Archaeology

Archaeology is the discipline that recovers and interprets the physical evidence of past human life, examining everything from ancient settlements, monuments, and artefacts to landscapes, environmental records, and human remains to build an understanding of how people lived in the past before written records, and alongside them. It is a discipline that spans an enormous time depth, from the earliest evidence of human activity hundreds of thousands of years ago to the recent past, and draws on methods from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities in its pursuit of historical understanding.

At the University of Manchester, this three-year full-time programme takes you through archaeological theory and method, the history of human societies across different periods and regions, the scientific techniques used to date, analyse, and interpret material evidence, and the practice of fieldwork, which is central to how archaeology is done. You will study topics including prehistoric Britain and Europe, the ancient Near East, classical archaeology, historical archaeology, environmental archaeology, and the ethics and politics of heritage and archaeological practice. The programme includes a sandwich year with a work placement, providing professional experience in an archaeological, heritage, or museum context and giving you direct exposure to how the discipline operates in practice.

Archaeology graduates work in commercial archaeology and heritage consultancy, museums and galleries, local government heritage services, academic research, conservation, and community archaeology. The fieldwork and analytical skills developed through the degree, alongside the broader critical thinking and research competencies the discipline cultivates, are valued in a range of professional contexts beyond archaeology itself. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in archaeology, heritage management, ancient history, or anthropology, and some move into academic careers in these fields.