History and Archaeology

History and Archaeology are natural partners. History interrogates the written record, asking how texts, documents, and archives can be used to reconstruct and understand the past. Archaeology reads the physical world, recovering and interpreting the material traces that people and societies have left behind.

Together they give you two complementary methods for investigating human experience across time, and the combination produces a richer, more complete picture of the past than either discipline can achieve alone.

At the University of Exeter, this three-year full-time degree incorporates a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and a work placement component, giving you an exceptional range of opportunities to apply your skills in professional and international contexts alongside your academic studies. You will study historical periods and questions alongside archaeological methods including excavation, survey, finds analysis, and digital recording, developing both the interpretive skills of the historian and the field and laboratory competencies of the archaeologist. Exeter has a strong research profile in both disciplines and engages with a wide range of periods and geographies, from the ancient world to the modern period.

You will learn to handle primary sources critically, to work with material evidence, and to construct well-supported arguments from partial and fragmentary information. These skills translate into a broad range of professional contexts. The year abroad and placement year strengthen your ability to work independently and adaptably, and to bring practical experience to your academic study.

Graduates move into careers in heritage management, museum and gallery work, archaeological practice and consultancy, archiving, teaching, journalism, public administration, and the cultural sector. Some enter legal or postgraduate study, including in history, archaeology, heritage management, or related fields. The research and analytical skills that the degree develops are valued across many sectors where careful, evidence-based thinking matters.