Anthropology and Archaeology

Anthropology and archaeology are disciplines that together span the full depth and breadth of human experience. Anthropology studies human diversity in the present and the recent past, examining how different societies organise themselves, how kinship, religion, art, and politics function across cultures, and how people adapt to different environments and circumstances. Archaeology takes the long view, recovering and interpreting the material remains of past societies to trace human life across thousands of years before written records exist.

Together, they allow you to ask questions about what it means to be human across the full sweep of our species' existence.

At Queen's University Belfast, this three-year, full-time joint Honours programme develops your capacity to identify patterns of social organisation, human-environment relationships, cultural diversity, and inequality across both contemporary and historical societies. You will learn the methods of both disciplines: ethnographic fieldwork and cultural analysis on the anthropology side, and survey, excavation, and material culture analysis on the archaeology side. The programme encourages you to integrate the two perspectives, asking how present-day communities relate to their pasts and how archaeological evidence illuminates the deep roots of social patterns we encounter in the world today.

Queen's University Belfast's location in Northern Ireland adds a distinctive dimension, given the region's rich archaeological heritage and its complex contemporary social landscape.

A typical entry tariff of 136 points reflects the academic level expected. Graduates from anthropology and archaeology programmes go on to careers in museums, heritage and conservation organisations, community archaeology, cultural resource management, international development, social research, the civil service, and education. The combination of ethnographic and archaeological methods gives graduates a distinctive analytical toolkit valued across any field that requires understanding human behaviour and social context.

Postgraduate study in anthropology, archaeology, heritage management, or cultural studies is a common next step for those who wish to specialise or move into research and academic careers.