Course description
This new MA offers you the opportunity to develop your personal
research interests under the guidance of supervisors of your choice.
Through tutorials with leading archaeologists in the field, you will
be taught in a friendly, vibrant 5* Department with an international
reputation for excellence in teaching and research, and state-of-theart
facilities.
You will be supervised by highly successful and research-active staff
who are internationally renowned in their subject areas, including
Professors Bradley, Fulford, Gilchrist and Mithen. We are committed
to student-centred learning, and the Department has recently been
designated as a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
This flexible programme is taught primarily by individual tutorials,
supported by seminars and classes that enable you to develop wider
understanding of current methods and theories in archaeology. For
those currently employed, this module can be studied on a parttime
basis.
You will write three essays and a dissertation and take part in seminars,
dissertation workshops and a Masters’ Conference. Through these
you will develop subject-specific and transferable skills in: research
design and management; critical analytical writing and argument;
evaluation of complex data, issues and concepts; preparing a paper
for publication; conference presentation and continuing professional
development. ICT skills may be gained through additional courses.
You can develop interdisciplinary research directions by combining
topics for essay modules and the dissertation, with guidance and
supervision by one or more staff members.
Periods & topics
Our particular areas of expertise lie
in periods and regions including:
• Palaeolithic
• Mesolithic
• Neolithic
• Bronze Age
• Iron Age
• Classical
• Roman
• Medieval
• Post-Medieval
• Britain and
• Ireland
• Europe
• Mediterranean
• Near East
• Americas
These are some of the themes and
topics that you can study:
• evolution of the human mind
and language
• origins of agriculture
• ritual, religion and belief
• social identity, gender, life cycle
• burial archaeology
• palaeopathology
• dietary analysis
• migration
• material culture
• buildings, settlement, urbanism
• social complexity
• environment and landscape
• geoarchaeology
• archaeological prospection
• archaeological chronology
• forensic anthropology
• forensic geoscience
Structure
The programme can be followed full-time (one year) or part-time (two years).
It consists of six modules across three categories.
Essay modules
Essay module 1
(Autumn: 20 credits)
This module enables you to gain indepth
knowledge and understanding
of issues and approaches in a particular
archaeological subject. You will
research and write an extended
essay on a topic of your choice, with
guidance, discussion and tutorials
from staff who are experts in the
subject area.
Essay module 2
(Spring: 20 credits)
Essay module 3
(Spring: 20 credits)
You will be able to develop and to
progress in your research skills through
writing two further essays on topics
of your choice, with the benefit of indepth
feedback from your tutors on
each essay.
Seminar module
Seminar presentation
(Autumn and Spring: 10 credits)
This module aims to develop key
skills in oral presentation and debate
in seminars on a range of topics, like
those on the opposite page. You will
give an oral presentation on a topic
of your choice, with guidance and
supervision from staff in tutorials.
The seminar discussion group will
comprise students and staff.
In addition to this module, you will
be a member of at least one of the
Department’s research groups
(Prehistory; Historic Archaeology;
and Archaeological Science), and
expected to participate in their
reading groups as well as the main
Departmental research seminars.
Dissertation module
Dissertation workshops
and dissertation
(Workshops Spring: 10 credits;
Dissertation Summer: 100 credits)
The dissertation workshops in the
Spring term provide you with
advanced skills for independent
research and writing of a dissertation
in the Summer Term and Summer
Vacation.
The workshops develop subjectspecific
and transferable skills in:
research design and management;
writing proposals; critical analysis;
cogent argument; preparing a paper
for publication; and continuing
professional development. ICT skills
may be gained through additional
courses.
The Masters’ Conference is an
important opportunity for you to
present your dissertation research
and to receive feedback on it. It also
enables you to see the breadth and
depth of Masters’ research at Reading.
The dissertation is on an
archaeological topic of your choice,
with guidance and supervision from
staff with internationally recognised
expertise in the subject.
