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BSc (Hons)

Available in Clearing

Archaeology

Attendance

Campus

Start

Book an Autumn Open Day

Duration

3 Years

Start

September 2023

UCAS Code

V400

Delivery

Campus Taught

Our Archaeology course is jointly accredited by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) and the University Archaeology UK group (UAUK). You'll experience hands-on fieldwork which draws on humanities, social sciences and core science - an ideal start to your career.

Archaeology is a multidisciplinary practical degree. It produces graduates with sought-after transferable skills, including critical analysis, communication and team working. From week one, you will be in the field learning these skills on a real archaeological excavation. You'll examine and interpret various evidence from human remains, Palaeolithic stone tools, Anglo-Saxon jewellery and the latest ancient DNA evidence.

As well as lectures and tutorials, you'll spend time each year on placement in the UK and/or abroad, working on excavations, making real discoveries and helping carry out cutting-edge research. Our graduates have been on digs at Avebury and Stonehenge in Wiltshire, Neolithic settlements and tombs in Orkney and an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Cambridgeshire, to name but a few.

It's a wide-ranging and practically based degree that allows you to gain vital experience and build contacts with working archaeologists. With the mixture of academic understanding, practical skills and fieldwork experience, you'll be one step closer to a career in archaeology, museums or academia.

Why study with us

1st
in the UK for teaching on the course
National Student Survey (Archaeology) (compared with unis in the Guardian University Guide)
2023
1st
in the UK for overall positivity
National Student Survey (Archaeology) (compared with unis in the Guardian University Guide)
2023
2nd
in the UK for student satisfaction
Complete University Guide (Archaeology)
2024

You'll become part of a friendly community of like-minded individuals - students, academics and global researchers.
Spend 10 weeks in the field, working on real research excavations across the UK, making significant finds while developing both transferrable skills and knowledge.
We have state-of-the-art facilities, including an on-campus training excavation site, archaeological science lab, soil flotation unit, dedicated human bone labs, 3D scanners and cutting-edge excavation equipment.

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What you’ll do

You’ll have the flexibility to delve into the specialist areas that interest you most, with optional units in everything from cultural anthropology to human remains.
We have an experienced team of research-active staff, with an excellent staff-student ratio – ensuring you’ll have plenty of personal support and attention.
With the addition of a major research project, you can convert your degree to the four-year MSci qualification.

Module overview

Course delivery

Following the pandemic, we have found that some courses benefit from a blended learning and teaching approach. Therefore, the majority of your teaching will be face-to-face on campus aside from a small amount of online teaching where we have learnt it works best.

95%Face-to-face

5%Online

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our published course information. However, our programmes are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may cause alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses. Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of accrediting bodies or revisions to subject benchmarks statements. As well as to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.

Visit us this autumn

Discover our facilities, explore campus and talk to academic staff and students about the courses you want to study at one of our autumn Open Days.

Book an Open Day

View the course facilities

Accreditations

This course has been accredited by the CifA. Nationally we are one of only seven universities to receive this accreditation. In their report, assessors commented that "The focus on excavation and field archaeology is clearly a unique selling point of the department, and it is clear that students leave with an unparalleled level and range of experience."

Future careers

Our BSc (Hons) Archaeology course offers the specialist knowledge and hands-on skills you’ll need to explore a career in this fascinating profession.

Archaeology offers more career opportunities in the UK than some might think. It’s a profession that provides more than 5,000 jobs, in over 200 companies and contributes over £100m to the UK economy every year, in both the public and the private sector. Historic England have highlighted the need for more trained archaeologists over the next 17 years, due to the surge in major infrastructure projects.

Today, you’ll find our Archaeology graduates working for a number of different contracting archaeological organisations, while others are working in museums or doing research degrees at a variety of UK universities. With the wide range of desirable transferrable skills our course offers, our graduates have also excelled in other career paths, including teaching, research companies or other areas.

You could also use this course as a foundation for further study. While this degree offers the chance to step up to an integrated master’s, with an extra year’s research, you could also take on a separate postgraduate qualification after you graduate.

Fees and funding

2023/24

Full-time£9,250 per year

Part-time£1,540 per 20 credits

International

Full-time£14,900 per year

2024/25

Full-time£9,250 per year

Part-time£1,540 per 20 credits

International

Full-time£16,500 per year

Scholarships and bursaries

We have a wide range of bursaries, scholarships and funds available to help support you whilst studying with us.

Select your country to see eligibility information and how to apply by selecting more info on the cards below.

Select your country/region

Care Leaver Bursary
Our Care Leaver Bursary is for students who need extra support because they have been in care or are estranged from their parents.
Find out more about Care Leaver Bursary
Estranged student support
Estranged Student Support Bursary is for students who need extra support because they are estranged from their parents.
Find out more about Estranged student support
Dependants Bursary
Students with financially dependent children may be eligible for our Dependants Bursary as part of our financial support package. 
Find out more about Dependants Bursary
Contextualised Admissions Bursary
We recognise that the last two years have been very challenging for young people and learning has been impacted. To help support students eligible for a contextualised offer we are offering a bursary of £250 in their first year of study.
Find out more about Contextualised Admissions Bursary

This extremely practical course is split between the classroom and the field, not to mention the independent study you’ll do in the library and at home. So, as well as classes on campus, you’ll spend at least eight weeks on placement – working on real excavations and helping to do cutting-edge research. While we organise many research projects, you can also organise your own placements with external organisations, either here or abroad. Your learning will be assessed through real-life assessment, such as client reports, radio broadcasts and articles that help build your skills rather than end of year exams.

The course is primarily coursework-based and assessments are designed to help to develop your skills. During excavation you'll receive weekly feedback on how to improve your practical archaeology skills. Essay and real-world report writing will help develop your written communication skills. Presentations, radio broadcasts, and video blogs will improve your verbal communication. Continued assessment in lab books will develop your analytical skills. Independent study and the dissertation will help develop your critical analysis and independence.

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This course is based in the School of Law and Policing

For information on possible changes to course information, see our essential and important course information

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at the University of Central Lancashire on our student contract page

Your saved courses

Archaeology

Why study with us

What you’ll do

Module overview

Course delivery

Visit us this autumn

View the course facilities

Accreditations

Future careers

Fees and funding

Course Specific Optional Costs

Course Specific Optional Costs

Scholarships and bursaries

Care Leaver Bursary

Estranged student support

Dependants Bursary

Contextualised Admissions Bursary

Learning and assessment

Industry links

Further information