Archaeology - Palaeocology & Geography
This course offers a Joint Honours degree programme examining the human past and the diverse environments human societies inhabit, from a scientific perspective, including the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in working with archaeological material and undertaking fieldwork.
Archaeology explores a wide range of evidence that documents the human past – from artefacts, monuments and settlements to entire landscapes – and from these interprets how societies have adapted and developed. Modules focus on different periods of World, European and Irish/British archaeology, from human origins to modern times and heritage.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | |
| Awarding Body | Queens University Belfast |
| NFQ Level |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 | Queens University Belfast |
Duration
3 years (Full Time)
6 years (Part Time)
Entry Requirements
Irish leaving certificate requirements
H3H3H3H3H4H4/H3H3H3H3H3 normally including Higher Level grade H3 in Geography + if not offered at Higher Level then Ordinary Level grade O4 in Mathematics
Careers / Further progression
Although the majority of our graduates are interested in pursuing careers in archaeology and geography-related areas (town and country planning, environmental impact, Land and Property Services [formerly Ordnance Survey]) significant numbers develop careers in a wide range of other sectors.
Employment Links
We regularly consult and develop links with a large number of employers including, for example, the Historic Environment Division at the Department for Communities, National Trust, Ulster Wildlife Trust, who provide both snapshot advice on their work, as well as run more in-depth advice sessions, the latter often at taught Masters level. We also run a careers seminar programme with guest speaker employers and further-study coordinators (teacher training, Masters and PhD degrees).
Further information
Start date: September 2024
Deadlines for on-time applications
2024 entry application deadlines
For courses starting in 2024 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If your completed application – including all your personal details and your academic reference – is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered.
16 October 2023 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry. You can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total.
31 January 2024 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – for the majority of courses.
Some course providers require additional admissions tests to be taken alongside the UCAS application, and these may have a deadline. Find out more about these tests at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/admissions-tests
Check course information in the search tool to see which deadline applies to you at the application weblink below.
Apply as soon as possible: Student funding arrangements mean that as offers are made and places fill up, some courses may only have vacancies for students from certain locations. It’s therefore really important that you apply for your chosen courses by the appropriate deadlines mentioned above, as not all courses will have places for all students.
All applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing - find out more about Clearing at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/clearing-and-results-day/what-clearing
Palaeoecology studies environmental evidence to assess the impact of natural events and human activities on landscapes, climate and changing environments. Modules examine themes such as ancient environments, evolution, economic and climate change.
Geography embraces the study of human societies and their environment in the present and in the more recent past and, like Archaeology and Palaeoecology, is one of the few subjects in which human and physical aspects of the environment are integrated.
The combined disciplines progressively develop general and specific knowledge and skills, through excavation, fieldwork, overseas fieldtrips, laboratory and practical work. A wide range of career options are available to our graduates including careers in commercial archaeology, survey, heritage management and many more, both within and beyond the heritage sector.
As well as the Joint Honours BSc in Archaeology-Palaeoecology and Geography, Queen's offers Single Honours degrees in Archaeology (BA) and Archaeology-Palaeoecology (BSc) along with other degree programmes which combine Archaeology (the study of past human activities) with other subjects (Languages and History). All of those Single Honours and Joint Honours degrees offer a module pathway that is fully accredited by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) and University Archaeology UK (UAUK).
The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2023/24). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.
Year 1
Core Modules
Physical Geography: Earth, Fire and Ice (20 credits)
Environmental Change: past, present and future (20 credits)
Introduction To World Archaeology (20 credits)
Physical Geography: Earth, Wind and Water (20 credits)
Optional Modules
Human Geography: Society, Power and Culture (20 credits)
Archaeological Excavation (20 credits)
Europe in Prehistory (20 credits)
Ancient Humans and Landscapes (20 credits)
Human Geography: Society, Economy and Population (20 credits)
Themes in Historical Archaeology (20 credits)
Year 2
Core Modules
Geographical Research Skills (20 credits)
Thinking through Things Theorizing Global Archaeology (20 credits)
Palaeoenvironmental Techniques (20 credits)
Optional Modules
Space, Culture and Mobility (Fieldwork) (20 credits)
Global Environmental Change (20 credits)
Archaeological Excavation (20 credits)
Mitigating Environmental Hazards (Fieldwork) (20 credits)
Remaking Cities: Comparative R (20 credits)
Urban Landscapes (Fieldwork) (20 credits)
Geographies of Economic Restructuring and Social Change (20 credits)
Ireland in Prehistory (20 credits)
The Archaeology of Islands (Residential Fieldtrip Module) (20 credits)
Landscapes and Geographical Information (GIS) (20 credits)
Geography and Employability (0 credits)
Geomorphology (20 credits)
From St Patrick to the Plantation: The Archaeology of Historic Ireland (20 credits)
Archaeology in Practice (20 credits)
Contemporary Approaches to Geographical Enquiry (20 credits)
Year 3
Core Modules
Geography Dissertation (40 credits)
Independent Project (20 credits)
Geography At Work (40 credits)
Archaeology/Palaeoecology Dissertation (40 credits)
Geographical Independent Research Essay (20 credits)
Optional Modules
Remaking Cities: Comparative Urban Research (20 credits)
Maps and Mappings (20 credits)
Health Geography (20 credits)
Advanced Geographical Information Systems (20 credits)
Geography, Science and Society (20 credits)
Geoforensics (20 credits)
Spaces of Urbanisation in Emerging Economies and Sustainable Development (20 credits)
Environmental Geopolitics (20 credits)
Climate Change (20 credits)
Geographies of Outer Space (20 credits)
Ice Cold Environments (20 credits)
Volcanoes: environmental and societal impacts (20 credits)
The Archaeology of Ancient Greece (Residential Fieldtrip Module) (20 credits)
Society, Death and Disease (20 credits)
Kingship and Religion in the First Millennium AD (20 credits)
Critical Thinking and the Past (20 credits)
Environmental Catastrophes (20 credits)
Admissions
Tel: 028 9097 3838
Fax: 028 9097 5151
Email address: admissions@qub.ac.uk