Archaeology at Winchester offers an intensive research-training programme with a high level of supervisorial contact. This programme is ideal if you have a clear idea of an archaeological research topic which you may wish to follow to PhD, and need to prepare for this by acquiring new research skills or honing existing ones. It is also appropriate if you are already working in the archaeology, heritage or environment sector and wish to enhance your research experience in preparation for career progression.
The course examines approaches and methodologies, theoretical underpinnings and practical applications in archaeological research, and some modules focus on the archaeology of a chosen period, theme or specialism.
Staff at Winchester have the expertise to supervise projects on a wide range of themes and approaches, including geoarchaeology, geomatics, zooarchaeology and the archaeology of religion, death and gender. If your interests lie in researching a particular archaeological period, such as the palaeolithic, classical Greece, the medieval period or the Caribbean, we will facilitate and support your studies.
Complete core modules in Research Methods and Skills, Analysing and Presenting Archaeological Data and Personal Research Methodology, and choose a further two options from a huge range including The Archaeology of Medieval Religion and Belief, Climate Change and People, Central Southern England in the Roman Period, and Mediterranean Landscape Studies.
There’s a module that takes you through the process of producing a research paper to the expected academic standard. In your paper, you apply the research skills you’ve developed to produce a 20,000- to 25,000-word dissertation on your chosen topic, supervised by a member of staff with relevant research interests.
MRes Archaeology is the ideal preparation for an MPhil or PhD or as a basis for a career in archaeology.
MRes Archaeology acts as a preparation for undertaking an MPhil or PhD or as a basis for an advanced career within archaeology or a related discipline.
If you study a Bachelor Honours degrees with us, you will be pre-approved to start a Masters degree at Winchester. To be eligible, you will need to apply by the end of March in the final year of your degree and meet the entry requirements of your chosen Masters degree.
UK, EU, World
One optional module is a residential field trip for which accommodation and subsistence (but not travel) must be paid. Cost £80.
Modes of teaching include lectures, presentations, seminars and workshops. Attendance at departmental/research centre seminars enables students to share their experiences.
Start date: September
Teaching takes place: Daytime
Taught elements of the course take place on our King Alfred Campus (Winchester) or at our West Downs Campus (Winchester).
Please note the Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate exit qualifications have a different title to reflect the research element: PgDip Archaeological Research and PgCert Archaeological Research.
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.
Assessment is by means of a series of essays, reports 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 topic of their choice, supervised by a member of staff with relevant research interests.
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.
Our MSc in Geoscience Research is a research-focused postgraduate taught master's course with industry and international placement opportunities designed for a career in research, academia or a discipline related work setting.
The course consists of six modules spread over three semesters, including an extensive research project in geoscience, environmental science or physical geography.
Project areas range from applied and environmental geophysics to igneous petrology, volcanology, Quaternary environments, palaeoclimates, palaeoceanography, biogeochemistry, landscape ecology, sedimentology, palaeontology, renewable and alternative energy, and petroleum geoscience.
A distinct feature of this master’s programme is the opportunity for UK students to complete a placement at one of several European, North American and Asian partner institutions, all of which have established research links with Keele staff. However, as a UK student, you can also choose to carry out your research project here at Keele or in collaboration with local or UK-based industry. As an international student, you will undertake your research and placement at Keele University under the supervision of international experts in their chosen research area.
The emphasis on the substantial ‘hands on’ research training with the provision of an international placement option makes this programme unique within the Higher Education Sector in the UK and will thus increase your employability. We believe that this will help to develop future employees with an international outlook.
The MSc Geoscience Research programme at Keele offers the added value of the Distinctive Keele Curriculum (DKC), which develops students' intellectual, personal and professional capabilities (Keele Graduate Attributes) through both subject-specific and generic workshops and activities.
See the website https://www.keele.ac.uk/pgtcourses/geoscienceresearch/
The principal aim of this Masters course is to develop your generic and specific research skills in an area of the Geosciences or related scientific disciplines, which will enhance your employment prospects. On completion of the programme you will:
- Have a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of the chosen research area in Geosciences;
- Gain a conceptual understanding to evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline area;
- Be able to evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses;
- Possess developed scientific skills and knowledge, and transferable skills, in a UK-based or international workplace setting;
- Have a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to your own research;
- Attain organisational and commercial awareness.
For those students undertaking a placement/research project in Europe the work and achievement on the programme will be documented in the EU Europass, a record of achievement signed by all parties. All students are required to pursue the University’s ‘Realise’ scheme which enables them to identify their personal and professional skills and development needs.
The MSc programme is full-time for 12 months, starting in September.
The programme comprises six modules including a research project/placement which is undertaken either at Keele University or on placement with a host institution overseas:
- Research Skills (30 credits)
- Literature Review (15 credits)
- Modern Language Module* or Academic English for Postgraduate Students** or Geoscience Option Module*** (15 credits)
- Research Project Design and Management (30 credits)
- Dissertation (90 credits)
*Students undertaking their research project at a host institution overseas will choose a modern language module or a language and culture module for their international placement.
**International students for whom English is not their first language will take Academic English for Postgraduate Students to further improve their English language skills.
*** UK/Native English speaking international students undertaking their research project at Keele University or a host institution in the UK can take a selected Geoscience option module relevant to their research area. These may include: Natural Hazards; Glaciers & Glacial Geomorphology; Global Environmental Change; Water Resources; Hydrological & Engineering Geology; Structure and Geodynamics; Economic Geology; Advanced Topics in Sedimentology; Exploration Geophysics for the Hydrocarbon Industry; Petroleum Geology; Volcanic and Magmatic Processes.
You will be taught by experienced, well qualified and enthusiastic staff. All of the staff are research active within the discipline, accomplished at working on research funded work both nationally and internationally. The programme team are enthusiastic to share their teaching, research and professional experience to help you achieve success in your studies.
You will complete formal assessment on all modules. Assessments will include presentations, reflective diary, reports, reviews, portfolio and a dissertation. During your placement this will include keeping an extensive record of the training attended and skills obtained, with a reflective report (for the research training portfolio), as well as a dissertation on the project undertaken during the placement.
The research project/dissertation is based on the submission of a 20,000-25,000 word report that is undertaken in conjunction with an academic supervisor and, where appropriate, an industrial collaborator.
There will be additional costs in terms of living expenses, travel and insurance related with the placement if you choose to undertake your research project with an overseas host institution. The amount required will be dependent on the cost of living associated with certain countries.
UK Students choosing a placement research project in an EU member state will be eligible to apply for an ERASMUS scholarship.
Our research-focused course with industry and international placement opportunities leads our graduates into a diverse range of careers.
Our students have chosen careers in research, academia or a discipline related work setting, including geotechnical and environmental consultancies, and local, regional, national or multi-national corporations.
For examples of what graduates are doing now, see here - https://www.keele.ac.uk/gge/applicants/postgraduatetaughtcourses/mscgeoscienceresearch/employmentcasestudies/
Find information on Scholarships here - http://www.keele.ac.uk/studentfunding/bursariesscholarships/
Sustaining a growing population on our dynamic planet requires deep understanding of geological and geophysical processes within the Earth, and of how they interact with the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biota. The Master's Programme in Geology and Geophysics trains you to address pressing questions concerning our home planet's evolution, its role as the source of raw materials needed by modern civilisation, and environmental issues. Key questions include:
How can we decode Earth’s rock record to reveal the evolution of Earth’s crust and mantle over billions of years?
How do we make natural resource exploration and extraction more sustainable and environmentally friendly?
What can the Earth’s history tell us to help us forecast the impacts of climate change?
Where can we safely construct power plants or store nuclear waste?
The programme includes four specialist options: Petrology and Economic Geology; Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology; Palaeontology and Global Change; and Solid Earth Geophysics.
Upon completion of the programme, you will have gained expertise in a number of scientific and professional skills, including, depending on your specialist option:
Further information about the studies on the Master's programme website.
At the beginning of the advanced studies, you will familiarise yourself with the central research methods in the field. The studies consist of intensive learning in small groups on practical work courses, guided laboratory work on specialised courses, and tailored short-term courses led by international and Finnish experts. In addition, you will be able to take part are a variety of field courses and excursions (in Finland and beyond) to familiarise yourself with research topics in their natural surroundings.
This MSc is aimed at students who wish to pursue a geosciences-related career in the future energy sector, as it transitions from fossil fuels to a low carbon economy. The aim is to offer a programme that uses subsurface (geological) knowledge opening a diverse range of career pathways in lower carbon geoenergy technologies; the disposal of energy-related wastes and the hydrocarbon industry.
This MSc programme builds on the strength and reputation of the research groups operating in the School of GeoSciences on uses of the subsurface: carbon capture and storage (CCS); radioactive waste disposal; energy storage and extraction; unconventional and conventional hydrocarbons; wet and dry geothermal heat; and subsurface fluid tracing using noble gases and stable isotopes.
Compulsory courses (for students who have accredited prior learning, elective courses are taken in lieu) – 90 credits
Compulsory Courses – for those with Geoscience background – 20 credits
Compulsory Courses – for those without Geoscience background – 20 credits
Optional courses: choice of 10 credits from following
Compulsory Dissertation
This programme will train students in the use of subsurface geological knowledge opening a diverse range of career pathways in lower carbon geoenergy technologies and the disposal of energy-related wastes. These include radioactive waste disposal; carbon capture and storage; geothermal energy and subsurface energy storage including compressed air energy storage.
Other pathways include working in environmental and regulatory aspects of energy storage involving potential pollution; tracking subsurface fluids in the event of leakage from subsurface facilities and ground water resources.
Mineral resources are a part of almost everything surrounding our everyday life. Finding those resources is the job of economic geologists, multidisciplinary scientists who use geochemistry, mineralogy, geophysics, petrology and structural geology to understand, describe, and explore for mineral resources.
The MSc in Mineral Resources will prepare you to enter a career in the mineral industry or to pursue PhD research. The degree has been designed by recommendations from industry, and provides practical training involving methodologies and technologies at the forefront of mineral exploration.
Key experiences include field excursions to a world-class ore deposit in the UK and the Rio Tinto mine in southern Spain to study the genesis of volcanic massive sulphide deposits and innovative acid mine drainage remediation methods.
The MSc in Mineral Resources is a comprehensive course that combines core knowledge, field work, short courses and a research dissertation and integrates that with first-hand experience through a diverse and challenging set of industry-relevant mapping, logging and 3D geological modelling skills.
The MSc degree requires two semesters of full-time (or four semesters part-time) coursework, equivalent to a total of eight taught modules. The assessment for the taught modules is based on coursework and written examinations.
The final three months of your course will be focused on independent research which concludes with a 15,000-word field- and laboratory-based dissertation.
Further particulars regarding curriculum development.
The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue which is for the 2017–2018 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2018 entry.
