Archaeology

Archaeology is the study of the human past through its material remains, examining the objects, structures, and landscapes that people have left behind to reconstruct how they lived, worked, believed, and organised their societies. It is a discipline with a remarkable time depth, encompassing the earliest evidence of human activity hundreds of thousands of years ago through to the medieval and early modern period, and it draws on science, history, and the humanities to interpret what the material record can tell us. In an era of rapid change in the built and natural environment, archaeologists also play an important practical role in assessing, recording, and protecting the heritage that development and erosion threaten.

At the University of the Highlands and Islands, you will study archaeology in one of the most archaeologically rich regions in the British Isles. The Highlands and Islands of Scotland contain an extraordinary concentration of prehistoric monuments, from Neolithic chambered cairns and Pictish symbol stones to Norse settlements and crofting landscapes, and studying archaeology here means engaging with these landscapes and monuments as primary sources. The four-year programme is designed to develop your skills in fieldwork, excavation, finds analysis, and the theoretical and historical interpretation of the archaeological record.

The programme can also be studied part-time, making it accessible to those with other commitments.

Graduates of archaeology programmes work in heritage management, commercial archaeology, museums, local authorities, national agencies such as Historic Environment Scotland, and academic research. Teaching, science communication, and heritage tourism are also destinations. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in archaeology or a closely related field, developing specialist expertise in periods, regions, or methods that the undergraduate degree introduces.