Archaeology with Study Year Abroad

Archaeology is the study of the human past through the material remains it has left behind, including structures, artefacts, ecofacts, and landscapes. It spans an enormous range of time, from the first hominins millions of years ago to the recent past, and it uses methods from geology, biology, chemistry, and the digital sciences alongside traditional excavation to recover and interpret evidence that is otherwise inaccessible through documents or oral memory. Archaeology is both a rigorous scientific discipline and a deeply humanistic one, asking what it means to understand human lives through the objects and places they created.

At the University of Reading this four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, allowing you to extend your archaeological learning in a different country and to broaden your comparative understanding of how the past is studied and interpreted across different national and cultural contexts. The University of Reading has strong research strengths in archaeology and ancient history, and you will benefit from access to excellent collections, field training opportunities, and specialist staff. You will develop skills in fieldwork methods, artefact analysis, environmental reconstruction, and the interpretation of complex archaeological evidence, alongside the writing and critical thinking skills that all humanities scholarship demands.

Archaeology graduates pursue careers in heritage management, archaeological contracting, museums, conservation, education, research, and the civil service. The analytical, research, and communication skills the degree develops are also valued in a wide range of other professional contexts. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in archaeology, heritage management, or a related field, and some pursue careers in academic research or teaching.

The year abroad adds both professional and personal breadth, and for those interested in international archaeology, it provides a meaningful first experience of working and studying in a different archaeological context.