Chapter 14: Studying Archaeology

Studying Archaeology

Download the guidance notes

Weblinks

14.0 General opportunities

TORC provides a database of courses at all levels in the UK
http://www.torc.org.uk/

14.1 Studying archaeology below university level

Exam syllabuses:
http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gceasa/arc.html

14.2 Studying archaeology at university

There are league tables for universities. Often two quite different ones are cited. One is a research exercise where departments were graded out of 24 for the quality of their research. This tells you something about the quality of the lecturing teams academically and the resources at their disposal. The methodology favours the richer universities because they are able to support more research activity. However, you may not be taught by these top researchers as an undergraduate because they are busy doing research, so check out who is taking the courses you hope to do.

The second element is teaching. This is not as rigorous a system as the Ofsted one for schools and FE colleges but it does give you some idea of where students have been most satisfied.

The current direction of quality assessments in HE will make it more difficult to draw comparisons so do your own research carefully.

‘Good University Guide’ is at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/good_university_guide/

The reports on the different departments up to 2002 are at:
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews/reports/archive/oldSubjReports.asp?subjID=4

Unistats allow you to compare universities by whether graduates get jobs and how students rate the courses:
http://www.unistats.com

The National Student Survey is at:
http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/

UK university links:
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/info/univ.asp

The Higher Education Academy for Archaeology (useful for teachers) is at:
http://www.hca.heacademy.ac.uk/archaeology/index.php?section=archaeology

14.3 Individual archaeology departments

14.4 Stepping up to degree level

14.5 Archaeological publishers

Routledge:
http://www.routledge.com/

Tempus and Sutton Books:
http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/

14.6 Archaeological booksellers

Oxbow Books:
http://www.oxbowbooks.com/

Castle Bookshop (England):
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/fe63/index.htm

14.7 Archaeological journals

Archaeological news stories and articles are also found in the following publications: