Course overview

This three-year degree focuses on developing your expertise as a historian, while equipping you with the skills you need to become a professional archaeologist.

You're introduced to new peoples, places and periods from across the globe, and you'll explore how archaeology has changed our understanding of the past.

Our flexible degree allows you to tailor your course to suit your interests, so you can explore the periods and regions that excite you through a wide range of modules.

You'll also be able to explore North East England, a region that's steeped in history while on field trips. There's a rich past to discover here.

Download information about this course as a PDF

Quality and ranking

• 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

Teaching excellence

TEF Gold

A ringing endorsement of Newcastle University’s long tradition of excellence in teaching.

Modules and learning

Modules

The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage. 

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content changes periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

Optional module availability
Student demand for optional modules may affect availability.

Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

To find out more please see our terms and conditions.

You will learn the essential theories, methods and practical skills used in archaeology.

You will take the History module Evidence and Argument and select options in, Public History, or Historical Sources and Methods. At the end of Year 1, you complete at least two weeks’ excavation fieldwork.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Foundational Fieldwork Training	0
Introduction to Archaeology	20
The Archaeology of Britain from the Romans to the 20th Century	20
Varieties of History	20
Evidence and Argument	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Stuff: living in a material world	20
Introduction to Archaeological Science	20
Prehistoric Britain	20
Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology	20
World Empires	20
European History	20
Aspects of British History	20
The History of the Americas	20

You continue to explore archaeological methods, and choose from options in both history and archaeology. Many of these complement each other: you can choose to study the medieval world, through modules in both disciplines.

You will also complete two weeks of fieldwork at the end of Year 2.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Advanced Fieldwork Training	0
Fieldwork and Archaeological Practice	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Archaeological Theory and Interpretation	20
Animals, Plants and People: an Introduction to Environmental Archaeology	20
Prehistoric Europe	20
Aegean Prehistory	20
Archaeologies of the Roman Empire: The Roman World from Augustus to Justinian	20
The Medieval World: AD 400-1500	20
Historical Archaeology of the Modern World (post 1492)	20
Artefacts	20
Fatal Allies: Anglo-Irish Relations, 1798-1998	20
Between Revolutions: Britain 1688-1789	20
Anglo-Saxon England: From Roman Britain to the Norman Conquest, 410 - 1066	20
Approaches to the History of Western Medicine	20
Twentieth Century Spain, 1898-2004	20
Pre-Columbian and Spanish America	20
Twentieth Century France 1914-95	20
Social Histories of Alcohol: Britain and Ireland, 1700 - Present	20
The Dark Ages: The Post-Roman World, 500-700	20
Death, Dying & the Dead in Early Modern England, 1500-1832	20
A History of Contemporary Britain	20
American Slavery, American Freedom: Black and White America in the Age of Revolutions	20
Society and Politics in Colonial India, 1880s-1947	20
Survey History of Japan	20
The History of New Orleans	20
Oral History and Memory	20
The Habsburg Empire	20
The Soviet Experiment: 1917-1991	20
Colonialism and Post-Colonialism in Egypt and Sudan	20
Greece from ancient times to the 21st century: Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the past	20
The History of Modern Germany, 1806 until today	20
Researching History	20
Aotearoa New Zealand: From acquisition to autonomy	20
Comparative History of Hispano-America and Brazil: from Independence to the Mexican Revolution (1789/1810-1917)	20
Developing Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Employability	20

In Stage 3, you'll complete a dissertation in archaeology, history or a combination of both, conducting in-depth research.

You will have a choice of optional modules, which complement each other. You can choose to study the Archaeology of Britain after 1500, alongside history options on Elizabeth I, and the Georgian period.

Modules

Optional Modules	Credits
Dissertation in Archaeology	40
Dissertation in Archaeology & History	40
Geoarchaeology	20
Early Medieval Britain	20
The Archaeology of Byzantium and its Neighbours	20
Frontier Communities of Roman Britain	20
Historical Archaeology of Britain 1500-Present	20
Neolithic & Early Bronze Age Britain in its European Context	20
The Archaeology of Animal Bones	20
Origins and Transformations: Early Prehistoric Europe	20
Sex, bodies and identities in Classical Greece	20
Semeser One Substitute for Stage 3 HIS Capped Special Subject	20
Semeser Two Substitute for Stage 3 HIS Capped Special Subject	20
Reading History	20
Writing History	40
History and Society	20
Elizabeth I: the Politics of Religion	20
China in Revolution	20
The Great Patriotic War and its Aftermath	20
The Nazi New Order in Europe	20
The American Civil War, 1861-1865	20
Madness, Nerves and Narratives in Georgian Britain, c. 1714-1830	20
The Irish Revolution, 1879-1923	20
Reconstruction and the New South, 1865-1914	20
Living Together: Christians, Muslims and Jews in Medieval Iberia	20
British Foreign Policy since Suez	20
Birth Control in the 19th & 20th Centuries	20
Jarrow Crusade	20
The Spanish Second Republic and Civil War, 1931-1939	20
Civil Rights and Armalites Northern Ireland since 1969	20
Civil Rights in America, 1948-1975	20
Royal Portraits: Christian Kings and Kingship, c. 870-c. 930	20
Viking-Age Scandinavia	20
Women in Colonial South Asia: Tradition, Reform and Modernity	20
Imagined Futures	20
Islamism and its Origins	20
God's Terrible Voice: the experience and impact of Plague in England, 1500 - 1722	20
Talking Cures and Troubles: An Oral History of Health and Medicine in Britain, c. 1948 - 2000	20
Europe and the Ottoman Empire, 1453-1798	20
Punishing the Criminal Dead: Crime, Culture, and Corpses in Modern Britain	20
Russian Cities and Culture from Peter the Great to the Revolution	20
Lunatic to Citizen? Madness and Society since 1900	20
Republicanism from Antiquity to Enlightenment	20
The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1961 - 1990	20
Health and disease in the Anthropocene: Intersections of human and environmental health post 1800	20
Our Visual Past: Ancient Rock Art in the UK and Internationally	20
Career Development for final year students	20

Teaching and assessment

Teaching methods

You'll learn from:

• lectures
• seminars
• tutorials
• workshops
• practical activities
• site visits and fieldwork training
• independent study

These activities take place in the classroom, the library, the field, the museum and the laboratory.

Assessment methods

You'll be assessed through a combination of:

• 

  Dissertation or research project

• 

  Essays

• 

  Examinations – practical or online

• 

  Presentations

• 

  Reports

Skills and experience

Practical skills 

You will analyse documentary sources and take part in practical sessions using the Robinson Library’s Special Collections, and have opportunities to handle historical artefacts from the nearby Great North Museum's collections.

You'll also undertake excavation fieldwork, giving you the chance to study and implement the methods and practices used in the profession.

In the summer of their first year, all archaeology students undertake two weeks of fully funded fieldwork at Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site.

Research skills

In your final year, you'll write your dissertation in an area of your choice. You can choose to specialise more closely in archaeology or history, or can combine the two.

You'll make use of the skills you've gained throughout your degree, and conduct your own research project in your final year. This gives you the chance to dig deeper into a subject you're interested in.

You'll also have the opportunity to apply for summer vacation scholarships in your second year, and receive funding to conduct a research project.

Opportunities

Study abroad

Experience life in another country by choosing to study abroad as part of your degree. You’ll be encouraged to embrace fun and challenging experiences, make connections with new communities and graduate as a globally aware professional, ready for your future.

You can choose to spend up to a year studying at a partner institution overseas.

If you choose to study abroad, it will extend your degree by a year. 

Find out more about study abroad

Work placement

Get career ready with a work placement and leave as a confident professional in your field. You can apply to spend 9 to 12 months working in any organisation in the world, and receive University support from our dedicated team to secure your dream placement. Work placements take place between stages 2 and 3.

You'll gain first-hand experience of working in the sector, putting your learning into practice and developing your professional expertise.

If you choose to take a work placement, it will extend your degree by a year. A work placement is not available if you're spending a year studying abroad. Placements are subject to availability.

Find out more about work placements

Facilities and environment

Facilities

You'll be based in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, in the historic Armstrong Building at our city-centre campus. 

You'll have access to a range of on-campus facilities, including:

• the Great North Museum: Hancock, with its Antiquarian Library and range of artefacts
• the Special Collections in the Robinson Library 

Find out more about the Special Collections

Support

You'll have the support of an academic member of staff as a personal tutor throughout your degree to help with academic and personal issues.

Peer mentors will help you in your first year. They are fellow students who can help you settle in and answer any questions you have when starting university.

Your future

Our History and Archaeology degree will set you up to pursue a future in the museums, archives and heritage sector or to start a career as a professional archaeologist.

93% of graduates from our History and Archaeology BA Honours degree were in work or further study within six months of completing their degree*.

Many of our graduates choose to pursue a career in the heritage sector or become professional archaeologists.

*Take a look at the most recent data available for our graduates. See what they have gone on to achieve and be inspired to follow in their footsteps.

Statistics are based on what graduates were doing on a specific date, approximately six months after graduation (Destinations of (undergraduate and postgraduate UK domiciled) Leavers from Higher Education Survey 2016/17).

Make a difference

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Careers support

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Tuition fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for 2020 entry (per year)

UK Students

£9250

International Students

£19200

The maximum fee that we are permitted to charge for UK students is set by the UK government.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

You will be charged tuition fees for each year of your degree programme (unless you are on a shorter exchange programme).

The tuition fee amount you will pay may increase slightly year on year as a result of inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

Year abroad and additional costs

For programmes where you can spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad, you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year. 

Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.

Find out more about:

• different tuition fees
• additional costs

Scholarships

Find out more about:

• scholarships for UK, EU and international students
• scholarships for students applying to study at our London campus
• Student Loans and Government financial support for UK and EU students

How to apply

Apply through UCAS

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle University, you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). All UK schools and colleges, and a small number of EU and international establishments, are registered with UCAS. You will need:

• the UCAS name and institution codes for Newcastle University (NEWC/N21)
• the UCAS code for the course you want to apply for
• the UCAS 'buzzword' for your school or college

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.

Apply through UCAS

Apply through an agent

International students often apply to us through an agent. Have a look at our recommended agents and get in touch with them.

Visit our International pages