MA Archaeology and Heritage

Birkbeck, University of London

This MA Archaeology and Heritage offers you hands-on training grounded in global case studies, rigorous methodologies and interdisciplinary theories. Delivered by leading researchers in archaeology and heritage, its teaching draws directly on ethical and inclusive research and work practices in archaeology and heritage studies. Why choose this course? This course is ideal if you are fascinated by archaeology, heritage and people’s engagement with their past. It will develop your knowledge, experience and professional networks in the heritage sector, and help you prepare for a career in archaeology, museology, education or heritage management. You will have the opportunity to undertake an archaeological field school in London, taught in conjunction with Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), and apply for a work placement in one of London's thriving museums, galleries or archives. As well as being able to design your own archaeological research project, you will join a thriving community of archaeologists and heritage professionals in the Carena Institute of Sustainable Archaeologies. What you will learn Archaeology and heritage, both as practices and intellectual fields of enquiry, are products of their social, political and historical contexts. The study of archaeology and heritage, then, is as much about the present and the future as it is about the past. This course introduces you to critical approaches in archaeology and heritage studies by addressing the perceived divide between theory and practice in archaeological fieldwork and cultural resource management. Its aim is to produce a new kind of professional in this area: one who is theoretically aware but also grounded in the craft of archaeology and heritage. As such, it will develop your capacity for interdisciplinary, innovative research that challenges conventional understandings of the past. You will delve into the critical, integrated study of landscape, architecture and material culture, and their relationship with communities and the environment. You will also gain the skills needed to design, research and write a dissertation on a specialist subject, under the supervision of one of our academic experts. How you will learn This course is available to study full- or part-time. Most modules are taught via evening seminars, but there is also the opportunity to undertake archaeological fieldwork, museum work placements or daytime intensive modules, for example exploring the presence of the Roman Empire in key London museums. You will begin with a compulsory module on critical approaches to archaeology and heritage which explores key concepts and methods in the field. You will then be able to follow your interests, selecting from option modules which draw on a broad range of research conducted by scholars in our School of Historical Studies, including modules from the ancient to the contemporary, and which step from Europe to Asia and beyond.