Anthropology and Archaeology
UCAS Code: LF64
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Applicants taking Science A-levels that include a practical component will be required to take and pass this as a condition of entry. This refers only to English A Levels.
Access to HE Diploma
We require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent). Applicants may be required to meet additional subject-specific requirements for particular courses at Durham.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Seventeen points (6, 6, 5) from Higher Level subjects.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
We will normally make offers based on Advanced Highers. If an applicant has not been able to take 3 Advanced Highers, offers may be made with a combination of Advanced Highers and Highers, or on a number of Highers.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
There are several areas of overlap between Anthropology and Archaeology, making them particularly suitable for combination in a joint honours degree. The BA (Hons) Anthropology and Archaeology course combines modules from the BA/BSc (Hons) Anthropology degrees and BA (Hons) Archaeology, providing a comprehensive understanding of humanity both past and present.
**Year 1**
In the first year, students currently take four compulsory modules (two from each department) and select two optional modules (one from each department). One modern foreign language module can also currently be taken in place of an elective module from either Anthropology or Archaeology.
Compulsory modules (20 credits each):
Being Human
Discovering World Prehistory.
Optional modules in Anthropology (20 credits each):
Peoples and Cultures
Human Evolution and Diversity
Health, Illness and Society
Doing Anthropological Research.
and Archaeology (20 credits each):
Applied Archaeological Methods
Ancient Civilisations of the East
Archaeology in Britain
Cities in Antiquity
Medieval to Modern: an Introduction to the Archaeology of Medieval to Post Medieval World
Scientific Methods in Archaeology 1.
**Year 2**
In the second year, you will develop a deeper understanding of methods and theory in anthropology and archaeology, and pursue your growing interests through optional modules offered by both departments. Currently, students take two compulsory modules and four optional modules (two from each department).
Compulsory modules (20 credits each):
Debating Anthropology and Archaeology
Interrogating Anthropology or Developing Archaeological Research.
Optional modules in Anthropology (20 credits each):
Anthropology Fieldwork module
Interrogating Anthropology
Kinship and Religion
Politics and Economics
Global Health and Disease
Sex, Reproduction and Love
Evolutionary Variation and Adaptation
Our Place in Nature.
Optional modules in Archaeology (20 credits each):
Archaeological Method and Theory
Prehistoric Europe: From Foragers to State Formation
Becoming Roman: From Iron Age to Empire in Italy and the West
Archaeology of Medieval and Post-medieval Britain in its European Context
The East Mediterranean World in the Bronze Age
Professional Training
Developing Archaeological Research
Ancient Mediterranean Civilisations: East and West.
Scientific Methods in Archaeology 2.
**Year 3**
In the final year, you will design and carry out your own research for a dissertation in Anthropology or Archaeology, or an interdisciplinary dissertation in Anthropology and Archaeology. In addition, you will study advanced topics in Anthropology and Archaeology that are generally based on the research expertise of staff in both departments, and reflect the University’s ideal of research-led education. You will choose eight topics from the 'Specialised Aspects' modules offered by each department (four topics from each).
Compulsory module: (40 credits): Dissertation in Anthropology, Archaeology or in Anthropology & Archaeology.
Optional modules in Anthropology (40 credits): Specialised Aspects in Social Anthropology / Evolutionary Anthropology / Health.
Optional modules in Archaeology (40 credits): Specialised Aspects in Archaeology / Advanced Professional Training / Current Archaeology / Interpreting Heritage / Museum Representation.
Study Abroad (Archaeology / Anthropology): For more information on this course, please see our website.
Modules
For more information on the content of this course, including module details, please see our website.
Tuition fees
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Archaeology

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See your living costsWhat students say
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How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Archaeology
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Anthropology
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Archaeology
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What do graduate employment figures really tell you?Want to do a job in the arts - with lots of the great outdoors? Try archaeology! There don't tend to be many archaeology undergraduates out there (just under 700 graduated in 2015) - but it's quite a popular subject at postgraduate level. In fact, over a quarter of archaeology graduates take some kind of further study when they graduate - usually more study of archaeology. When you look at the stats, be aware that junior jobs in archaeology are not always well paid at the start of your career, and that temporary contracts are not uncommon. Thankfully, though, unpaid work, whilst not completely gone, is less common than it used to be. The archaeology graduates of 2015 found jobs in archaeology, of course, but also management and heritage and environment work, as well as more conventional graduate jobs in marketing and the finance industry.
Anthropology
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What do graduate employment figures really tell you?This is a pretty flexible degree and a good one if you want to keep your options open. Just over 1,250 graduates completed anthropology degrees last year, and they were well spread out across a whole range of jobs — many industries have jobs that can be done by anthropology graduates and unlike a lot of degrees, there aren't many jobs we can point to and say ‘graduates from this degree do that job’. Management, marketing, housing and recruitment jobs are the most popular, though, and many graduates go into the education or social care sectors. Graduates are also rather more likely than average to work in London, or to go overseas to work. This is quite a popular subject at postgraduate level, and if you want to go into research, you'll need to think about postgrad study - and it's one of the few where numbers are on the up at the moment.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Archaeology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£21k
£29k
£35k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Anthropology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
£26k
£28k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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