Department of Archaeology | BA Historical Archaeology (with Year Abroad)

BA Historical Archaeology (with Year Abroad) at Durham University

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Study the material remains of the ancient, medieval and modern worlds, with an emphasis on the last 600 years.

This exciting BA Single Honours degree enables you to develop your passion for studying history in combination with archaeological training in historic-period material and visual culture, museum collections, buildings and landscapes and world heritage. With a particular focus on the archaeology of the last 600 years, this course offers a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary learning and skills providing an opportunity across all three years to study a combination of modules in the Department of Archaeology and the Department of History and complement this with modules from other subject areas.

Classroom-led teaching and small-group seminar work are combined with practical, lab and collections-based training, field visits and participation in the annual field school. You can choose from a range of specialist modules on the archaeology of historic period societies in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, East and South East Asia, the Indian Ocean and Middle East as well as thematic modules covering aspects of the early modern and modern world, such as colonialization, transatlantic connections, slavery, trade and industrialisation.

In the first year, you will acquire the basic range of intellectual and practical archaeological skills. In the second and third years you will move to more in-depth study of particular topics and methods working closely with staff and developing your own independent research project in your third year.

Students studying this course can also follow a route accredited by CIfA, the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. Choosing an accredited undergraduate degree is widely recognised as the first step on a career pathway leading to professional status. To obtain a CIfA accredited degree, you would study modules that equip you with the requisite theoretical and practical knowledge to act as a foundation for a career in the UK commercial archaeology sector.

Our close links with industry specialists coupled with in-house archaeological facilities give you a taste of the industry from the beginning of the course. This experience helps develop a broad range of subject-specific skills from osteology, geochemistry and the conservation of archaeological objects, to survey and remote sensing techniques and applications for Geographic Information Systems. 

Transferable skills include problem-solving, metadata analysis and information technology, as well as teamwork, presentation, project planning and management. These skills are valued across many industries. 

Our graduates work for organisations all over the world, from national and international heritage organisations, museums, environmental agencies, and commercial archaeological services to law and publishing, forensic science, teaching, tourism, and local and national government.

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