Bioarchaeology is an exciting and fast-advancing field which combines archaeology with branches of the natural sciences to study key topics such as past health and well-being, diet, ecology, subsistence strategies and environmental impacts.
Our MSc in Bioarchaeology aims to develop a broad understanding of these issues through the study of human remains. Students on this programme will also have the opportunity to study animal remains, as well as floral and faunal evidence depending which pathway they choose to follow.
The three available Bioarchaeology pathways are:
The programme develops advanced practical skills in skeletal analysis, making use of the department’s well-provisioned specialist laboratories and reference collections. A particular strength of our provision is that we are able to address the bioarchaeology of both the New and Old Worlds. Those completing the programme acquire the skills necessary to continue into academic research or employment, as an osteologist in field units, museums or CRM companies.
It allows you to specialise in one of two named pathways: Human Osteology (physical anthropology and funerary archaeology) or Zooarchaeology (animal bones and other faunal remains).
Most of the formal classes that you attend will be based on a mixture of lectures, seminars, and workshops. The precise mix will vary between modules. These aim to outline the principal issues of the module, to explore some detailed issues, and, where relevant, to give you experience of working with a particular technique or data set.
All members of staff are actively engaged in research, both in Britain and abroad, and regularly attend conferences, symposia and workshops. It is through this active engagement in the discipline that we are able to supply top quality teaching by experts in their field and as a result we have a 24/24 grading for our teaching from the Quality Assurance Agency.
In addition to our established palaeobotany, experimental archaeology, and microscopy laboratories, we have a new bioarchaeology lab dedicated to the study of anatomical variation, palaeopathological conditions, and the funerary context of human and animal remains. The laboratory, accompanied by a designated store for the Department's collection of human remains, provides facilities for use by researchers and students for examining skeletal remains recovered from archaeological sites. Equipment includes anatomical casts and demographic reference standards used to determine the sex, age-at-death, stature and body proportions from human remains.
Bioarchaeological research at Exeter combines the study of archaeology with branches of the natural and physical sciences to address questions of health and well-being, diet, ecology, subsistence strategies and natural and human-induced environmental impacts in the past.
Our approach is holistic and inter-disciplinary, drawing its inspiration from both definitions of ‘bioarchaeology’: as a study applied to human remains (human osteoarchaeology) and, as originally defined by Grahame Clark, as related to the integration of environmental archaeology, floral and faunal evidence – archaeobotany and zooarchaeology – in archaeological research.
Active field research programmes in North and South America and Eurasia link with extensive laboratory research to address questions of social structure and social organisation, the process of animal and plant domestication, the development of social inequality and power relations, violence and warfare, the rise of élites and craft specialists, and division of labour.
This programme includes 135 credits of compulsory modules and 45 credits of optional modules.
The compulsory modules for each of the pathways can include the following;
The following is a list of the possible optional modules;
The modules listed here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand
Bioarchaeology is an exciting and fast-moving interdisciplinary field which combines archaeology with the natural sciences to discover how ancient populations lived. Study for this Masters in Bioarchaeology at Liverpool John Moores University and gain hands-on experience of archaeology excavations at the Poulton Project, carry out novel research and discover new laboratory techniques.
You will study the following modules:
Further guidance on modules
The information listed in the section entitled ‘What you will study’ is an overview of the academic content of the programme that will take the form of either core or option modules. Modules are designated as core or option in accordance with professional body requirements and internal Academic Framework review, so may be subject to change. Students will be required to undertake modules that the University designates as core and will have a choice of designated option modules. Additionally, option modules may be offered subject to meeting minimum student numbers.
Please email [email protected] if you require further guidance or clarification.
If there’s a human bioarchaeological research topic which you’d to follow to PhD, but you need to acquire new research skills or hone existing ones, this course is for you. It’s also suitable if you are already working in the archaeology, heritage or environment sector and would like to enhance your research experience.
Human Bioarchaeology at Winchester offers you an intensive research training programme with a high level of supervisorial contact. Examine approaches and methodologies, theoretical underpinnings and practical applications in archaeological research, with some modules focusing on the practical and theoretical aspects specific to Human Bioarchaeology. Through lectures, laboratory practicals, seminars and workshops you have opportunities to explore and discuss your experiences.
Departmental staff have particular expertise and access to skeletal collections relevant to research in The Roman Period, The Early and Later Medieval Periods, Medieval Hospitals, Leprosy in the Medieval Period, Skeletal Trauma, Deviant Burials, Commingled and Disarticulated Remains, and Cremated Remains.
You complete modules in Research Methods and Skills, Analysing and Presenting Archaeological Data, Human Skeletal Anatomy and Fundamentals of Skeletal Analysis and Palaeopathology. There is also a module that takes the you through the process of producing an academic standard research paper. You then apply your research skills in the production of a substantive piece of research of 20,000 to 25,000 words on a human bioarchaeological topic of your choice, supervised by a member of staff with relevant research interests.
MRes Human Bioarchaeology is a useful basis for an advanced career within archaeology or a related discipline, or as preparation for undertaking an MPhil or PhD.
MRes Human Bioarchaeology acts as a basis for an advanced career within archaeology, or related discipline, or as preparation for undertaking an MPhil or PhD.
UK, EU, World
Modes of teaching include lectures, laboratory practicals, seminars and workshops. Attendance at departmental/research centre seminars enables students to share their experiences.
King Alfred or West Downs, University of Winchester
Assessment is by means of a series of essays, reports, exams and a blog/diary. One module takes the student through the process of producing an academic standard research paper. Students apply the research skills developed in the production of a substantive piece of research of 20,000-25,000 words on a Human Bioarchaeological topic of their choice, supervised by a member of staff with relevant research interests.
Our validated courses may adopt a range of means of assessing your learning. An indicative, and not necessarily comprehensive, list of assessment types you might encounter includes essays, portfolios, supervised independent work, presentations, written exams, or practical performances.
We ensure all students have an equal opportunity to achieve module learning outcomes. As such, where appropriate and necessary, students with recognised disabilities may have alternative assignments set that continue to test how successfully they have met the module's learning outcomes. Further details on assessment types used on the course you are interested in can be found on the course page, by attending an Open Day or Open Evening, or contacting our teaching staff.
We are committed to providing timely and appropriate feedback to you on your academic progress and achievement in order to enable you to reflect on your progress and plan your academic and skills development effectively. You are also encouraged to seek additional feedback from your course tutors.
For more information about our regulations for this course, please see our Academic Regulations, Policies and Procedures.
Please note the Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate exit qualifications have a different title to reflect the research element: PgDip Human Bioarchaeological Research and PgCert Human Bioarchaeological Research.
This programme is a pathways-based MSc degree, with a strong emphasis on the development of skills and specialism in Bioarcheology, including opportunities to gain experience with both human and zooarchaeological remains.
Students will acquire expertise in the anatomy of humans and animals, bone identification, sexing, ageing, health and disease, paleopathology, growth, diet, death and burial, and ethics. They will learn how to consider issues such as status, ethnicity, social identity, disability, migration and domestication thorough skeletal material and mortuary contexts.
The programme has a strong practical component. Students have full and unlimited access to the large human skeletal collection held in purpose-built facilities in the Department of Archaeology, including Bronze Age, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and medieval skeletons, as well as one of the largest faunal comparative collections in the UK, including fish and birds. Practical work further includes opportunities to work with isotopes for analysis of diet and migration in our isotope preparation lab, with analysis undertaken at National Oceanography Center, part of University of Southampton. State-of-the-art imaging is available at University of Southampton MuVIS Imaging Centre where students can access a full scanning, imaging and micro-CT suite through Archaeology’s collaboration with Bioengineering. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and 3-D printing facilities are also available. In addition, students engage with the latest developments in molecular techniques that can be applied to osteological material.
Bioarchaeology at University of Southampton has close links and collaboration with Anatomy through the Centre for Learning Anatomical Sciences and with Historic England. It is a global leader in research with projects across the globe including Spain, Romania, Croatia, Sudan, Egypt, USA, Canada, Denmark, UK and students frequently participate in these. Staff are actively involved in the following journals and organisations: Bioarchaeology International, Paleopathology Association, British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO), and American Journal of Physical Anthropology (AJPA)
You will engage with hands-on, real-world archaeological materials and situations, including opportunities to collaborate with a range of stakeholders and partners in the archaeological sector through a professional placement. By these means you will acquire skills for vocational employment or subsequent PhD research. Your programme will be embedded within Southampton Archaeology’s distinctive research culture, with world-class expertise, diverse practice, and contacts with the commercial environment and the heritage sector.
The specialism in Bioarchaeology includes elements that familiarise you with human skeletal biology; key research questions in, and approaches to, bioarchaeology; palaeopathology and disease; the archaeology and anthropology of death; and zooarchaeology. This pathway provides a springboard towards further research or a career in the commercial sector.
Important aspects of the programme are available across all specialisms. These include the compulsory dissertation module, which should focus on an area of your specialism, if you have chosen one. Furthermore, modules from each pathway are open to you as options, regardless of your chosen specialism. By these means you will be able to build a personalised and flexible programme tailored to your needs.
This programme includes opportunities for credit-bearing placements within organisations involved in commercial archaeology, heritage management, fieldwork projects and/or museums. The placements are typically organised by the University, and may be available to students following all specialisms, or crossing between them.
View the programme specification document for this course
Bioarchaeology is a branch of Archaeology that focuses on the study of biological materials found in archaeological contexts to provide information about the life and environment of humans in the past. It is a fast-paced and continually evolving field with new breakthroughs and discoveries emerging almost every month. On this course, you will gain a theoretical and practical understanding of the current issues and the latest scientific developments in Archaeology to investigate the human past, focusing on the examination of organic remains of humans, animals, soils and plants. The course is lecture, seminar and laboratory based and designed so that you are able to specialise in your chosen field and obtain the skills and knowledge of how to obtain and interpret data from biological assemblages. The course is aimed at graduates from science or archaeology who have a keen interest in studying Bioarchaeology, and for those who aspire to continue into a PhD programme or work in contract archaeology.
As one of our MSc Bioarchaeology students, you will:
Access state-of-the-art laboratories in human osteology, ancient DNA, stable isotope mass spectrometry, microscopy, geoarchaeology, material analysis, luminescence and environmental archaeology
Regularly ranged as one of the top two Archaeology departments in the UK (Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, The Guardian University Guide 2018, Complete University Guide 2018)
One of the top four globally (World University QS rankings 2017).
Compulsory modules include:
Optional modules include:
Geoarchaeology
Bioarchaeology
Placements and Careers
Please see our modules outline for further information.
Please note that all modules are subject to change. Please see our modules disclaimer for more information.
Our graduates go on to full-time employment within archaeology and related consultancies or units, museums and government agencies. Up to one third continue their academic career through doctoral research. In recent years, graduates have been successful in obtaining appointments with heritage agencies (Historic England, National Trust) and universities, including Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Exeter and Newcastle.
Palaeopathology is the study of past disease in human remains; it is a sub-discipline of bioarchaeology (study of human remains from archaeological sites). This lecture, seminar and laboratory based MSc equips you with the theoretical and practical skills knowledge of how to study and interpret data collected from human remains. The emphasis is on health and well-being using a multidisciplinary approach, linking biological evidence for disease with cultural data (the bioarchaeological approach). This course is unique in the world and it takes a holistic view of disease, as seen in a clinical contexts today, and will prepare you for undertaking significant research projects in this subject, or working in contract/commercial archaeology, and many other fields. It is aimed at graduates mainly in archaeology and anthropology with or without past experience of knowledge in this field, and for those who aspire to continue into a PhD programme or work in contract archaeology. However, past students have come from a variety of subject backgrounds, and destination data illustrate a wide range of employments take these students.
Two taught modules in the Epiphany term (Research and Study Skills in Archaeological Science and Identification and Analysis of the Normal Human Skeleton), and two taught modules in Michaelmas term (Palaeopathology: Theory and Method; Themes in Palaeopathology), with the double module dissertation over Easter term and the summer (submitted early September).
Core Modules
The programme is mainly delivered through a mixture of lectures, seminars and practical classes. Typically lectures provide key information on a particular area, and identify the main areas for discussion and debate in bioarchaeology. Seminars then provide opportunities for smaller groups of you to discuss and debate particular issues or areas, based on the knowledge that you have gained through your lectures and through independent study outside the programme’s formal contact hours. Finally, practical laboratory classes allow you to gain direct practical skills in the recording and interpretation of data from skeletal remains. The latter provide an important element of the programme in allowing independent and group work, as well as hands-on experience under laboratory conditions, essential for a potential future working environment.
The balance of these types of activities changes over the course of the programme, as you develop your knowledge and ability as independent learners, giving them the opportunity to engage in research, professional practice, and developing and demonstrating research skills in a particular area of the subject.
In Term 1 you will typically attend 4 hours a week of lectures and 2.5 hours of laboratory sessions, in addition to seminars over the term. Outside timetabled contact hours, you are also expected to undertake your own independent study to prepare for your classes and broaden your subject knowledge. External speakers specialising in specific subject areas from “industry” and academia are brought in to engage the students on issues in research, but also in the profession.
In Term 2 the balance shifts from learning the basic skills required for recording and interpreting skeletal data (age at death, sex, normal variation), to further developing skills for palaeopathological data recording and their interpretation and understanding the limitations. In addition, the Themes module aims to develop in students a critical approach to the evaluation of multiple forms of evidence, beyond that for human remains, for the reconstruction of specific themes. It focuses on discussion and debate of different related issues. In Term 2 you will typically attend 4 hours a week of lectures and 2.5 hours of laboratory sessions, in addition to seminars over the term. Again, external speakers specialising in specific subject areas from “industry” and academia are brought in to engage the students on issues in research, but also in the profession.
The move towards greater emphasis on independent learning and research continues in Term 3 and beyond, where the research skills acquired earlier in the programme are developed through the dissertation research project. Under the supervision of a member of academic staff with whom they will typically have three one-to-one supervisory meetings, you will undertake a detailed study of a particular area, resulting in a significant piece of independent research. The dissertation is regarded as a preparation for further professional or academic work. In Term 3 students are given the opportunity to attend a Careers Session in the Department where past graduates of the course talk about their career trajectories since graduating.
Throughout the programme, you will have access to an “academic adviser”, or in the case of this MSc the two Directors (Professor Charlotte Roberts and Dr Rebecca Gowland), who provide you with academic support and guidance. Typically a student meets their adviser two to three times a year, in addition to which all members of teaching staff have weekly office hours when they are available to meet with students on a ‘drop-in’ basis. The department also has an exciting programme of weekly one hour research seminars which postgraduate students are strongly encouraged to attend. Additionally, the students who attend the MSc Palaeopathology course are provided with the opportunity to attend journal paper critique sessions each term, and human bioarchaeology seminars given by PhD students.
Many of our postgraduates move into an academic career, either teaching or by taking up post-doctoral research positions in universities. Others join museums or national and regional heritage organisations. Some work in professional archaeology, in national or local planning departments, while others elect to use their analytical and presentation skills to gain positions in industry, commerce and government.
This programme is a pathways-based research degree, with a strong emphasis on the development of skills and specialisms in Higher Archaeological Practice, Palaeoanthropology or Bioarchaeology. You may choose to focus on one of these areas, or alternatively you may prefer to acquire a broad range of skills across these specialisms.
You will engage with hands-on, real-world archaeological materials and situations, including opportunities to collaborate with a range of stakeholders and partners in the archaeological sector through a professional placement. By these means you will acquire skills for vocational employment or subsequent PhD research. Your programme will be embedded within Southampton Archaeology’s distinctive research culture, with world-class expertise, diverse practice, and contacts with the commercial environment and the heritage sector.
The MSc Archaeology offers you a choice of modules from all specialisms with no requirement to focus on a specific area. You may also choose to specialise in pathways Higher Archaeological Practice Palaeoanthropology and Bioarchaeology
Important aspects of the programme are available across all specialisms. These include the compulsory dissertation module, which should focus on an area of your specialism, if you have chosen one. Furthermore, modules from each pathway are open to you as options, regardless of your chosen specialism. By these means you will be able to build a personalised and flexible programme tailored to your needs.
This programme includes opportunities for credit-bearing placements within organisations involved in commercial archaeology, heritage management, fieldwork projects and/or museums. The placements are typically organised by the University, and may be available to students following all specialisms, or crossing between them.
View the programme specification document for this course
The MA Archaeology at Reading provides the opportunity for you to advance you knowledge in archaeology, gain research training in preparation for PhD study, and to advance your knowledge, dedication and capacity for independent learning in a competitive job market.
Through the MA Archaeology you will:
Conmpulsory modules include:
Optional Modules include:
Placement and Career Options
Please see our modules outline for further information.
Please note that all modules are subject to change. Please see our modules disclaimer for more information.
Our graduates go on to full-time employment within archaeology and related consultancies or units, museums and government agencies. Up to one third continue their academic career through doctoral research. In recent years, graduates have been successful in obtaining appointments with heritage agencies (Historic England, National Trust) and universities, including Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Exeter and Newcastle. Archaeology is a multidisciplinary subject. You will learn invaluable skills and techniques that are transferable to many careers in any sector.
Compulsory modules include:
Optional modules include:
The Social World of Medieval Archaeology
Bioarchaeology
Placement and Career
You may also select Old World or Environmental Archaeology modules.
Please see our modules outline for further information.
Please note that all modules are subject to change. Please see our modules disclaimer for more information.
Our graduates go on to full-time employment within archaeology and related consultancies or units, museums and government agencies. Up to one third continue their academic career through doctoral research. In recent years, graduates have been successful in obtaining appointments with heritage agencies (Historic England, National Trust) and universities, including Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Exeter and Newcastle.
Human skeletal remains are the most direct evidence of past lifeways and their scientific investigation gives unique insights into human history. Bioarchaeology (the study of archaeological human remains) is an exciting field that draws on a variety of techniques, ranging from visual examination of the whole skeleton to the biomolecular analysis of small bone samples. Demographic shifts, environmental changes, migrations, the spread of diseases and the impact of violence and conflict all leave traces on the skeleton.
This MSc provides the skills required to understand skeletal biographies and interpret them in their cultural context at the individual and the population level. Combining theoretical learning with hands-on practice, we will provide you with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills essential to your handling and analysis of specimens recovered from archaeological sites.
Throughout the programme, you’ll take part in lectures, seminars and practical work with archaeological skeletal assemblages and reference collections. Drawing on Edinburgh’s long history in the study of the human body, you will also have the opportunity to visit Surgeons’ Hall Museum and anatomy department, which provide unique collections of pathological and anatomical study specimens.
You will complete six compulsory courses and select one further option. You will be assessed through reports, lab exams, oral and poster presentations, and essays. You will also submit a dissertation on a research topic of your choosing. Past dissertations have ranged from experimental projects on violence in prehistory to dietary studies of Chalcolithic Turkey and considerations of disease and impairment in post-medieval England.
The compulsory courses on this programme are:
Option courses change from year to year and those available when you start your studies may be different from those shown in the list:
On successful completion of the programme, you will be able to:
Examples of career paths available to archaeology graduates (although some may require additional training) include: higher education, heritage management and agencies, commercial archaeology, environmental assessment, teaching, tourism industry, broadcasting and the police.
An archaeology degree does not, of course, restrict you to a career in archaeology. The programme also equips you for advanced study.
