Research degrees in Archaeology
Our Department provides excellent support for its research students, many of whom gain valuable teaching experience and publish their research whilst studying with us. All students registered for a research degree are offered the opportunity to participate in an unrivalled programme of research training and skills development. The Department offers the following research degrees:
MA in Archaeological Research
This course is ideal preparation for those wishing to continue to advanced research in archaeology, leading to a PhD. It also allows students to pursue the research model, 1 year MA + 3 years research, suggested by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. This flexible course allows students to tailor its content to reflect their personal interests and research topic, and can be completed one year full-time or two years part-time. Compared to other taught masters in the Department, the dissertation forms the larger part of this course and can contribute to subsequent PhD research. Naturally, this course is particularly suitable for those wishing to specialise in an area of staff expertise.
The compulsory core module in Research Methods and Methodology gives students a strong foundation in the skills and techniques necessary for effective research. In addition, students choose from a range of approved modules, as well as special subjects designed to reflect their research needs, and masters modules offered by other departments. Students may also undertake certain undergraduate modules if they provide relevant skills training. The taught components of the course lead to and reinforce individual dissertations, which are between 20,000-25,000 words in length.
MPhil
Studying for an MPhil degree involves a minimum of two years of full-time or four years of part-time directed study, at the end of which students produce a 60,000-word dissertation in their chosen area of research. Students registered for the MPhil may transfer to the PhD if their work is judged to be of suitable quality and promise.
PhD
The PhD course involves a minimum of three years full-time or six years part-time directed research, at the end of which students produce a 80,000-word dissertation in their chosen area of research.
Staff research interests
Research fields include prehistoric, Greek, Roman and post-Roman archaeology in Britain and abroad, with specialism in Italy, North Africa, the Danube area, the Balkans, Greece and Syria. Supervision is also offered in archaeological materials science and in bioarchaeology.
Staff research interests include:
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Archaeobotany; domestication of the olive and the date in Egypt and the Mediterranean during the Neolithic
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Zooarchaeology; animals in Roman and Medieval society
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Ethnoarchaeology; anthropology; prehistoric technology
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Prehistoric Italy; early metallurgy
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Mediterranean prehistory; Aegean Bronze Age; Greek Dark Age Sardinia; mathematical and statistical applications in archaeology
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Later prehistory of Europe; Atlantic communities in the first Millennium BC; lake dwellings; underwater archaeology
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Archaeology of Western Asia, with a particular focus on Iran and the Persian Gulf
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Roman archaeology of the Mediterranean, Balkans and Britain; epigraphy
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Migration period and later Medieval Europe; Medieval buildings; Early Medieval Celtic art and archaeology
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Early Medieval and Medieval settlement, economy and social hierarchy in north-western Europe
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Archaeomaterials; the scientific analysis of glass from prehistory to post-Medieval