Archaeological Practice (MA)

Birkbeck’s MA Archaeological Practice offers hands-on postgraduate training that is grounded in the latest theories and techniques. The course meets the need for work-based professional training in archaeology and it will help you understand how contemporary archaeologists think, draw and write about archaeology. You can take advantage of the expertise of world-leading academics across the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology.

We will introduce you to the major techniques, principal bodies of evidence, research themes and concepts of archaeology. The curriculum addresses the perceived divide between theory and practice in archaeological fieldwork and cultural resource management. It aims to produce a new kind of professional: one who is theoretically aware but also grounded in the craft of archaeology. In doing so, the course will also develop your capacity for interdisciplinary, innovative research, based on the critical, integrated study of landscape, architecture and material culture. Context, and an engagement with its material and historical conditions, is crucial to this training.