vv41 - History and Archaeology BA
History and Archaeology BA Honours
UCAS Code: VV41 (full time: 3 Years)
Course Overview
This degree combines the study of both historical documents and archaeological remains to understand how past communities lived.
At a Glance
UCAS Code
VV41
UCAS Institution Name and Code
NEWC, N21
Degree Awarded
BA Honours
Course Duration
3 Years
Entry Requirements
A Level: ABB
IB: 32 points
Opportunities
We focus principally on the period from the Romans to the present day, with modules spanning centuries and continents, giving you flexibility to tailor your degree to your interests.
You begin with the study of Roman, Saxon, Viking, medieval and post-medieval Britain, before exploring European archaeology.
Optional modules in areas such as the history of North America, Mexico, East Asia and Russia are also available.
You'll gain hands-on experience of the past through a minimum of four weeks' excavation fieldwork in your first two years, plus artefact handling at the University-led Great North Museum.
Quality and ranking
Archaeology:
- 8th in the UK– The Guardian University Guide 2020
- 9th in the UK – The Complete University Guide 2020
- top 150 – Archaeology category – QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019
- top 200 – Arts and Humanities category – Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2018
History at Newcastle is also highly regarded:
- top 200 – Arts and Humanities category – Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2018
Boost your employability with a work placement
Apply to spend 9 to 12 months on an optional work placement between Stages 2 and 3. You can apply to spend your placement year with any organisation and will receive University support to do so.
You’ll gain first-hand experience of working in the sector, putting your learning into practice and developing your professional expertise.
It will extend your degree by a year and is subject to availability, however it isn't available if you're spending a year studying abroad.
Find out more about Work Placements.
Fieldwork and practical skills
Practical skills
Training in practical skills forms an important part of your degree, equipping you with the field skills required by professional archaeologists. You will receive training in:
- fieldwork methods
- artefact handling
- archaeological recording techniques
Fieldwork
You complete a minimum of four weeks’ field placement on an approved project in the summer vacations at the end of Stages 1 and 2.
Find out more about the fieldwork opportunities available at Newcastle on the School of History, Classics and Archaeology's website
Other opportunities
You'll have opportunities to develop work-related skills thanks to our very close links with local heritage organisations throughout the region, including:
- our unique Heritage City website, which helps you find opportunities to work alongside professional archaeologists in Newcastle
- volunteering opportunities with heritage organisations in the North East
- work experience in a museum or other heritage organisation, which may be possible in Stage 2
Study abroad
Studying abroad as part of your degree is a fun, challenging experience that will broaden your cultural horizons.
It will increase your employability and help you acquire a range of practical life skills. It's also a chance to improve your language skills and develop an international network of friends.
You have the opportunity to take part in a study abroad exchange in either Stage 2 or Stage 3.
You can study in a European country, including:
- France
- Italy
- Finland
- Slovenia
You can also choose to study in a non-European country, such as Australia, the USA or Hong Kong.
Historically rich location
There can be no better place to study history and archaeology than in the North East of England, home to one of the highest concentrations of World Heritage Sites.
Follow in Hadrian’s footsteps and retrace the Romans’ campaigns in Britain; venture into the past before history in prehistoric landscapes rich in rock art, burial cairns, hillforts and other monuments; or encounter the Golden Age of the Venerable Bede.
We organise regular one-day study visits and field trips across the archaeological landscape of northern England, including:
Facilities and support
Study at Newcastle and you will join a community of professionals, academics and students in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology.
Facilities
Facilities include a dedicated archaeology laboratory with petrology microscopes and stereo-microscopes for artefact analysis, and permanent collections including human remains, animal bones, Roman pottery and our Victorian household collection.
There's also the Cluster for Interdisciplinary Artefact Studies, delivering professional training in handling artefacts, and extensive collections in the University-led Great North Museum adjacent to campus.
Support
You'll be supported throughout the degree by a personal tutor – an academic member of staff who can help with academic and personal issues.
You'll also be offered a peer mentor in your first year – this is a fellow student who can help you settle in and answer any questions you have.
Social activities
We have a thriving Archaeology society running social events throughout the year.
Find out more
Visit the School's website to:
- find out more about our teaching and learning methods
- take a virtual tour of our archaeology and history facilities
Free Online Short Course - Hadrian's Wall: Life on the Roman Frontier
Newcastle University is in partnership with FutureLearn to deliver free online courses on its social learning platform.
Hadrian's Wall: Life on the Roman Frontier led by Professor Ian Haynes.
This six week course offers a comprehensive introduction to Hadrian's Wall, the most heavily fortified frontier in the Roman Empire, its people and their lives.
It raises fascinating issues concerning colonisation, cultural transformation, immigration, integration and imperialism.
Compare this course
See how this course compares with others for topics such as student satisfaction, fees and costs and prospects after graduation using the Unistats Key Information Set.
Modules for 2019 entry
Please note
The module and/or programme information below is for 2019 entry. Our teaching is informed by research and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, student feedback, or insufficient numbers of students interested (in an optional module). To find out more read our terms and conditions.
Module/programme information for 2020 entry will be published here as soon as it is available (end of May 2020).
Our degrees are divided into Stages. Each Stage lasts for an academic year and you need to complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each Stage. Further information, including the credit value of the module, is available in each of the module descriptions below.
Stage 1
Compulsory modules
- ARA1027 Introduction to Archaeology
- ARA1030 The Archaeology of Britain from the Romans to the 20th Century
- HIS1029 Varieties of History
- HIS1030 Evidence and Argument
Optional modules
You select one or two of the modules below:
- ARA1001 Stuff: Living in a Material World
- ARA1026 Introduction to Archaeological Science
- ARA1028 Prehistoric Britain
- HIS1025 World Empires
- HIS1027 European History
- HIS1044 Aspects of British History
- HIS1046 The History of the Americas
If only one module is selected from the above list then you will take one other open elective module. The following is recommended:
Fieldwork
At the end of Stage 1 you complete at least two weeks of excavation fieldwork and the following compulsory module:
Stage 2
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
You must take four, and may take five, of the following modules, choosing at least two modules from History and at least one from Archaeology:
Archaeology modules:
- ARA2001 Archaeological Theory and Interpretation
- ARA2004 Animals, Plants and People: an Introduction to Environmental Archaeology
- ARA2011 Prehistoric Europe
- ARA2016 Aegean Prehistory
- ARA2091 Archaeologies of the Roman Empire: the Roman World from Augustus to Justinian
- ARA2092 The Medieval World: AD 400-1500
- ARA2097 Historical Archaeology of the Modern World (Post 1492)
- ARA2101 Artefacts
History modules:
- HIS2002 Fatal Allies: Anglo-Irish Relations, 1798-1998
- HIS2072 Anglo-Saxon England: From Roman Britain to the Norman Conquest, 410-1066
- HIS2078 Approaches to the History of Western Medicine
- HIS2082 Twentieth Century Spain, 1898-2004
- HIS2085 Pre-Columbian and Spanish America
- HIS2086 Twentieth Century France, 1914-95
- HIS2104 The Dark Ages: The Post-Roman World, 500-700
- HIS2114 Death, Dying and the Dead in Early Modern England, 1500-1800
- HIS2124 A History of Contemporary Britain
- HIS2131 American Slavery, American Freedom: Black and White America in the Age of Revolutions
- HIS2133 Society and Politics in Colonial India, 1880s-1947
- HIS2140 Survey History of Japan
- HIS2219 Oral History and Memory
- HIS2228 The Habsburg Empire
- HIS2235 The Soviet Experiment: 1917-1991
- HIS2239 Colonialism and Post-Colonialism in Egypt and Sudan
- HIS2240 Greece from the ancient times to the 21st century: Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the past
- HIS2241 The History of Modern Germany, 1806 until today
- HIS2242 Researching History*
- HIS2252 Aotearoa New Zealand: From Acquisition to Autonomy
- HIS2095 Social Histories of Alcohol: Britain and Ireland, 1700-Present
- HIS2170 The History of New Orleans
- LAS2030 Comparative History of Hispano-America and Brazil: from Independence to the Mexican Revolution (1789/1810-1917)
* This module is for students intending to undertake HIS3020 Writing History at Stage 3.
If only four modules have been selected from the above list, you must take one further 20 credit open elective module. The following is recommended:
Fieldwork
At the end of Stage 2 you complete a further two weeks of fieldwork and the following compulsory module:
Work Placement (optional)
You can apply to spend 9 to 12 months on an optional work placement between Stages 2 and 3. You can apply to spend your placement year with any organisation and will receive University support to do so. It will extend your degree by a year and is subject to availability. It isn't available if you're spending a year studying abroad. Find out more about Work Placements.
Stage 3
Compulsory modules
You choose one of the following compulsory modules:
- ARA3001 Dissertation in Archaeology
- ARA3003 Dissertation in Archaeology and History
- HIS3020 Writing History
Optional modules
You choose three, and may take four modules from the following lists. At least 40 credits of Archaeology modules (ARA) and 40 credits of History modules (HIS) must be taken each year. Only one History (HIS) module can be selected in each semester.
Archaeology modules:
- ARA3004 Geoarchaeology
- ARA3013 Early Medieval Northern Europe
- ARA3016 The Archaeology of Byzantium and its Neighbours
- ARA3021 Frontier Communities of Roman Britain
- ARA3031 Historical Archaeology of Britain 1500-Present
- ARA3036 Neolithic & Early Bronze Age Britain
- ARA3117 The Archaeology of Animal Bones
- ARA3118 Origins and Transformations: Early Prehistoric Europe
- ARA3121 Sex, bodies and identities in Classical Greece
History modules:
- HIS3035 Elizabeth I: the Politics of Religion
- HIS3131 China in Revolution
- HIS3134 The Great Patriotic War and its Aftermath
- HIS3135 The Nazi New Order in Europe
- HIS3181 The American Civil War, 1861-1865
- HIS3203 Madness, Nerves and Narratives in Georgian Britain, c.1714-1830
- HIS3206 The Irish Revolution, 1879-1923
- HIS3212 Reconstruction and the New South, 1865-1914
- HIS3219 Living Together: Christians, Muslims and Jews in Medieval Iberia
- HIS3220 British Foreign Policy since Suez
- HIS3221 Birth Control in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
- HIS3222 Jarrow Crusade
- HIS3229 The Spanish Second Republic and Civil War, 1931-1939
- HIS3232 Civil Rights and Armalites: Northern Ireland since 1969
- HIS3240 Civil Rights in America, 1948-1975
- HIS3284 The Mexican Revolution
- HIS3295 Royal Portraits: Christian Kings and Kingship, c.870-c.930
- HIS3321 Viking-Age Scandinavia
- HIS3326 Women in Colonial South Asia: Tradition, Reform and Modernity
- HIS3328 Imagined Futures
- HIS3330 Islam and its Origins
- HIS3331 God's Terrible Voice: the experience and impact of Plague in England, 1500-1722
- HIS3334 Talking Cures and Troubles: An Oral History of Health and Medicine in Britain, c.1948-2000
- HIS3336 Punishing the Criminal Dead: Crime, culture and corpses in Modern Britain
- HIS3337 Russian Cities and Culture from Peter the Great to the Revolution
- HIS3341 Lunatic to Citizen? Madness and Society since 1900
- HIS3344 The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1961-1990
If only three modules have been selected from the lists above, one additional 20 credit optional module may be selected. The following are recommended choices:
All candidates are considered on an individual basis.
If your qualifications are not listed here, please see our additional entry requirements web pages to find out which other qualifications are considered.
The entrance requirements below apply to 2020 entry.
Careers
History and Archaeology careers
Archaeology students enter a wide range of careers. The graduate job market includes careers in:
- finance
- marketing
- administration
- the media
- management
- teaching
and is as open to archaeologists as to any other graduates. Employers appreciate the combination of transferable skills which our degrees give you.
Some of our students continue as professional archaeologists or historians with organisations such as English Heritage, or within public and private museums and local authority planning offices.
Postgraduate courses cater for those wishing to specialise in various types of archaeological or historical work and these include opportunities for professional training and study in museum and heritage work.
In addition, many graduates volunteer in museums or on excavations in the UK or abroad to increase their practical experience before taking up permanent employment.
Other archaeology graduates use their skills and expertise as, for example, company archivists, information technologists, specialist librarians and researchers, and in a variety of industries including publishing, broadcasting and public relations.
Find out more about the career options for History and Archaeology from Prospects: The UK's Official Careers Website.
What our graduates go on to do: employment and further study choices
See what our recent graduates went on to do and view graduate destinations statistics. These statistics are based on what graduates were doing on a specific date, approximately six months after graduation. Take a look at the most recent data available for our graduates.
The destination data is available in varying levels, beginning with the University and moving through Faculty and School down to individual course reports. This final level may give you some useful ideas about possible options after your course or a course you are considering.
Careers and employability at Newcastle
Newcastle University consistently has one of the best records for graduate employment in the UK.
96% of our 2017 UK-domiciled UG/PG graduates progressed to employment or further study within six months of graduating.
85.5% of our graduates are in graduate level employment or further study within six months of graduating.
We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through an initiative called ncl+. This enables you to develop personal, employability and enterprise skills and to give you the edge in the employment market after you graduate.
Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers.
Applying to Newcastle University through UCAS
To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
UCAS codes for Newcastle University
- institution name - NEWC
- institution code - N21
UCAS buzzword
Ask your teacher or adviser from your school or college for the UCAS buzzword. You need the buzzword when you register on the Apply system. This makes it clear which school or college you are applying from.
All UK schools and colleges and a small number of EU and international establishments are registered with UCAS.
If you are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, you will still use the Apply system. You will not need a buzzword.
Making your application
On the UCAS website you can also find out more about:
- application deadlines and other important dates
- offers and tracking your application
Application decisions and enquiries
Find out more about our admissions process and who to contact if you need help with your application.