BA
Archaeology BA (Hons)
Gain a thorough overview of world archaeology. Explore the Palaeolithic to the post-medieval, from Iceland to India and everywhere in between.
How to apply Apply via UCAS
Course details
Start date
Degree Type
BA
UCAS Code
F400
Course length
3 years full-time
Typical offer
AAB
Tuition Fees
- Home (Full-time): £9,535 per year
- Overseas (Full-time): £28,000 per year
Overview
This course offers an extensive overview of world archaeology, with teaching and training in a wide range of social and scientific methods. The diversity of modules on this course will allow you to build subject and geographic specialisms suited to your own interests and career plans. Depending on your module choices you may even be able to receive professional accreditation from the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. Modules in British, European and World archaeology provide you with the opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge of archaeology and heritage in different regions including Europe, the Near East, North Africa and South and East Asia. Advanced skills training, practicals, lab- and field-based options, will help you develop the knowledge and expertise in a variety of areas, such as data analysis, remote sensing, GIS and survey, materials analysis, 3D modelling, museum and heritage skills and osteology. You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree, increasing the course from three years to four. Drawing on the latest research, and with an exciting combination of field trips, practical work including excavation, as well as great teaching, this course offers you the chance to gain a good understanding of archaeology across the world, from earliest prehistory to the modern day.
Course details
Start date
Degree Type
BA
UCAS Code
F400
Course length
3 years full-time
Typical offer
AAB
Tuition Fees
- Home (Full-time): £9,535 per year
- Overseas (Full-time): £28,000 per year
What you'll study
In the first year you will gain a basic range of intellectual and practical archaeological skills. In Years 2 and 3 you will then move on to more in-depth study of particular topics and methods, working closely with staff to develop your own independent research project.
Core modules
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Archaeology in Britain
gives you a wide-ranging introduction to how archaeologists work, how sites are found and excavated, how archaeological information is generated, theorised and interpreted, and the issues facing archaeology today. It will give you the study skills needed for library work, essays, tutorials and computing. The module also gives a brief overview of British archaeology by period, from the Neolithic to the present day.
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Archaeology Practicals
introduces field and laboratory techniques for the recording and analysis of primary materials, sites and monuments, using group work wherever possible.
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Introduction to Archaeological Methods
provides you with a grounding in a range of scientific methods and techniques used in archaeology today, and will help you to develop a critical awareness of the potential and limitations of each.
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Scientific Methods in Archaeology 1
provides a grounding in a range of scientific methods and techniques used in archaeology today. It will help you develop a critical awareness of the potential and limitations of data and its analysis when applied to archaeological problems.
Optional modules
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In recent years, optional modules have included: Discovering World PrehistoryCities in AntiquityMedieval to Modern: An Introduction to the Archaeology of the Medieval to Post-medieval WorldAncient Civilisations of the East.
Learning
You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical classes, fieldwork and excavation, with informal one-on-one support alongside self-directed research and reading. We also offer an extensive programme of research-focused seminars where staff and visiting scholars present their cutting-edge research. Fieldwork at Durham allows you to get stuck into real archaeological work, supported by academic staff. Along with the practical classes this gives you hands-on experience of professional archaeology. The small-group and practical work prioritises your learning experience over the number of formal sessions, with increasing focus on independent research as you move from your first to your final year. As such, the course transforms you from a consumer of knowledge in a classroom to a generator of knowledge in the field, ready for professional or postgraduate life.Assessment
You will be assessed through your coursework, traditional skills and presentations, as well as through hands-on practical exercises, including archaeological fieldwork. In the final year you will write a dissertation, led by independent research and supported by one-on-one supervision, and this makes up one-third of your final-year marks.Entry requirements
Fees & Funding
Choose which fees you want to see:
Home / Island students
£9,535 per year
International / EU Students
£28,000 per year
Home / Island students
Part Time - £ per year
International / EU Students
Part Time - £ per year
The tuition fees shown are for one complete academic year of study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).
Find out moreDepartment Information
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Archaeology at Durham is an exciting and diverse discipline that delves into the past to inform our understanding of the modern world. Covering a wide range of topics from early human development and ancient civilisations to colonialism and slavery in the early modern world, this broad-based discipline can take you into many different careers. We are an inclusive and vibrant international teaching and research community that offers plenty of opportunities for you to get involved, from research seminars and reading groups to field-based projects. Our research-led approach to learning means you will be taught by subject specialists whose wide-ranging interests span World, European and British archaeology from the last ice age to the post-medieval period. Combining practical work with traditional academic study, you will explore archaeological sites and historic buildings, study scientific methods, archaeological theories and computer techniques. Fieldwork takes you around the world, with previous projects ranging from Africa to the Lebanon. Closer to home you will learn about the rich and varied heritage of the UK. Our location in Durham is ideal for the study of archaeology with UNESCO World Heritage Site, such as Durham Cathedral and Hadrian's Wall on our doorstep. We offer a range of single and joint honours BA and BSc degrees with flexible pathways to suit your interests and career goals, and most courses include the possibility of a work placement or year abroad. For more information see our department pages.
Read moreFacilities
We are based in the Dawson Building at the heart of the Durham city campus. We are one of the most comprehensively equipped archaeology departments in the UK with research laboratories in DNA, conservation, isotope analysis, environmental archaeology, luminescence dating, paleopathology and bone chemistry. The Department is also home to a leading commercial archaeological fieldwork unit. This enables us to provide expert training in excavation and fieldwork techniques from working archaeologists. In addition, we have a number of dedicated library collections and a gallery which hosts our extensive collection of archaeological artefacts. Fieldtrips are an important part of the student experience at Durham. First year students undertake a two-week placement, with most working on our internationally significant excavations at Auckland Castle. Second- and third-year undergraduates join us on digs around the world to gain international experience, with recent projects in France, Spain, Kuwait, Nepal and Egypt.
Find out more -
Career Opportunities
Of those students who graduated in 2021-22
94%
HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. This survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. We here highlight destinations of specifically first-degree graduates. Further information about the Graduate Outcomes survey can be found here www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk
Employability
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