Archaeology

Entry requirements

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK High 2:1 Honours Degree or its international equivalent.

Months of entry

October

Course content

The MPhil in Archaeology allows students to gain a critical appreciation of archaeology, the human past, and its place in the modern world, as well as training in research and analytical skills and expertise in a chosen, specialist area. Our emphasis at the MPhil level is on research-led teaching so that staff and students interact in lectures, seminars, language classes and laboratory-based practicals with the aims of mastering the basics of theory and method, while also engaging students as participants in ongoing research projects.

Students may choose to specialise in any of the following options:

• Archaeology of the Americas
• Egyptian Archaeology
• European Prehistory
• Medieval Archaeology
• Mesopotamian Archaeology
• Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Archaeology
• South Asian Archaeology
• African Archaeology

All MPhil students in the Department of Archaeology take a Research Skills module and write a dissertation (15,000 words maximum). For each option, students will choose from a list of mandatory and optional modules a combination of one-term long module and two-term long modules making up a total equivalent to three-year-long modules (possible combinations include one year-long module and four term-long modules, two-year-long modules and two term-long modules, and three-year-long modules).

The assessed components of the Research Skills module represent 5% of the final mark, and the dissertation counts for 50% of the final mark. The remaining 45% will be made up from assessment in the mandatory and optional modules.

All module choices must have the approval of the module's instructor and the MPhil in Archaeology coordinator.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of general archaeology method and theory and of a specific field within archaeology.
• Ability to participate in academic discussion at a postgraduate level.