Archaeology

Archaeology is the study of the human past through the analysis of physical remains, from the stone tools made by our earliest ancestors millions of years ago to the material culture of the recent past. It is a discipline that bridges the humanities and the sciences, combining meticulous fieldwork and laboratory analysis with interpretive and historical thinking about what material evidence can and cannot tell us about past societies, beliefs, and ways of life. Archaeology gives access to the vast majority of the human story that predates written records, and it continues to transform our understanding of ancient civilisations even in periods where documents survive.

At University College London, you will study archaeology over four years of full-time study within one of the leading research environments in the world for the discipline. UCL's Institute of Archaeology is one of the largest and most internationally connected archaeology departments in the UK, and the programme benefits from exceptional academic expertise across a wide range of periods, regions, and specialist fields. The curriculum covers the theory and methods of archaeological enquiry, the analysis of different categories of material evidence including artefacts, animal and plant remains, human skeletal material, and landscape evidence, and the archaeology of specific regions and periods.

Field schools and laboratory sessions develop your practical skills, and you will engage with the archaeology of periods from prehistory through to the early modern world.

Archaeology graduates go on to careers in heritage management, museum and gallery work, field archaeology, environmental consultancy, and academic research. The heritage and cultural resource management sector employs archaeologists in roles concerned with protecting and managing archaeological sites and collections, and graduates work with organisations such as Historic England, the National Trust, and local planning authorities. Museum roles, including curation and education, are destinations for those with expertise in material culture and its interpretation.

Field archaeology, working for archaeological consultancies on development-led excavations, is a significant employment sector. Academic research at masters and doctoral level is the path for those who want to pursue the discipline professionally.