Skip to main content

University of Reading Cookie Policy

We use cookies on reading.ac.uk to improve your experience. Find out more about our cookie policy. By continuing to use our site you accept these terms, and are happy for us to use cookies to improve your browsing experience.

Continue using the University of Reading website

  • Schools and departments
  • University of Reading Malaysia
  • Henley Business School
  • Applicants
  • Students
  • Staff
  • Alumni
Show/Hide navigation
University of Reading University of Reading logo
Mobile search categories
  • Study and life
  • Research
  • About us
  • View courses
  • Home
  • Study and life
    • Study
    • Student life
    • Accommodation
    • Open Days and visiting
    • International and EU students
  • Research
    • Themes
    • Impact
    • Innovation and partnerships
    • Research environment
    • Get involved
  • About us
    • Business
    • Working with the community
    • Visit us
    • Strategy
    • Governance
    • Contact us
  • Applicants
  • Students
  • Staff
  • Alumni
  • Schools and departments
  • University of Reading Malaysia
  • Henley Business School
  • View courses

BA MUSEUM STUDIES AND ARCHAEOLOGY WITH PROFESSIONAL PLACEMENT

  • UCAS code
    PV15
  • Typical offer
    BBB
  • Year of entry
    2022/23
    See 2021/22 entry
  • Course duration
     4 years
  • Year of entry
    2022/23
    See 2021/22 entry
  • Course duration
     4 years
View all

COVID-19 update


Find out how we're adapting during COVID-19.

This is an exciting opportunity to study BA Museum Studies and Archaeology with Professional Placement at an undergraduate level.

Learn to think and research like a museum professional while gaining hands-on experience at our three on-site museums and on archaeological digs.

This joint honours course combines the contemporary theory and practice of museum studies with the academic and practical study of archaeology. At the University of Reading, our expertise in archaeology starts with the earliest humans and spans up until the medieval period. We focus mainly on British, European and Near Eastern archaeology, but also explore other regions across the world.

The Department of Archaeology has an outstanding track record for student satisfaction, with satisfaction scores of 90-100% for the quality of our courses in every National Student Survey between 2010 and 2020.

The Department of Classics is ranked 6th in the UK for research overall and 3rd in the UK for research output (Times Higher Education Institutions Ranked by Subject, 2014, based on its analysis of Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014). 100% of the Department's research impact has been recognised as world leading or internationally excellent (REF 2014 - Classics).

Central to the course is the hands-on experience you will gain at our on-site museums. The University has three museums – including the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology – in which you can gain experience as a volunteer while you learn. As well as museums we also have a number of special collections, including art and rare books.

You will develop the knowledge and skills necessary to be a museum professional by considering the environment that artefacts are displayed in, how they are catalogued and the meanings they hold for different audiences.

Our museum teaching staff are all practising professionals, including curators, conservators and archivists, and use a combination of problem-solving and enquiry based learning techniques in their teaching. You will be given the opportunity to conduct your own research throughout the course, and in your final year, you will design, create and evaluate your own exhibition.

For more information, please visit the Museum Studies or the Department of Archaeology website. 

Placement

This four-year degree course includes a placement of a year's study at a university abroad in your third year, giving you the opportunity to develop 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. Our teaching staff have great connections with conservators, learning specialists and funding and policy specialists, as well as with a large number of museums, including local institutions such as the Reading Museum, the River and Rowing Museum, and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers' Museum of Technology.

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 a Museum Studies and Archaeology degree.

Past placement examples include:

  • Traineeship with Oxford Archaeology
  • Traineeship at the Field School
  • 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
  • Lithics Reference Collection placement
  • “Developing Experimental Archaeology for Research and Training” placement
  • “The Ecology of Crusading: Isotope Analysis and Faunal Remains” placement
  • Summer Enterprise Experience and Discovery internship scheme

We have a dedicated member of staff in charge of placements, who can provide you with advice and support.

Students opting to undertake a standard three-year degree course will also have the opportunity to take a fully-credited placement or to spend a single term at one of our partner Universities abroad. Recent options include the Universities of Malta, Aarhus (Denmark), Torún (Poland) and the University of Florida in Gainesville (U.S.A).

For more information about securing and completing a placement for your placement year, please visit our Important Information page.

Overview

This is an exciting opportunity to study BA Museum Studies and Archaeology with Professional Placement at an undergraduate level.

Learn to think and research like a museum professional while gaining hands-on experience at our three on-site museums and on archaeological digs.

This joint honours course combines the contemporary theory and practice of museum studies with the academic and practical study of archaeology. At the University of Reading, our expertise in archaeology starts with the earliest humans and spans up until the medieval period. We focus mainly on British, European and Near Eastern archaeology, but also explore other regions across the world.

The Department of Archaeology has an outstanding track record for student satisfaction, with satisfaction scores of 90-100% for the quality of our courses in every National Student Survey between 2010 and 2020.

The Department of Classics is ranked 6th in the UK for research overall and 3rd in the UK for research output (Times Higher Education Institutions Ranked by Subject, 2014, based on its analysis of Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014). 100% of the Department's research impact has been recognised as world leading or internationally excellent (REF 2014 - Classics).

Central to the course is the hands-on experience you will gain at our on-site museums. The University has three museums – including the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology – in which you can gain experience as a volunteer while you learn. As well as museums we also have a number of special collections, including art and rare books.

You will develop the knowledge and skills necessary to be a museum professional by considering the environment that artefacts are displayed in, how they are catalogued and the meanings they hold for different audiences.

Our museum teaching staff are all practising professionals, including curators, conservators and archivists, and use a combination of problem-solving and enquiry based learning techniques in their teaching. You will be given the opportunity to conduct your own research throughout the course, and in your final year, you will design, create and evaluate your own exhibition.

For more information, please visit the Museum Studies or the Department of Archaeology website. 

Placement

This four-year degree course includes a placement of a year's study at a university abroad in your third year, giving you the opportunity to develop 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. Our teaching staff have great connections with conservators, learning specialists and funding and policy specialists, as well as with a large number of museums, including local institutions such as the Reading Museum, the River and Rowing Museum, and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers' Museum of Technology.

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 a Museum Studies and Archaeology degree.

Past placement examples include:

  • Traineeship with Oxford Archaeology
  • Traineeship at the Field School
  • 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
  • Lithics Reference Collection placement
  • “Developing Experimental Archaeology for Research and Training” placement
  • “The Ecology of Crusading: Isotope Analysis and Faunal Remains” placement
  • Summer Enterprise Experience and Discovery internship scheme

We have a dedicated member of staff in charge of placements, who can provide you with advice and support.

Students opting to undertake a standard three-year degree course will also have the opportunity to take a fully-credited placement or to spend a single term at one of our partner Universities abroad. Recent options include the Universities of Malta, Aarhus (Denmark), Torún (Poland) and the University of Florida in Gainesville (U.S.A).

For more information about securing and completing a placement for your placement year, please visit our Important Information page.

Entry requirements A Level BBB | IB 30 points overall

Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we'll guarantee you a place even if you don't quite meet your offer. For details, see our firm choice scheme.

Typical offer

BBB

International Baccalaureate

30 points overall

BTEC Extended Diploma

DDM

Extended Project Qualification

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study, we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with no component below 5.5

For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.

Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students

For country specific entry requirements look at entry requirements by country.

International Foundation Programme

If you are an international or EU student and do not meet the requirements for direct entry to your chosen degree you can join the University of Reading’s International Foundation Programme. Successful completion of this 1 year programme guarantees you a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. English language requirements start as low as IELTS 4.5 depending on progression degree and start date.

  • Learn more about our International Foundation programme

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.

  • Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Structure

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4

Core modules include:

  • Museum history, policy and ethics
  • Presenting the past
  • Archaeology today: methods and practice

Optional modules include:

  • Early empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome
  • Forensic anthropology and the archaeology of death
  • Revolutions in human behaviour: 4 million years BC to the present
  • Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology
  • Greek History: war, society, and change in the Archaic Age
  • Roman History: the rise and fall of the Republic
  • Ancient song
  • Texts, readers, and writers
  • Economy, politics and culture in the Roman World
  • Introduction to Quaternary science

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Core modules include:

  • Curatorship and collections management
  • Break into the museum: work placement
  • Museum learning and engagement
  • Artefacts in archaeology

Optional modules include:

  • Ice and fire: the European Palaeolithic
  • Medieval Europe: power, religion and death
  • Rome's Mediterranean empire
  • Archaeology fieldschool joint honours
  • Archaeologies: past, present and future
  • Forensic archaeology and crime scene analysis
  • Archaeological science
  • Bioarchaeology
  • Late Quaternary environmental change and human activities

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Professional placement 

Core modules include:

  • Display design, planning and creation: project module

Optional modules include:

  • Dissertation
  • The archaeology of crusading
  • The Neanderthals
  • Emergence of civilisation in Mesopotamia
  • Emergence of civilisation in Mesopotamia
  • Human activities in settlements and landscapes
  • Biological anthropology
  • Coastal and maritime archaeology
  • Vikings in the west
  • Tropical rainforests, climate and lost civilisations
  • Hidden heritage: investigating and interpreting historic buildings and landscapes
  • Anatolia and the Aegean
  • Archaeology and topography of ancient Greece
  • British school at Rome undergraduate summer school
  • Gender in classical antiquity
  • Late antique Egypt
  • Pioneers of classical archaeology
  • Saints and holy men
  • Technology in the ancient world
  • Transformations of Helen
  • Urban life: the archaeology and anthropology of Roman cities

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250 per year

New international students: £19,500 per year

UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes

UK/Republic of Ireland undergraduate tuition fees are regulated by the UK government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government's guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

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.

Placement Year fees

If you spend a full year on placement – including professional and research placements and industrial experience – you'll pay a discounted tuition fee for that year.

For UK/Republic of Ireland students, the discounted fee is subject to parliamentary approval and is currently capped at £1,385.

For International students, the discount is 15% of your normal tuition fee.

For more information, please contact placements@reading.ac.uk.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK 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.

Careers

This degree can lead to a variety of careers. The course is an ideal foundation to begin your career in heritage management, commercial archaeology, and research, as well as disciplines such as teaching, business, publishing and marketing.

You will gain a broad range of subject-specific and transferable skills spanning the humanities and sciences. Employers consistently rank attitudes and aptitudes for work higher than any other factor, according to the CBI/Pearson Education and Skills survey report 2019. 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 Museum Studies and Archaeology graduate you will develop strong transferable skills, and gain first-hand experience in handling objects, delivering presentations, and investigating other cultures in depth. Your practical experience of archaeological techniques will also give you skills in analysis, problem-solving, working in teams and fieldwork.

You will learn to think and research like a museum professional, and your three years’ experience of working within a multifaceted organisation will make you highly employable in any sector.

We have long-established, excellent relationships with employers within the heritage, archaeology and related sectors. Previous employers have included the Australian government, the National Trust and the Science Museum.

Contextual offers


We make contextual offers for all our courses.

Take the next step


How to apply

Come to an Open Day

Get a prospectus

Ask us a question

Chat to our students

Related Courses

  • BA Museum Studies and Archaeology PV14
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BA Museum Studies and Archaeology with Study Year Abroad PV16
    Full Time: 4 Years | including a study year abroad
  • BA Museum Studies and Archaeology with Placement and Study Abroad PV17
    Full Time: 4 Years | including a placement and study abroad
  • BA Archaeology V400
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BA Ancient History and Archaeology VV41
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BA Museum and Classical Studies P1Q8
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BA Archaeology and History VV14
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BA Archaeology and Classical Studies QV84
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BSc Archaeological Science F420
    Full Time: 3 Years
More
View all Archaeology degree courses at University of Reading courses
mask
Close
CHOOSE A SUBJECT
2021/22
2022/23
Undergraduates
Postgraduates
Undergraduates
Postgraduates

Subjects A-B

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Science
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management, Accounting and Finance

Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Drama
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

Subjects F-G

  • Film & Television
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Foundation programmes
  • French
  • Geography
  • German
  • Graphic Communication and Design

Subjects H-M

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre

Subjects U-Z

  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Business (Post-Experience)
  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Ancient History
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management and Engineering
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise

Subjects D-G

  • Data Science
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Energy and Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environmental Science
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • Information Management and Digital Business
  • Information Technology
  • International Development and Applied Economics
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Medieval History
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Social Policy
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Strategic Studies
  • Teaching
  • Theatre
  • Typography and Graphic Communication
  • War and Peace Studies
  • Zoology

Subjects A-B

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Science
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management, Accounting and Finance

Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Drama
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

Subjects F-G

  • Film & Television
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Foundation programmes
  • French
  • Geography
  • German
  • Graphic Communication and Design

Subjects H-M

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre

Subjects U-Z

  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Business (Post-Experience)
  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Ancient History
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management and Engineering
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise

Subjects D-G

  • Data Science
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Energy and Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environmental Science
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • Information Management and Digital Business
  • Information Technology
  • International Development and Applied Economics
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Medieval History
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Social Policy
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Strategic Studies
  • Teaching
  • Theatre
  • Typography and Graphic Communication
  • War and Peace Studies
  • Zoology

Ready for more?

How to apply
Visit an Open Day
Get a prospectus
View courses
  • Charitable status 
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of use
  • Sitemap

© University of Reading