Higher Archaeological Practice

This vocational master's degree will prepare you for a career in commercial archaeology. Through hands-on experience you'll gain the skills to plan and run archaeological projects, from survey and excavation to analysis and reporting. You'll apply your learning by spending 4 weeks on professional placement.

We're ranked Top 30 in the world for archaeology (QS World University Rankings, 2019).

Your specialist archaeological practice learning will cover:

• processes and workflows of the heritage industry and commercial archaeology
• professional report writing
• statutory and local government systems for recording and protecting cultural heritage
• presentations and exhibitions
• how to design and manage archaeological projects

Beyond your specialist modules you can personalise this degree to your areas of interest.

We bring expertise together from across the University, including Medicine, Humanities, the National Oceanography Centre, Engineering and Winchester School of Art, to help you gain both scientific skills and cultural understanding through a range of optional modules.

This is a very practical degree. You'll have full access to a wide range of dedicated facilities and specialist teachers to develop your practical skills. These include:

• a dedicated library
• a large collection of stone tools and hominin skulls
• specialist isotope labs and a scanning, imaging and micro-CT suite
• an extensive collection of human and animal skeletons

You can develop your practical skills further when you take part in a 3-day field trip to the West Devon and Cornwall World Heritage Site. Here you'll conduct an environmental impact assessment using geographical information systems, computer-aided design and remote sensing.

We have relationships with a number of leading heritage institutions and companies. You'll spend 4 weeks on placement with one of these institutions, where you'll gain valuable real-world experience of the archaeology sector and heritage industry. Previous placements have included Historic England, Wessex Archaeology and The Nautical Archaeology Society.

In addition to your vocational training you'll develop advanced research skills. For your dissertation you'll undertake original research on a topic that you choose. There's the possibility that this work will be published.

Southampton is close to the World Heritage sites of Stonehenge and Avebury and we have research projects engaged with both sites, as well as a range of other archaeological projects across the globe.

Flexible study

If you prefer, you can apply to study this course as:

• a part-time master's - study the same course content over 2 or more years

Your modules and fees may vary if you choose a different study option.

Course lead

Professor Joanna Sofaer (FSA, PFHEA) is Professor of Archaeology, Co-Director of the Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities, Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) Knowledge Exchange and Impact Fellow, Director of Archaeology for the Creative Industries, and Co-Director of the research at the important Bronze Age tell settlement at Százhalombatta, Hungary. 

For more information view Professor Joanna Sofaer staff profile

Related pathways

If you'd prefer a less specialised archaeology master's degree, or you'd like to focus on a different specialism, you can choose from our 3 other Archaeology MSc pathways. When you join us you'll have 2 weeks in which you can change pathway if you wish.

Your other Archaeology MSc pathway options are:

• Archaeology - Personalise your study of archaeology and build real-world skills through a heritage or archaeological placement with this QS top 30 Archaeology Master's.
• Archaeology Bioarchaeology - Gain specialist skills in human anatomy and faunal analysis to make sense of the past. Benefit from dedicated archaeology laboratories and specialist research.
• Archaeology Palaeoanthropology - Discover our Palaeoanthropology master's degree at the University of Southampton. Learn to analyse stone tools and hominin skulls to understand our evolution.

Postgraduate entry requirements

90% of our archaeology master's graduates are in employment or further study 6 months after graduation (Destination of Leavers from Higher Education Survey).

Your research project could set you on the road to an academic or research career - and could end up being published in an academic journal. Many of our graduates go on to complete PhD studies.

You'll gain a lots of practical, vocational experience on the course. Most students go on to work in archaeology, the heritage industry and science. Job roles have included:

• archaeologist
• maritime archaeologist
• project officer
• trainee geophysicist
• community outreach
• coastal process scientist
• civil servant
• teacher
• forensic scientist

Our graduates have gone on to work for:

• Wessex Archaeology
• Ministry of Defence
• Department of Health and Social Care
• Historic Scotland
• Heritage Lottery Fund
• Geophysical Surveys of Bradford
• Channel Coastal Observatory
• Portsmouth City Council
• Maritime Archaeology Trust
• Maritime and Coastguard Agency
• A number of museums

Your experience here will set you up with many transferable skills that will be valuable whatever career path you choose. You'll gain experience of team working, presentation skills, networking and data analysis.