Dr Gareth Sears, IAA Head of Student Development and Support: "Welcome to the IAA and to the study of Ancient History, Archaeology or Classical Literature and Civilisation. Your time here will be challenging but also exciting as you get to grips with a myriad of ancient cultures through a variety of written texts and different types of artefacts and structures. All successful university study depends on your motivation and we hope that the subjects we introduce will enthuse and motivate you to really get to grips with these cultures. We hope that your three years with us will be among the most interesting and enjoyable of your life and we look forward to meeting you during welcome week."
What to do before you arrive
Important information about studying in the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity and your degree programmes is available on the School’s WebCT section called ‘Archaeology and Antiquity - Welcome to the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity (1st years)’. Please log on to this as soon as you can (details of logins are contained in the welcome letter which was sent to your home address).
The WebCT section also contains information on Reading Lists. You do not have to do any preparatory reading before you get here but reading a selection of material relevant to your degree would help you get into the mind-set of degree level study.
‘WebCT’ is the University's electronic 'learning platform'. You can log onto it as soon as you receive your username and password at www.my.bham.ac.uk. For a student’s guide to WebCT click here.
Welcome Week timetable for the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity
You need to visit here to build your own Welcome Week timetable.
Contact
If, for any reason, you miss any of your meetings or activities, or if you have any questions, then please contact the IAA office in Room 304 of the 3rd floor of the Arts building, email Mrs Sylvia Campbell (s.a.campbell@bham.ac.uk) or Dr Gareth Sears (g.m.sears@bham.ac.uk) – we will also be able to sort out any problems that you have with your Welcome Week timetable. Once you have arrived here and been assigned a personal tutor you can also contact them if in doubt.
Skills for university
Reading for a degree involves becoming an ‘independent learner’. This might be very different from the educational style you are used to. Here are a range of websites which might help you to understand university level study.
There’s a useful tool on the Skills4Study Campus website that you can access as a student of the University of Birmingham even before registration. Just follow the link for ‘Preparing for Academic Study’ and work your way through this interactive material.
Advice from this year's graduates