BA Archaeology and Anthropology with Professional Placement

Choose the University of Reading

• The University is in the top 100 in the world for Archaeology (QS World Rankings by Subject, 2024, Archaeology. The University of Reading is ranked 51-100 in the world).
• Ranked 1st in the UK for environmental and ethical performance (People and Planet University League 2023/24)
• In 2023, the University of Reading was the first ever winner of the Times Higher Education (THE) award for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership
• Ranked 1st in the UK for research quality and research outputs in Archaeology (Times Higher Education Institutions Ranked by Subject, based on its analysis of REF 2021)
• The University of Reading scored 1st for teaching quality in Archaeology and Forensic Science (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025).
• 97% of our students said teaching staff are good at explaining things (National Student Survey 2024, 97.06% of responders from the Department of Archaeology)
• Overall, 96% of graduates from Archaeology are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation. (Three-year average, based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2022-2024, Graduate Outcomes Surveys 2019/20-2021/22; includes Full-time, UK domiciled, first degree Archaeology responders).

Explore the archaeological past and cultures of today

Our BA Archaeology and Anthropology course allows you to combine two fascinating and related disciplines. Archaeology examines the material evidence from our past and present, while anthropology focuses on human development and contemporary cultures.

Studying these disciplines together will provide you with insight into what it means to be human. This will enable you to address issues that are critical to our shared global future, including:

• the relationship between humans and environmental change
• inequality, migration and identity
• population growth and development
• human diets and health
• politics, economics and sustainability.

By examining human development, behaviour and different cultures, you’ll better understand the roots of these issues. You’ll learn how other societies have tackled comparable problems and how contemporary societies are addressing them now.

Using methodological approaches from the sciences, social sciences and humanities, you’ll explore the diversity of human experience. You will learn about the biological evolution of our earliest ancestors, the pre-historical and historical development of different cultures, and present-day ways of life and social issues.

We’ll support you to develop a broad range of subject-specific and transferable skills that span the humanities and sciences. Your learning can include:

• the investigation of artefacts recovered through excavations and standing monuments
• how material, biological, and ethnographic evidence can be used to understand past and contemporary cultures and societies
• handling human remains to learn about burial archaeology and biological anthropology
• examining how ideas of gender vary between different times and societies today
• how climate and environmental change has impacted lives past and present.

Professional placement

A professional placement allows you to apply – and increase – your academic knowledge while enhancing your employability. We encourage all our students to consider any placements that can equip them with skills to support them in their future careers.

Previous placement students have analysed samples in labs, processed human remains, worked on hominin skeletal morphology, drawn archaeological finds, conducted collections-based research, studied the ecology of the Crusades through isotope analysis and faunal remains, investigated paleoclimate records, and participated in castle excavations in Spain.

You'll undertake your placement during the third year of your degree, returning to complete your final year of study in your fourth year.

You can complete your placement with an employer in the UK or abroad, and take advantage of our connections with a range of organisations in the archaeological, heritage, planning and museum sectors, including:

• research institutions
• government organisations
• local planning authorities
• archaeological consultancies
• field units
• museums and archives.

Alternatively, you may choose to complete a placement in a non-related industry to explore different career options and develop your skills.

Recent placement employers have included:

• Oxford Archaeology
• Thames Valley Archaeological Services
• Archaeological Research Services
• Ure Museum
• Cole Museum of Zoology
• The Museum of English Rural Life
• QUEST, the University of Reading's scientific consultancy company
• Durham Blue Coat C.E. aided Junior School
• Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
• Signals (art and education charity).

In addition to your formal professional placement, you will also be encouraged to undertake short placements with local and regional employers during your studies.

As a placement student, you are responsible for finding your own placement. We have a dedicated placements team and member of staff in Archaeology who will provide you with advice and support throughout the process.

For more information about securing and completing a placement during your placement year, please visit our Important Information page.