Universities United Kingdom Cardiff University Courses Archaeology (BSc)

Archaeology (BSc)
at Cardiff University

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Tuition Fee £ 23,450
Country Rank-
Duration36 Months
Score IELTS: 6.5

Program Overview

Placements - home and abroad

Experience activities including digs, museum projects and lab activities.

Purpose-built laboratories

Use our suite of laboratories and access our digital illustration and photographic suite.

Fieldwork adventures

Build practical skills and put what you'll learn into practice; discover exciting locations and uncover a past world.

Community driven

Dive into a range of activities including visits from international speakers, the Archaeology Society and events.

Archaeology provides a unique perspective as the only subject which deals with all the temporal and spatial dimensions of the human past. Defined as the study of the human past through its material remains, it studies a very broad range of evidence including landscapes, buildings and monuments; buried material such as artefacts, biological remains, and structures; and written sources.

Archaeology ranges chronologically from the earliest hominids circa five million years ago to the present day, and geographically across the entire inhabited world.

The BSc Archaeology honours degree programme will train you in the science of investigation. It addresses the 'big questions' about the human past over the huge periods of time for which there are no written records, so that the forensic skills of the archaeologist are to the fore.

The aims of the BSc Archaeology degree are to:

familiarise you with the disciplined and critical study of the past through the work of archaeologists
provide you with the expertise to assemble and critically analyse archaeological evidence.
provide you with the understanding of how to assemble the varied types of archaeological evidence and, where appropriate, written source material available for the study of these fields,
promote critical understanding of the political, social and cultural structures and achievements of past societies.
cultivate your archaeological skills and transferable skills, including, the ability to recover, record and assess evidence of widely differing kinds, to make honest and informed judgements, and to express them cogently in speech and writing.

Course Content
Course structure

We are currently working with our students to update and improve the content of this course. The information shown below reflects the current curriculum and is likely to change. The review of the course is expected to be completed by August 2022 and this page will be updated by end of October 2022 to reflect the changes.

The BSc Archaeology is a three-year degree which provides a level of training, skill and knowledge that is respected within professional archaeology and which serves you well when applying for postgraduate study, for employment in archaeology and the heritage sector, and for employment outside of the discipline. It offers a huge range of choices which you can tailor to your own interests. You will study 120 credits of modules in each year.

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2022/2023 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2022.

Year one
In the first year of the BA Archaeology degree, you will study 80 credits of modules in Archaeology and 40 credits from another subject of your choice from either within the School or from other participating Academic Schools.

The Archaeology modules aim to introduce you to the techniques and approaches that archaeologists employ, as well as to the archaeology of specific societies.

The Year Two fieldwork project is taken in the summer at the end of the first year, although it is credited to the Autumn Semester of Year Two. This project is taught through four-weeks of student participation on archaeological excavations, field-surveys, museum curatorial projects or other post-excavation, laboratory-based activities.

Year two
Years two and three are taught together as ‘Part Two’ and modules are offered on alternate years. Over the two years, you must complete 240 credits of modules of which 70 credits consist of core requirements, at least 70 more must consist of archaeological science modules, and 60-100 credits come from a wide range of period, topic, or technique specific modules within Archaeology and Ancient History, allowing you a great deal of flexibility to follow the subjects they are most interested in.

When studying this course you may take up to 40 credits from another Academic School (subject to approval by the Board of Studies).

In Year Two, you will take the Archaeological Independent Study module and in the Year Three you have the option of taking the Archaeology Dissertation module. In both these modules you have the chance to follow your own special interests.

The Year Three fieldwork project is taken in the summer at the end of the second year, although it is credited to the Autumn Semester of Year Three. This project is taught through four-weeks of student participation on archaeological excavations, field-surveys, museum curatorial projects or other post-excavation, laboratory-based activities.

Year three
Years two and three are taught together as ‘Part Two’ and modules are offered on alternate years. Over the two years, you must complete 240 credits of modules of which 70 credits consist of core requirements, at least 70 more must consist of archaeological science modules, and 60-100 credits come from a wide range of period, topic, or technique specific modules within Archaeology and Ancient History, allowing you a great deal of flexibility to follow the subjects they are most interested in.

When studying this course you may take up to 40 credits from another Academic School (subject to approval by the Board of Studies).

In Year Two, you will take the Archaeological Independent Study module and in the Year Three you have the option of taking the Archaeology Dissertation module. In both these modules you have the chance to follow your own special interests.

The Year Three fieldwork project is taken in the summer at the end of the second year, although it is credited to the Autumn Semester of Year Three. This project is taught through four-weeks of student participation on archaeological excavations, field-surveys, museum curatorial projects or other post-excavation, laboratory-based activities.
Entry Requirement
A level
BBB-BBC

Extended/International Project Qualification: Applicants with grade A in the EPQ/IPQ will typically receive an offer one grade lower than the standard A level offer. Please note that any subject specific requirements must still be met.

International Baccalaureate
31-30 overall or 665-655 in 3 HL subjects.

GCSE
Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.

IELTS (academic)
At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.

TOEFL iBT
At least 90 overall with minimum scores of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading and 20 for speaking.

PTE Academic
At least 62 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.

Trinity ISE II/III
II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits.
III: at least a Pass in all components.
Fees & Scholarships
Tuition fees for 2022 entry

Fees for home status
- £9,000
Fees for overseas status
- £23,450
Career Prospect
In 2016/17, 96% of the School’s graduates who were available for work reported they were in employment and/or further study within six months of graduating.

An archaeology degree represents a challenging, interesting and exciting way to prepare for the future.

In your archaeology course you will work as part of a team in the field and in the laboratory; you will research ideas, form opinions and present them in your own terms; you will develop your writing to address a range of audiences; you will use a range of software programmes and develop a wide range of practical skills. These transferable skills will be of benefit in your future career.

Our graduates have found work in journalism, banking, finance, teaching and a wide range of other areas. We organise interactive workshops with the Careers Service to help students identify their skills and attributes and the School has our own in-house Workplace Partnerships and Employability Officer. Many of our graduates enter professions which make direct use of their academic expertise but the majority compete very successfully in a wide range of other fields.

Graduate careers
- Field Archaeologist
- Lecturer
- Heritage Conservationist

Cost Of Studying At Cardiff University

Interest rates as low as 8.9% ^*

250K+

Students Assisted

800Cr+

Loan Amount Disbursed

5000+

Loans Sanctioned

Check Loan Eligibility

Archaeology (BSc) at Cardiff University