About the course
On this course, you will consider fundamental questions about humanity and the processes that brought about significant changes in human history. You will develop skills to critically evaluate sources of information and work between the theoretical and practical demands of the discipline.
This programme allows you flexibility to choose from our entire portfolio of modules. If your first degree is in another subject, this is an excellent conversion course, preparing you for specialised research at PhD level.
Your future
Each of our masters courses is designed to equip you with valuable employment skills and prepare you for your future career. If you’re seeking to move into an archaeology-related field from a different academic or employment background, our courses and supportive staff will help you to realise your ambitions and develop professionally.
Graduates from our MA and MSc courses successfully compete for some of the most sought-after archaeological posts in the world. Our courses help students to develop essential transferable skills, and upon graduation they are also in demand by a wide variety of employers outside of the sector.Many of our graduates decide to continue their studies, carrying out doctoral research in their chosen specialist field, equipped with a solid theoretical and practical grounding from which to develop their research.
World-leading expertise
The character and strength of research carried out by Sheffield’s Archaeology department is captured under the following broad themes. These reflect the range of our research and its cross-disciplinary, embedded nature:
Funerary Archaeology
Landscape Archaeology
Bioarchaeology
Medieval Archaeology
Cultural Materials
Mediterranean Archaeology
Specialist facilities
The Archaeology department is situated on the edge of the main campus, near to Sheffield’s city centre. The department houses world-class reference collections and facilities to support teaching, learning and research in a range of archaeological disciplines. Facilities include specialist lab space dedicated to teaching and research, dedicated study spaces, and a student common room.
Fieldwork opportunities
We offer you the opportunity to get involved in our research projects in the UK, Europe and further afield.
How we will teach and assess you
Our students come from all around the world and the content of our courses reflects this. You can expect a balanced timetable of lectures, seminars and practicals. Many of our masters courses also include a fieldwork or project work component. Our teaching staff are leading scholars in their field. Through their research and field projects they are active in generating new knowledge that feeds directly into their teaching.
Funding, scholarships and bursaries
If you accept a place on one of our courses, you may be eligible to apply for WRoCAH and
University of Sheffield studentships. There are also a number of departmental and programme-specific scholarships available each year. See our website for details.
Core modules
Reinventing Archaeology; Research Design: Planning, Execution and Presentation; Dissertation or Fieldwork Placement.
Indicative optional modules
Choose modules to the value of 75 credits from those specified. The majority of our modules are 15 credits.
A minimum of a 2:1 honours degree in an arts, humanities or science subject is usually required. Your interest in and knowledge of archaeological matters are more important than the specific discipline of your undergraduate degree. Overall IELTS grade of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.
