- UCAS course code
- VL46
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA Archaeology and Anthropology
- Typical A-level offer: ABB
- Typical contextual A-level offer: BBC
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 34 points overall with 6,5,5 at HL
Course description
You will develop an understanding of archaeological and anthropological theory, method and interpretation while learning the critical skills needed to explore the regional and global diversity of the material record and social and cultural life, using comparative, cross-cultural and cross-temporal methods.
In Anthropology, you will be particularly encouraged to use your knowledge of cultural diversity to challenge established assumptions embedded within the cultural systems, as well as within 'western' knowledge, practices and theoretical paradigms.
In Archaeology, you will develop a critical understanding of the place and importance of archaeology and material heritage in contemporary society, including the issues and controversies that they provoke.
Most importantly, this course trains you to think both anthropologically and archaeologically.
Special features
Experience digs in the UK and abroad
Fieldwork training is an integral part of our course throughout the degree, and you'll be introduced to excavation techniques by experienced archaeologists.
Placement year option
Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a placement year in your third year of study, enabling you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals and build your external networks.
Study abroad
You may apply to spend one semester studying abroad during Year 2. You'll have the opportunity to join research teams and help make discoveries that shape our knowledge of the world.
Destination-specific specialisms could support research on Inuit material culture, Australian rock art, or Scandinavian hoards enriching your final year dissertation.
Explore in-depth collections on campus
Discover artefacts, architecture, ancient texts and beliefs using our well-equipped laboratories, our own departmental teaching collections and the exclusive archives and curatorial expertise of Manchester Museum .
Outreach and engagement
You'll also have the opportunity to share your passion for archaeology through community and public engagement projects.
Teaching and learning
- tutorials;
- seminars;
- laboratory sessions;
- lectures;
- fieldwork;
- group exercises;
- presentations;
- reports;
- one to one academic support sessions;
- original research guided by academic tutors.
Subsidised fieldwork includes one-day site visits as well as extensive periods of excavation in a wide range of locations, such as Herefordshire, Yorkshire and Scotland.
You'll also learn within our archaeological labs, where you'll be trained to use a wide range of equipment to analyse and record objects. You can access training in digital illustration and GIS packages to support this activity, while you can make use of landscape survey and geophysics equipment for fieldwork.
Coursework and assessment
Assessment methods may include:
- written examinations;
- coursework essays;
- research reports;
- practical tests;
- fieldwork workbooks;
- individual projects;
- oral presentations;
- third year dissertation;
- digital posters;
- audio performances.
In addition, archaeology field training involves a variety of assessment over a range of skills and techniques.
Course content for year 1
Explore archaeological fieldwork and the principles of excavation, with two subsidised weeks on a project of your choice. Get to know staff in both departments and develop an interest in specific periods or themes.
Course units for year 1
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Discoveries and Discoverers: Sights and Sites | CAHE10282 | 20 | Mandatory |
Doing Archaeology 1 | CAHE10501 | 20 | Mandatory |
Power and Culture: Inequality in Everyday Life | SOAN10301 | 10 | Mandatory |
Cultural Diversity in Global Perspective | SOAN10312 | 10 | Mandatory |
Key Ideas in Social Anthropology | SOAN10321 | 10 | Mandatory |
Intro to Ethnographic Reading | SOAN10322 | 10 | Mandatory |
The Making of the Mediterranean | CAHE10132 | 20 | Optional |
Cities and Citizens | CAHE10232 | 20 | Optional |
Introduction to the History and Culture of Pharaonic Egypt | CAHE10651 | 20 | Optional |
Climate change and societal response: Lessons from the past | SALC11011 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 2
Acquire the skills to frame your Archaeological and Anthropological research questions, collect and analyse data, and present your results.
Begin to explore period and thematic specialisms through a wide breadth of optional course units within Archaeology and Anthropology. From the beginnings of civilisations in the Near East, or mortuary archaeology through time, to the anthropology of religion, medicine,kinship and gender, our specialist courses offer an amazing opportunity to pursue the topics that inspire you.
Another two weeks of subsidised fieldwork give you the opportunity to travel to a project in the UK or abroad.
Course units for year 2
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Thinking Archaeology | CAHE20112 | 20 | Mandatory |
Doing Archaeology 2 | CAHE20501 | 20 | Mandatory |
Materiality and Representation | SOAN20852 | 20 | Mandatory |
Introduction to Egyptian Hieroglyphs | CAHE20162 | 20 | Optional |
Roman Women in 22 Objects | CAHE20532 | 20 | Optional |
The First Cities: The Archaeology of Urbanism in the Near East | CAHE20912 | 20 | Optional |
Chariots, Cauldrons and Celts: The Archaeology of the Iron Age in Britain and Ireland | CAHE25461 | 20 | Optional |
Data Literacy in a Digital World | SALC20081 | 20 | Optional |
Anthropology of Kinship, Gender and Sex | SOAN20802 | 20 | Optional |
Anthropology of Religion | SOAN20812 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
Course units for year 3
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology Dissertation | CAHE30000 | 40 | Optional |
The Roman Army and the North-West Frontiers | CAHE30882 | 20 | Optional |
The First Cities: The Archaeology of Urbanism in the Near East | CAHE30912 | 20 | Optional |
Finding Happiness in the Ancient World | CAHE34401 | 20 | Optional |
From Sites to Statues: Understanding Heritage in a time of Culture Wars | CAHE34602 | 20 | Optional |
Chariots, Cauldrons and Celts: The Archaeology of the Iron Age in Britain and Ireland | CAHE35461 | 20 | Optional |
Anthropology of Development and Humanitarianism | SOAN30111 | 20 | Optional |
The Anthropology of Health and Wellbeing | SOAN30251 | 20 | Optional |
Anthropology of Human Learning: Childhood and Education | SOAN30372 | 20 | Optional |
Anthropology of Displacement and Migration | SOAN30452 | 20 | Optional |
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Facilities
Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum is home to important prehistoric, classical and ethnographic collections.
You'll go behind the scenes to handle, analyse and interpret rare artefacts, including one of the finest Egyptology collections in Britain.
Our ongoing collaboration between the museum and the global work of archaeology staff offers unique opportunities for students to get involved in the design of major exhibitions.
Whitworth Art Gallery
The Whitworth Art Gallery holds important archaeological textile collections, and art and sculpture on themes such as landscape as part of its broader internationally significant collections.
The Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology
The Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology is home to a film library with some 1,500 titles, from classic ethnographic film to contemporary documentary and world cinema.
Archaeological laboratories
You'll learn within our archaeological labs, where you'll use microscopes, digital cameras, delicate measuring equipment and portable XRF to analyse and record objects. You can also access training in digital illustration and GIS packages to support this activity and loan landscape survey and geophysics equipment for fieldwork. Our labs are supported by a dedicated technician who can offer training and assistance.
Field survey equipment
Equipment to support your studies includes three total stations and a traverse kit, a sub metre GPS survey system, a drone and professional photography equipment. Several of our lab-based resources can also be used in the field, including our PXRF instrument, ProScope and 3D scanner.
Find out more on the facilities page.
Disability support
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Support Office. Email: disability@manchester.ac.uk