MSc Heritage and Archaeology

Heritage and archaeology is not only the study of the past, it is the study of ourselves. Archaeology feeds into current political debates around identity, how we feel about our past, and who we want to be. Large infrastructure projects also ensure it is a profession in increasing demand. From site assistants, to managers, finds specialists and consultants, it is a rewarding and challenging career, requiring a wide and varied range of skills and knowledge.

Course overview The RAU has been at the forefront of land-based education for more than 180 years, and to study heritage and archaeology here is a natural choice. The programme is taught in the Cultural Heritage Institute, the RAU’s Swindon campus and the ‘heritage’ capital of England, home to the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic England. It provides unparalleled opportunities to work with key heritage agencies and to gain professional insights.

The MSc in Archaeology is designed to give learners a broad and thorough grounding in the challenging and fast-paced archaeology sector. It will equip you with the wider contextual and practical skills to allow you to engage analytically with a variety of archaeological sites and materials. As the course progresses, you will be able to follow your developing interests and tailor the direction of your assessed learning to pursue a variety of archaeology careers, from finds specialist to standing buildings archaeologist, from landscape characterisation to geophysics practitioner. This MSc provides a more flexible pathway into archaeology, ideal for those who have a particular specialism or area of interest they would like to build upon, or those who wish to gain a broad range of experiences across the sector.

Course content This programme has specifically been designed to meet the needs of postgraduate learners many of whom may be combining study with work and/or caring or other responsibilities. Teaching is designed to be fully flexible, to allow full participation for both part-time and full-time students.

All sessions are offered in a blended format and you can choose whether to attend any session in-person or to participate remotely, as best suits your needs. All sessions, including practical workshops and (where possible) field trips, are recorded live and made immediately available for viewing to support those who prefer to access the sessions asynchronously.

Our sessions are built around exercises to support and scaffold the learning process, and to provide valuable opportunities for peer-to-peer learning. Material is taught in workshop format combining formal elements, such as lectures, with more hands-on exploratory or consolidatory exercises, for example discussions, ‘live’ group research to explore or apply a particular concept, group-critique sessions, supported writing exercises, and problem-based learning.

Careers and graduate destinations This programme will help learners develop an in-depth and applied understanding of archaeological practice enabling graduates to pursue a wide range of careers in the sector. On completion of the course you will be able to work in commercial archaeology at any of the numerous commercial units, built environment management, planning, regeneration projects, heritage organisations such as Historic England, English Heritage and the National Trust, heritage site interpretation archaeological outreach and education, or as self-employed archaeology consultants.