Anthropology and Archaeology
Anthropology and Archaeology together address what it means to be human across all of time and all of the world's cultures. Anthropology studies human societies and cultures as they exist and as they have existed, examining how people organise their lives, make meaning, relate to each other, and understand themselves. Archaeology recovers the material traces of the past, using objects, sites, and landscapes to understand how people lived before the age of writing and in periods poorly represented in documents.
Together they give you the broadest possible perspective on the human story.
At Durham University, this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year with work placement opportunities and a year abroad, giving you both professional experience and direct exposure to field and cultural contexts beyond the UK. You will engage with social and cultural anthropology, evolutionary and biological perspectives on human diversity, archaeological theory and method, and the techniques of excavation, artefact analysis, and site interpretation. The combination encourages you to move between the ethnographic present and the deep past, developing the kind of cross-cultural and temporal perspective that is increasingly valuable in a globalised world.
Anthropology and Archaeology graduates pursue a notably varied range of careers. Academic research and teaching are obvious destinations for those who go on to postgraduate study. Museums, heritage organisations, and cultural resource management are strong employment sectors.
International development, humanitarian work, and NGOs active in cross-cultural contexts actively recruit people with anthropological training. Archaeology provides access to professional practice in commercial archaeology, built heritage, and environmental consulting. Many graduates also move into policy, journalism, the public sector, and careers in education.
The analytical and interpretive skills developed are transferable across an unusually wide range of sectors.