History and Archaeology
Entry requirements
A level
Required subjects: A Levels: no specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: English at C or 4.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
39 points with 666 at HL. Required subjects: HL: no specific subjects required. SL: English at 5.
Scottish Higher
AAAB by end of S5 or AAAA by end of S6. BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6. Required subjects: Highers: no specific Higher subjects required. National 5s: English at C.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This programme allows you to pursue specialist studies in history in combination with the distinctive insights and methodologies of archaeology.
Edinburgh has a strong tradition in both history and archaeology and excellent collections of printed and material collections to support intensive study in these disciplines.
**History**
We offer an exceptionally wide range of history courses, covering:
* historical periods from the early Middle Ages to the contemporary world
* geographical regions including Britain and Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas
Our history courses also cover a wide variety of approaches to the past, including:
* political history
* cultural history
* social history
* economic history
* intellectual history
* gender history
* global and transnational history
**Archaeology**
Archaeology investigates the human past using material remains such as artefacts and excavated sites to reconstruct the economic, social and cultural life of early societies.
At Edinburgh we have a rich tradition of archaeological teaching and research, specialising in:
* European prehistory
* the early civilisations of the Mediterranean
* the Near East and Egypt
You will be introduced to standard and innovative archaeological techniques and the practice and theory of archaeology.
This will include the study of science-based archaeology, the study of animal and human bones and digital applications.
**Practical skills**
We emphasise the importance of training in practical archaeological skills.
You will have an opportunity to gain hands-on experience of artefact identification and analysis in practical sessions using artefacts from our own Vere Gordon Childe collection.
**Fieldwork**
At the end of Year 1, you will complete three weeks of archaeological fieldwork. In later years of study you will also have the option to complete:
* further fieldwork
* projects in heritage management and public engagement
* lab-based analysis of archaeological remains
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Central area campus
School of History, Classics and Archaeology
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
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)
History
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
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.
History
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
History is a very popular subject (although numbers have fallen of late) — in 2015, over 10,000 UK students graduated in a history-related course. Obviously, there aren't 11,000 jobs as historians available every year, but history is a good, flexible degree that allows graduates to go into a wide range of different jobs, and consequently history graduates have an unemployment rate comparable to the national graduate average. Many — probably most — jobs for graduates don't ask for a particular degree to go into them and history graduates are well set to take advantage. That's why so many go into jobs in the finance industry, human resources, marketing, PR and events management, as well as the more obvious roles in education, welfare and the arts. Around one in five history graduates went into further study last year. History and teaching were the most popular further study subjects for history graduates, but law, journalism, and politics were also popular postgraduate courses.
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.
£22k
£27k
£30k
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.
History
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£22k
£27k
£30k
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.
Explore these similar courses...
This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here