Teaching is delivered through a combination of:
- lectures
- seminars
- tutorials
- workshops
- project work
- field trips
Many Archaeology modules include hands-on learning including practicals, laboratory work and object handling sessions.
In Classics you also have the option of studying ancient languages, as we teach Latin and ancient Greek from beginners to advanced levels, taught through small group language seminars.
Year one
You take a series of core modules in classics or archaeology, as not all students have studied these subjects before they come to University. This gives you an essential grounding in your chosen discipline(s).
Year two
You choose from a wide range of modules, studying specific topics and themes in more depth, allowing you to shape your degree to suit your own interests.
You can study an Independent Second Year Project in Classics or a module on Heritage and Professional Skills in Archaeology. These modules are focused on real-world experience enabling you to design a project, research a topic of your choice and find innovative ways of communicating with a non-academic audience.
Year three
You will develop your own independent research skills by producing a Dissertation or research project on a topic of your own choosing, with supervision by an expert member of staff.
Single honours students
You will take a combination of compulsory and optional modules during your three years at Nottingham, mainly from those offered by the Department of Classics and Archaeology, but also from a choice of subsidiary modules from outside the Department. A joint honours degree is normally split evenly between your two subjects, but some joint honours courses allow you to take more credits in one or other subject in certain years to accommodate your interests.
Joint honours students
A joint honours degree is normally split evenly between your two subjects, but some joint honours courses allow you to take more credits in one or other subject in certain years to accommodate your interests.
Outside the classroom
These are a fun, hands-on learning experience. The department organises regular study visits to local and national museums such as the British Museum, and trips to archaeological sites - from prehistoric monuments in the Peak District, to Roman and Medieval remains in nearby Lincoln, and to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland.
Our students can gain work experience in the University’s on-campus museum, which has a well-established student volunteer programme, as well as many other regional heritage and cultural organisations.
You can also gain teaching experience through our NoCOut outreach programme, which takes Classics and Archaeology into schools and the local community.
The Humanities Work Placement module is a second-year option that gives you direct experience of a workplace, through a part-time professional placement. You will spend one day a week for 6-8 weeks working at a local business, heritage or cultural organisation, supported by a series of seminars and individual tutorials.
This is an important aspect of our Archaeology degrees, and usually involves participation in an approved excavation during the summer vacation. Single Honours Archaeology students complete a minimum of 20 days of archaeological fieldwork (10 days minimum for Joint Honours students). Our fieldwork officer will help you to find a suitable project, and recently students have participated in excavations in Britain, Crete and Italy.
Assessment
Assessment is by a mixture of written coursework, seminar presentations and reports, projects, dissertations and exams. Practical and lab-based modules may be assessed by a lab test or portfolio of practical work such as surveys and drawings. As you progress through the degree, you will also give oral presentations on your work and design posters and other forms of visual communication.
Successful completion of the first year allows progression to the second, and the final degree classification is determined by work in the second and final years, with more weight given to the final year.