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Archaeological Practice with Professional Placement at University of Winchester - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 20262026 - 2027
Apply

This course is not open to application until the 13th May 2025.

University of Winchester has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

10Jun
University of Winchester - Open Afternoon (2026 entry)
Undergraduate
5Jul
University of Winchester - Open Day (2026 entry)
Undergraduate
13Sep
University of Winchester - Open Day (2026 entry)
Undergraduate

Course summary

  • Spend a full year gaining invaluable experience with our industry placement
  • Use our fully equipped laboratory and the latest range of industry-standard surveying equipment, including a ground penetrating radar and geoscan gradiometers
  • Graduate with your own professional portfolio to impress employers
  • Learn applied scientific approaches to archaeology, with fieldwork opportunities throughout your studies and conduct research using original laboratory or field data
  • Fieldwork projects in the UK and overseas
  • Emphasis on skills acquisition within an academically rigorous environment
Archaeology unearths the stories of our past. It is the role of the archaeologist to discover and excavate sites and interpret the material recovered from them. Our Archaeological Practice course is the original vocational archaeology degree, and is specifically designed to give you the practical and technical skills necessary for a successful career in archaeology. Your rewarding placement year will boost your skills, experience and professional network. In our hands-on programme, you will use cutting-edge scientific techniques to explore the past. You will go out into the field to work on sites of historic importance, as well as studying a wide range of themes from Prehistoric Europe to death and burial. Then you will make good use of your knowledge in a year-long placement within the industry and come away with a professional portfolio to impress future employers. Our department also has a commercial research consultancy (ARCA), where you can learn from highly-trained specialist staff. The consultancy offers valuable laboratory work experience – an opportunity to combine your academic expertise with delivering high-quality commercial solutions. During fieldwork in the UK and abroad you will use state of the art field equipment - including ground penetrating radar, magnetometers, magnetic susceptibility meters, differential GPS instruments and total stations. In addition, you will learn how to use industry standard computer software such as ArcGIS and Geoplot. In Year 1, you learn all the basics for a solid foundation in Archaeology, from prehistory to the historic period and cover topics like Archaeological Science and Fieldwork. This is topped off with an exciting four weeks of fieldwork on a research excavation. You cement your knowledge in Year 2 by acquiring practical and applied skills including in Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing and measured survey, and post-excavation analysis. You prepare for a dissertation with modules on theory and research method. There is also a range of optional modules that explore the entire human story from Early Prehistoric Europe, through Ancient Greece to Medieval, post-Medieval and Modern Eurasia, as well as Human Bioarchaeology, the Archaeology and Anthropology of Death and Burial, and a multi-day field trip module in which you visit sites in another region of Britain. Delve into what it’s really like to work as a professional archaeologist in Year 3 with a full year’s placement at an archaeological organisation and develop a portfolio of professional practice to demonstrate your experience to future employers. In Year 4, you engage in more vocational learning during classes on project management and cultural heritage practice, and a module features archaeological debates. You write a dissertation, generally on a practical topic, such as a site survey. You can also choose from optional modules which include examining the archaeology of Europe Prehistory and further afield from a range of perspectives, including religion, society and conflict. With the course’s focus on vocational archaeology, it’s no surprise that many of our graduates proceed directly into a career in professional archaeology, often with commercial archaeological organisations undertaking developer funded excavation, survey work and research work.

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.

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) (formerly Institute of Field Archaeologists)

How to apply

This course is not open to application until the 13th May 2025.

14Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
V401
Institution code:
W76
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

Applicants who wish to apply for advanced standing (exemption from part of a programme) based on previous study are considered on an individual basis. Applicants are required to provide transcripts. confirming the module titles and grades they have already achieved, as well as module handbooks and/or programme specifications showing the learning outcomes of the modules completed.

International applicants

We accept a wide range of non-UK qualifications and use UK NARIC (National Recognition Information Centre) guidelines to confirm their equivalence. All undergraduate applicants are also required to provide evidence of English Language and will need to obtain a minimum of IELTS 6.0 overall (including 5.5 in Writing).

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Applicants are required to hold a minimum of 2 x A-level or equivalent qualifications (e.g. 2 x BTEC National Subsidiary Diplomas) and we accept all A-level subjects, including Critical Thinking, General Studies and own-language A-levels. We welcome applicants who have completed the Extended Project (EP/EPQ) and points obtained from this qualification will be included in any offer. In addition, we accept a maximum of 32 points from level 3 qualifications below A2 that are included in the tariff (e.g. AS-levels not studied at A-level, music or dance qualifications). If you are a mature student, your application will be considered on its individual merits and work or other professional experience may be taken into consideration in lieu of other published requirements.

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6An overall score of 6.0, including 5.5 in writing is required. If you require Tier 4 sponsorship, you will require a minimum of 5.5 in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
65%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
80%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £9535* Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535* Year 1
Scotland £9535* Year 1
Wales £9535* Year 1
Channel Islands £9535* Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535* Year 1

*This is a provisional fee and subject to change.

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

For further information about any additional costs associated with this course please see the individual course page on the University of Winchester website (www.winchester.ac.uk).
Archaeological Practice with Professional Placement at University of Winchester - UCAS