Archaeology & Archaeological Science


Why choose Archaeology at UQ?

  • Archaeology is a viable, lucrative and exciting career with UQ archaeology graduates employed by private heritage consultancies, government, museum and universities in Australia and around the world.
  • Archaeology studies the evolution and cultural history of humanity through the analysis of the physical evidence of past societies, including ancient landscapes, buildings, artefacts and the people themselves.
  • Archaeology draws from subjects within the humanities, sciences and social sciences to understand past cultures and both interpret and conserve them in the modern world, being one of the major areas of employment in the heritage profession.
  • Archaeology students at UQ have access to one of the best equipped and diverse teaching programs in Australia, learning in world class teaching spaces including the UQ Archaeology Lab and ATARC (experimental teaching research centre).
  • Archaeology students have the chance to participate in research excavations, survey and lab projects with UQ staff in Australia (including world leading excavations in Arnhemland and WA) and overseas (currently Africa, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Hawaii), including on formal fieldschools and volunteer projects.
  • BA or BSc degrees in Archaeology/Archaeological Science allow further study at Honours or Master level, including in our Master of Museum Studies, which provide professional level qualifications for professional entry.

Should you study Archaeology or Archaeological Science?

  • Courses in Archaeology (ARCA course codes) focus on the theory and themes of archaeology, such as understanding the diversity of past cultures around the world and the ethics of practice.
  • Courses in Archaeological Science (ARCS course codes) focus on the applied practical methods of archaeology in the lab or field, typically including how to analyse and interpret archaeological material remains (e.g. stone tools, animal bones, seeds etc) and collect them on excavation.
  • Combinations of both ARCA and ARCS courses can be studied as structured sequences of courses in two UQ undergraduate degree programs, which have been designed to allow students with different interests and career aims to study archaeology alongside a variety of other subjects. Note that both degree programs are strongly structured around compulsory courses so that students fulfil the Australian National Benchmark in Archaeology.
     
    • The Bachelor of Arts allows archaeology to be studied alongside a wide range of humanities, arts and social science disciplines and is our largest degree, with many students pursuing archaeology with Ancient History, Classics, History and Geography among other majors.
    • The Bachelor of Science allows those who wish to develop higher level training in specific science-based archaeological techniques or approaches, such as evolution, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, geoarchaeology and geochemistry, alongside the science disciplines that allow deeper theoretical and practical understanding of those subjects.
       
  • Archaeology and Archaeological Science courses can also be studied as electives in other degrees and as part of dual degrees.

 

 
UQ Archaeology Industry Placement with the Queensland Museum

Isabella is a current UQ Bachelor of Arts student majoring in Archaeology and Ancient History. In this video, Isabella talks about her internship working with an archaeology curator in the Cultures and Histories Program at the Queensland Museum.

Undergraduate

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Archaeological Science is offered as:

Honours

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Postgraduate

Similar programs to Archaeology:

Higher Degree Research

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Satisfy your interest for research and your intellectual curiosity under the supervision of internationally recognised academics.