Higher Archaeological Practice

Overview

Course Details

Students will acquire expertise in a range of skills and techniques, from survey and excavation, to post-excavation analysis of objects and materials, archiving, reporting, publication and heritage management. Through project-based activities, and field- and laboratory-based elements, they will learn about the structure and organisation of archaeological practice within the UK, how to design and manage archaeological projects, and how to write and prepare reports.

The Higher Archaeological Practice MSc course offered at the University of Southampton has a strong practical component and aims to replicate real-world situations. Students have full and unlimited access to the facilities in the Department of Archaeology, including dedicated archaeological survey, computing and imagine facilities, lithics, ceramics and osteology labs, and extensive teaching collections. Southampton is located in close proximity to some of the UK’s premier archaeological sites and landscapes, including the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site.

Archaeology at the University of Southampton has close links to industry and national heritage bodies such as Historic England through its Coastal and Offshore Archaeology Services, Centre for Applied Human Origins Research and Archaeological Prospection Service. Its staff work in collaboration, and have held formal roles, with many of the big commercial archaeological units in the UK, including the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, Cotswold Archaeology, Oxford Archaeology and Wessex Archaeology.

Career Opportunities

You’ll gain a lots of practical, vocational experience on the course. Most students go on to work in archaeology, the heritage industry and science. Job roles have included:

• archaeologist
• maritime archaeologist
• project officer
• trainee geophysicist
• community outreach
• coastal process scientist
• civil servant
• teacher
• forensic scientist

Graduates have gone on to work for:

• Wessex Archaeology
• Ministry of Defence
• Department of Health and Social Care
• Historic Scotland
• Heritage Lottery Fund
• Geophysical Surveys of Bradford
• Channel Coastal Observatory
• Portsmouth City Council
• Maritime Archaeology Trust
• Maritime and Coastguard Agency
• A number of museums