Archaeology and Heritage of Egypt and the Middle East MA

UCL’s wide range of archaeological expertise provides a unique opportunity to study Egypt and the Middle East in a truly comparative context, and for students to develop a programme and research dissertation tailored to individual interests. These may include the application of new skills in archaeological science, exploring new theoretical perspectives, or the significance of archaeology for the wider cultural heritage of these regions.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of three core modules (45 credits), two or three optional modules (45 credits), and a dissertation.

All students must take the following:

• Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East: A Comparative Approach
• Themes, Thought and Theory in World Archaeology: Foundations
• Heritage Ethics and Archaeological Practice in the Mediterranean and Middle East

You are then able to choose further optional modules to the value of 45 credits. The most popular choices are:

• Ancient Cyprus: Colonisations, Copper and City-States (by arrangement with King's College London)
• Archaeologies of Asia
• Aegean Prehistory: major themes and debates
• Egyptian Archaeology: An Object-Based Theoretical Approach
• Intangible Dimensions of Museum Objects from Egypt
• Introductory Akkadian (by arrangement with SOAS)
• Mediterranean Dynamics
• Mediterranean Prehistory
• Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age in the Near East: City-States and Empires
• Middle Egyptian Language
• Themes and Debates in Egyptian Archaeology
• The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of the Near East: the emergence of villages and urban societies

All students undertake an independent research project, with guidance from an assigned supervisor, which culminates in a dissertation of 15,000 words.

Teaching at the IoA is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars to support student interaction, and examination is primarily through module-based essays and the individual dissertation. Depending on the options taken, teaching may also include object handling, museum work, and laboratory practicals.