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Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies

Entry requirements


We welcome applications from students who are completing an Access to Higher Education Diploma. We normally look for applicants to have studied a course that is in a similar subject and offers are usually made in line with our published tariff point range.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE in English Language at grade 4 or C, or higher.

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

104-120

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Archaeology

History

- Choose from a broad range of themes and periods and use both historical and archaeological evidence in your studies

- Develop deep theoretical and cultural knowledge sought after by employers in many industries

- Discover the importance of teamwork, personal research and fieldwork

Our Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies degree takes you on a highly engaging and fascinating adventure through time. From the Bronze Age to the Crusades and beyond, it’s an absorbing three-year journey exploring the archaeology, history, art and religion in the British Isles, continental Europe and the Mediterranean.

The course has a multidisciplinary approach to the human past, and is led by expert faculty from two of Winchester’s leading teaching and research departments, Archaeology, Anthropology and Geography and History. You can choose modules from the whole range of modules in Archaeology, Classical Studies and History that cover the Bronze Age to the medieval period, for example: The Greek World (Archaeology), The Glory of Athens and the Shadow of Sparta (Classical Studies), Roman Britain (Archaeology), The Pax Romana (Classical Studies), The Archaeology of Conflict (Archaeology) and Societies at War – England and France, 1189-1529 (History).

Although the library is likely to be your main base as a student, you won't need to be a bookworm. You can, for example. take practical classes in Archaeology to learn how sites are located and surveyed, or study human skeletal remains to research the health of past populations

In Year 1, you are introduced to the methods and approaches of archaeology, while also developing your knowledge of how documentary sources are used to study the past. Throughout Year 2, you focus on independent learning, choosing from a range of thematic studies such as Food and Drink in Medieval and Early Modern Britain and the Archaeology and Anthropology of Death, as well as period studies covering later prehistory, Classical Greece and Ancient Rome, and the Middle Ages.

In Year 3, you will write an 8,000 to 10,000 word study on a topic of your choosing. This is an opportunity to examine primary source material and use both historical and archaeological approaches to address a problem of the archaeological and historical past. In addition, you pick from a range of in-depth courses in including popular modules such as The Celts, Minoans and Myceneans, the Wars of the Roses and Murder in the Ancient City, and in which use both ancient sources and archaeological evidence.

Graduates have entered fulfilling archaeological careers in museums, heritage sites and local authorities. However, the programme also provides a wide range of skills that are highly relevant to a number of non-archaeological careers, such as conservation, education and the civil service. Our graduates are highly sought after by employers in all industries, who value their deep theoretical and cultural knowledge.

Modules

For detailed information on modules you will be studying please click on the 'View course details' link at the top of this summary box.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,700
per year
International
£16,700
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Winchester

Department:

Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Geography

Read full university profile

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.

86%
Archaeology
86%
History

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

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
82%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

64%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
81%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
54%
Male students
46%
Female students
62%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

History

Teaching and learning

90%
Staff make the subject interesting
96%
Staff are good at explaining things
87%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

71%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
74%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
50%
Male students
50%
Female students
61%
2:1 or above
18%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

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.

£19,000
med
Average annual salary
91%
med
Employed or in further education
32%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

23%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
14%
Natural and social science professionals
12%
Other elementary services occupations

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.

£19,500
med
Average annual salary
93%
low
Employed or in further education
38%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

18%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
10%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
9%
Other elementary services occupations

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.

£18k

£18k

£21k

£21k

£23k

£23k

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.

£18k

£18k

£21k

£21k

£23k

£23k

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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here