* For International students, the discount is 15% of your normal tuition fee.
IELTS 6.5, with no component below 5.5
Our BA Archaeology with Professional Placement 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, 2019) 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, 2010-2019.
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 dedicated 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.
This four-year degree course includes a placement, giving you the opportunity to develop valuable professional and international experience.
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.
More information: click here
Year 1
Core modules include:
Ancient Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome
Forensic anthropology and the archaeology of death
Archaeology today: methods and practice
Revolutions in human behaviour: 4 million years BC to the present
Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology
Optional modules include:
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
Museum History, Policy and Ethics
Presenting the Past
Introduction to Management
The Economics of Climate Change
IWLP Arabic
IWLP British Sign Language
IWLP Chinese
IWLP French
IWLP German
IWLP Italian
IWLP Japanese
IWLP Modern Greek
IWLP Russian
IWLP Spanish
Globalization and Language
The Making of Modern Europe: 1789 to the Present
Freedom
Global Justice
Radical Philosophy
Introduction to Psychology 2
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Year 2
Core modules include:
Professional Practice
Archaeology Fieldschool Single Honours
Artefacts in Archaeology
Archaeologies: Past, Present and Future
Optional modules include:
Ice and Fire: The European Palaeolithic
Medieval Europe: power, religion and death
Rome's Mediterranean Empire
Curatorship and Collections Management
Museum Learning and Engagement
Forensic Archaeology and Crime Scene Analysis
Archaeological Science
Bioarchaeology
Summer Placement
Summer Micro-Placement
Late Quaternary Environmental Change and Human Activities
Please note that all modules are subject to change
Year 3
Professional placement
Year 4
Core modules include:
Dissertation
Optional modules include:
The Archaeology of Crusading
The Neanderthals
Emergence of Civilisation in Mesopotamia
Archaeology of the City of Rome
Human Activities in Settlements and Landscapes
Biological Anthropology
Coastal and Maritime Archaeology
Vikings in the West
Summer Placement
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
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 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.
Health Insurance_fee:£300/year
