This programme provides intensive training in professional archaeology for both existing practitioners (to gain new managerial and technical skills) and those aiming to develop a career in archaeology. Core modules focus on professional, legal and social frameworks of archaeological practice in both commercial and curatorial contexts, project planning and management, and the post-excavation process. A wide range of optional modules are available in practical and research areas such as field survey, geophysics, GIS, and landscape and environmental archaeology. You can also study this distance learning.
The programme is embedded within Birmingham Archaeology, the specialist fieldwork and research services division of the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, providing students with experience of archaeological practice in a real professional and commercial archaeology environment. It demonstrates the diversity of careers in archaeology, introduces students to the practitioners and organisations operating within the profession, and provides hands-on practical training in fieldwork and analytical techniques, including experience of dealing with ‘live project data’ in real field archaeology situations.
You will study four core modules:
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Introduction to practical archaeology
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Excavation techniques and project planning
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Post-excavation analysis
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Field Survey
You will choose two optional modules from a range including:
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Archaeological geophysics
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Materials, objects and things - the archaeology of artefacts
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Holocene environments
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Human and animal bone
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Virtual landscapes
You will also complete a 12,000 word dissertation.
Learning and teaching
There is a strong practical approach to learning throughout the programme, and coursework is designed specifically to provide students with a portfolio of reports (from project costings to finds reports) that will demonstrate report-writing, editing and computer skills to potential employers. The MA course includes a three-week training placement on a fieldwork project, and in addition,