Archaeology and History

Archaeology and history together offer one of the most searching ways to understand human experience across time. Where history draws primarily on written records and asks how societies thought about themselves, archaeology recovers the material traces of the past, the objects, buildings, landscapes and biological remains that survive when documents do not. Studying both disciplines at the University of Nottingham gives you access to complementary methods and ways of thinking, training you to move between textual and physical evidence and to question the stories each tells.

Over three years of full-time study, you will examine the deep past through archaeological enquiry while also engaging with historical periods where written and material sources overlap and sometimes contradict one another. You will learn to read documents critically, to understand how archaeological sites are excavated and interpreted, and to appreciate the theoretical frameworks that shape both disciplines. The programme encourages you to ask not just what happened, but why it mattered and how we know what we think we know.

A year abroad is part of the programme, giving you the opportunity to study in a different academic and cultural context, to encounter different national traditions of historical and archaeological scholarship, and to deepen your engagement with specific regions or periods.

The combination of analytical rigour and breadth of perspective that this degree develops is valued across many sectors. Graduates pursue careers in heritage management, museums and galleries, cultural tourism, archive and library work, and the historic environment sector. Others move into journalism, policy, law, the civil service or business, where the ability to research carefully, weigh evidence and communicate clearly is consistently in demand.

Postgraduate study in archaeology, history, heritage studies or related fields is a well-trodden path for those who wish to specialise further or pursue research careers.