Archaeology

Archaeology is the discipline that recovers, analyses, and interprets the physical traces of human life across all periods of the past, from the earliest stone tools fashioned by our ancestors millions of years ago through to the material remains of the very recent past. It is a science as much as a humanity, drawing on dating techniques, environmental analysis, geophysical survey, and molecular biology alongside the more traditional work of excavation and object study. Archaeologists answer questions about how people lived, what they ate, how they organised their societies, what they believed, and how they interacted with and modified their environments, often in periods for which no written records exist.

At Birkbeck this three-year full-time BA covers an exceptionally broad chronological range, from the earliest humans through to the contemporary world, giving you an understanding of the diversity of the human past across the full sweep of archaeological time. You will gain hands-on experience with collections, developing the practical skills to handle, analyse, and interpret material culture, and you will engage with heritage on fieldtrips and in archaeological practice in the field. Birkbeck's London location is a particular advantage here: the city's museums, archives, and archaeological sites provide direct access to some of the most significant material in the country.

Graduates move into careers in commercial archaeology and fieldwork, heritage management, museum curation, local authority archaeology and planning, environmental consultancy, community archaeology, and education. Many go on to postgraduate study in archaeology, heritage studies, or a specialist subfield, building the expertise that academic and senior professional roles require.