Archaeology (Social Sciences)

DPhil in Archaeology

Course Code | 001340 

DPhil in Classical Archaeology

Course Code | 001431

Oxford welcomes applications for doctoral research in most aspects of archaeology. We have particular strengths and research interests in Classical, European, Landscape and World Archaeology (especially African, Chinese and South Asian).

Archaeology in Oxford has been top-rated in all recent Research Assessment Exercises.

Current research projects on the Archaeology website

MSt in Archaeology

Course Code | 001715

The MSt in Archaeology allows candidates to follow a number of different strands (Archaeology of Asia, Environmental, European, Landscape, Maritime, Palaeolithic, Visual Cultures, or World), or to put together a programme which suits their particular needs.

• Length of programme: Nine months
• Core and optional courses: Candidates are required to choose three subjects from a wide range, that also permits them to study subjects chosen from one of the other courses or special topics not normally available (provided that relevant teaching resources exist).
  
  Our aim is to offer candidates maximum flexibility in constructing their own programme of study. One paper has to be examined by written examination, but the others are either assessed by two pairs of pre-set essays or by one pair of pre-set essays and a 10,000 word dissertation.
• Programme specification

MPhil in Archaeology

Course Code | 001705

The first year of the MPhil in Archaeology is identical to the MSt in Archaeology, but the MPhil course involves a greater degree of student-led research, especially in the second year.

• Length of programme: Twenty-one months
• Core and optional courses: The first year of the MPhil in Archaeology is the same as the MSt in Archaeology except that the 10,000 dissertation option is not available. In the second year candidates are required to write a thesis (of up to 25,000 words) and to select one further subject for examination (normally by a pair of 5000 word essays).
• Programme specification

MSt in Classical Archaeology

Course Code | 001440 

The MSt in Classical Archaeology offers a wide range of options focusing on the Greek and Roman world and its neighbours from the Bronze Age Aegean to the Byzantine period.

• Length of programme: Nine months
• Core and optional courses: Candidates are required to choose three subjects or periods of study from a wide list that also permits them to study one subject chosen from a range of other courses, or a special topic not normally available, provided that the relevant teaching resources exist
• The department's aim is to offer candidates flexibility in constructing their own programme of study. In addition to one period paper, chosen from a range and assessed by written examination, the other two options are assessed either by two pairs of pre-set essays or by one pair of pre-set essays and a 10,000-word dissertation
• Programme specification

MPhil in Classical Archaeology

Course Code | 001430 

The first year of the MPhil in Classical Archaeology is identical to the MSt in Classical Archaeology, although the MPhil involves a greater degree of student-led research, especially in the second year.

• Length of programme: Twenty-one months
• Core and optional courses: The first year of the MPhil is identical to the MSt, except that the 10,000-word dissertation option is not available for the MPhil. In their second year candidates are required to write a thesis (of up to 25,000 words) and to select one further subject for examination by pairs of pre-set essays
• Programme specification

The Ashmolean Museum contains extensive collections of antiquities. It is especially rich in classical Greek material, in European, and in Egyptian archaeology. There is an excellent cast gallery of classical sculpture, and the Beazley Archive holds photographs of vases and sculpture.

The Pitt Rivers Museum has collections of the Palaeolithic and later Prehistoric periods from many parts of the world, which can be studied in relation to comparable ethnographical material. Other museums in Oxford also hold significant collections of archaeological material.

The main archaeological library is the Sackler Library, housed in its own building adjacent to the Ashmolean Museum, whose collection of archaeological journals and books is one of the best in the world. It has excellent coverage of Greek and Roman archaeology and of most aspects of European and Near Eastern archaeology, and is supplemented by the Balfour Library at the Pitt Rivers Museum and the small library of the Institute of Archaeology.

The Institute of Archaeology, located between the Ashmolean Museum and the Sackler Library, is the centre of much of the teaching in archaeology and houses technical facilities and common room.

The Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art (RLAHA) provides the focus for teaching and research into archaeological science, and the Stelios Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies houses additional facilities for classical archaeology. 

Common destinations for graduates from Archaeology programmes include further research and academic appointments in Archaeology, and posts in museum curatorship and Heritage Management.