Archaeology with Professional Placement

Archaeology is the study of the human past through its material remains: the objects, structures, landscapes, and biological evidence that survive from the lives of people who came before us. It spans an extraordinary range, from the earliest hominins and the origins of human behaviour millions of years ago to the recent industrial and urban past, and it draws on a remarkable variety of methods, including excavation, remote sensing, scientific dating, environmental analysis, and digital modelling, to recover and interpret what the material record reveals.

At the University of Reading, this four-year, full-time BA with a professional placement allows you to explore the material remains of past societies in depth, developing both the theoretical understanding and the practical fieldwork and laboratory skills that are central to the discipline. Reading has one of the UK's leading archaeology departments, with research strengths across prehistoric, Roman, medieval, and environmental archaeology, and the degree benefits from access to that expertise. The professional placement year is a distinctive feature of the programme, giving you an accredited period of structured work experience in a professional archaeological or heritage context before you complete your degree.

This develops the skills and professional networks that employers in the sector value, and it distinguishes this degree from those that combine theory with fieldwork alone.

Graduates go on to careers in commercial archaeology, heritage management, museum curation, conservation, historic environment advisory services, and research. Many progress to postgraduate study in archaeology, heritage, or related fields, and some pursue research careers that contribute to the expanding knowledge of human prehistory and history. The analytical, technical, and fieldwork skills the degree develops are also valued in adjacent areas such as environmental consultancy, cartography, and cultural resource management.