of Reading’s scientific consultancy company
- Volunteering at the Ure Museum, Cole Museum of Zoology and the Museum of English Rural Life
- Human remains placement
- Mediterranean Palaeoclimate Project placement
- Hominin Skeletal Morphology placement
- Archaeological Graphics placement
- “Developing Experimental Archaeology for Research and Training” placement
- “The Ecology of Crusading: Isotope Analysis and Faunal Remains” placement
- IMAGINE (Study Abroad) placements for castle excavations in Spain
Our department has a dedicated member of staff in charge of placements, who can provide you with advice and support.
Accreditation
Our BA Archaeology and BSc Archaeological Science courses are accredited by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) and are among the first recognised for providing key skills relevant to careers in the historic environment. Student membership of CIfA is offered to all students enrolled on these courses, who then have access to CIfA's e-learning modules and specialist professional networks, which also provides details of available jobs in the profession. CIfA membership is a desirable asset for many jobs in the heritage sector.
For more information, please visit the Department of Archaeology website.
Typical offer A Level BBB | IB 30 points overall
What will you study?
How much will it cost?
New UK/EU students: £9,250* per year
New international students: £17,320 per year
* UK and EU fee changes
UK undergraduate fees are regulated by the government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK and EU** students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.
From 2020, the UK government may link tuition fees to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
**EU students
For more information on fees, loans and grants for EU students, see fees and funding for home/EU students.
Additional costs
These course fees cover the cost of your tuition. Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.
Financial support for your studies
You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK and other EU countries may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.
Flexible courses (price per 10 credit module)
Home/EU students: £750
International students: £1275
* UK and EU Fee Changes
Subject to the Government passing legislation to raise the minimum fee cap, we will raise undergraduate tuition fees from £9,000 to £9,250 for new UK/EU students applying to start courses in the 2017/18 academic year. You will not be affected by this rise if you have deferred entry to the 2017/18 academic year. The Government will confirm future arrangements for EU students in due course.
The tuition fee will remain £9,000 per year for the full duration of this course if you start in the 2016/17 academic year or have accepted an offer but deferred your entry until the 2017/18 academic year. This is unlike other institutions who are planning to raise fees midway through courses.
For further information, please see our webpage on the Teaching Excellence Framework and future tuition fees.
Additional costs
These course fees cover the cost of your tuition. Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.
Financial support for your studies
You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK and other EU countries may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.
What career can you have?
Our curriculum is designed to help you develop the attitudes and aptitudes that are valued by employers.
There has been a growing demand for archaeologists due to a recent surge in UK infrastructure projects, such as High Speed Two (HS2). As a result, it is estimated that England's commercial archaeology workforce of 3,000 workers will need to grow by 25% by 2022 (Historic England 2016 report: National Infrastructure Development and Capacity 2015-33).
The majority of employers consider your attitude and abilities to be even more important than the subject you choose to study (CBI Skills Survey 2014). Our curriculum is designed with this in mind, giving you not just knowledge in subjects you are passionate about, but also the qualities that employers really care about – qualities that are transferable to a diverse range of careers.
As a world-class department with internationally renowned teaching staff, a degree in archaeology at the University of Reading will equip you with valuable skills for a range of different careers in various sectors, including archaeology and heritage, construction and surveying, media, science, law, financial services, teaching and other occupations where logic and critical thinking are valued.
Our recent graduates are represented among the staff of major employers such as Oxford Archaeology, Wessex Archaeology, the Museum of London Archaeology and the Natural History Museum. Some of our graduates have progressed into roles in the police force and in teaching at both primary and secondary levels. Each year a number of graduates pursue further, higher study following graduation.