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Museum Studies and Archaeology with Professional Placement

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:18,M:27

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

M2,M2,M2

Extended Project

B

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification provides to students for University study, we now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.  Eligible applicants would receive two offers,  our usual offer plus an alternative offer of a B in the EPQ and one grade lower in their A level subjects

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Maths grade 4 (or C), GCSE English Language or English Literature grade 4 (or C).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B,B

T Level

M

Minimum grade C in the Core Component.

UCAS Tariff

120-141

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subjects

Archaeology

Museum studies

Combine the study of museology with the excitement of archaeological discovery – and put skills into practice with an integrated placement year – with our BA Museum Studies and Archaeology with Professional Placement degree.

Take your first steps towards a rewarding career in heritage – learning the core skills of curatorship, such as researching, analysing, cataloguing, interpreting and displaying museum objects, historic buildings and landscapes – at the University of Reading. This four-year course includes an integrated placement year between your second and final years of study.

Your studies will provide you with opportunities to gain practical, hands-on experience at our three on-site museums – including the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology – and special collections. Alongside this, you'll explore our human past through material remains, spanning as far back as the first hominins millions of years ago.

Additionally, you will benefit from the hands-on expertise of our Museum Studies’ staff. Our lecturers are all practising professionals, including curators, conservators and archivists, and use a combination of problem-solving and enquiry-based learning techniques in their teaching. You will be given the opportunity to conduct your own research throughout the course, and in your final year you will design, create and evaluate your own exhibition.

You’ll join a friendly, inclusive community, where staff are passionate about supporting you to succeed. The University of Reading scored 2nd best for teaching quality in Archaeology (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024).

**Professional placement**
This four-year course features a year-long professional placement between your second and final years of study. It’s an opportunity to enhance your work-related skills, develop a network of contacts, and strengthen your employability prospects.

Opportunities are available working across the archaeological, heritage, planning and museum sectors, including:

- research institutions

- government organisations

- local planning authorities

- archaeological consultancies

- field units

- specialists

- archivists.

Alternatively, you can choose a placement in a non-related business or industry, exploring different career options and enhancing your employability by drawing on the many non-vocational, transferable skills.

As a placement year student, you are responsible for finding your placement. We have a dedicated member of staff who will provide you with advice and support throughout the process.

Modules

The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2024/25. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change.

Core modules for this course:
*Revolutions and Transitions: the Human Journey from 6 Million Years Ago to the Present Day
*Archaeology Today: Methods and Practice
*Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome
*Presenting the Past: an Introduction to Museum Studies
*Archaeology and Heritage: Past, Present and Future
*Ancient Objects: Materials and Meanings
*Museum Learning and Engagement
*Curatorship and Collections Management
*Display Design, Planning and Creation: Project Module.
The University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. We suggest that you regularly revisit this webpage during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£22,350
per year
International
£22,350
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Reading

Department:

School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

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What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

100%
Archaeology

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Archaeology

Teaching and learning

100%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
100%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
95%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

70%
Library resources
95%
IT resources
100%
Course specific equipment and facilities
100%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

88%
UK students
12%
International students
38%
Male students
62%
Female students
73%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
B

Museum studies

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
D

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Archaeology

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£17,108
low
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
45%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

31%
Natural and social science professionals
13%
Other elementary services occupations
10%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

Want to do a job in the arts - with lots of the great outdoors? Try archaeology! There don't tend to be many archaeology undergraduates out there (just under 700 graduated in 2015) - but it's quite a popular subject at postgraduate level. In fact, over a quarter of archaeology graduates take some kind of further study when they graduate - usually more study of archaeology. When you look at the stats, be aware that junior jobs in archaeology are not always well paid at the start of your career, and that temporary contracts are not uncommon. Thankfully, though, unpaid work, whilst not completely gone, is less common than it used to be. The archaeology graduates of 2015 found jobs in archaeology, of course, but also management and heritage and environment work, as well as more conventional graduate jobs in marketing and the finance industry.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Archaeology

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£19k

£19k

£23k

£23k

£28k

£28k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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