Study at Cardiff | Undergraduate

The integrated BA in Archaeology and Medieval History provides the ideal opportunity for students to combine traditional academic study with the development of practical skills. As a student at Cardiff, you will learn with staff from both Archaeology and History who undertake cutting-edge research in a very wide range of subjects. You will also benefit from the Department of Archaeology & Conservation’s facilities including state of the art teaching and research laboratories, dedicated geophysical and surveying equipment and a range of sophisticated equipment . During the summer after each of your first two years, you will also complete a four-week placement on an excavation; placements are arranged, approved, funded and assessed by the Archaeology department.

Key Facts

This is a three-year long degree programme comprising core modules as well as optional modules for you to select from in order to tailor your degree to meet your interests.

Year One

In addition to your Archaeology and Medieval History modules, you can take further courses in the humanities and social sciences thereby developing the range of skills and knowledge required of the historian, and providing a broad based first year which equips you with a range of skills and knowledge.

Years Two and Three

You will be required to take the following core modules in Years Two and Three:

Archaeological Fieldwork

and

either Independent Second Year Study or Exploring Historical Debate;

and

either History of Archaeological Thought or Approaches to History  

Your remaining modules will be made up from the extensive list of optional modules.

In previous years, Medieval History option modules have included:

• Blood and Honour: the Viking Age in the West
• Heresy and Dissent 1000-1450
• The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem
• The Military Orders 1100-1320
• Slaves, Serfs and Peasants
• Dissertation

Archaeology option modules include:

• Roman Britain
• Archaeology of Late Antiquity
• Celtic Britain and Ireland
• Early Anglo-Saxon England
• Middle and Later Saxon England
• Viking Age Scandinavia
• Viking Age Britain and Ireland
• Archaeology of Crusader Palestine
• Medival Architecture 1000-1500
• Surveying and Prospection
• Analysis of Artefacts
• Introduction to the Museum Environment
• Museology
• Archaeology Dissertation

The School of History, Archaeology and Religion offers programmes that are exciting, cutting-edge, research- led and in tune with demand. The School maintains a thoroughly student-orientated approach to the acquisition of knowledge and skills and offering the highest quality learning environment in which individuals can develop.

The School’s programmes develop a range of important intellectual skills, including critical thinking, evaluating evidence, constructing arguments based on evidence, and presenting opinions effectively in writing and in debate. You will also gain valuable practical skills — for example, team-working, independent research and time management.

Strong pastoral support within the School is supplemented by university-wide assistance in housing, finances and career development.

In studying archaeology and medieval history at Cardiff, you will encounter new ways of looking, thinking and doing. You will examine evidence from a wide range of archaeological and historical sources. You will develop your own arguments based upon your interpretation of the archaeological and historical record.

The study of the past requires a wide range of skills, and when you have completed your degree, you will take them with you. In the archaeology part of your course you will work as part of a team in the field; in both parts, you will research ideas, form opinions and present them in your own terms; you will develop your writing to address a range of audiences; you will use a range of software programmes and develop a wide range of practical skills. These transferable skills will be of benefit in your future career, no matter what path you decide to take.

You will receive written and oral feedback from module tutors on your assessed course work. Each student is allocated with a personal tutor who you will meet with regularly throughout the year to discuss your personal development. Every member of staff has weekly office hours advertising when they are available for students to drop in for further support.

Both delivery of teaching and methods of assessment vary. Teaching is by lectures, seminars, practical/lab classes and field classes. Assessment is normally by a combination of coursework and exams; some modules are assessed entirely by coursework.

A list of commonly accepted alternative entry qualifications and admissions and selection criteria for this degree programme can be read here.