Division of Archaeology

Department of Archaeology and Anthropology

Undergraduate admissions

Information for students considering archaeology

Cambridge University Division of Archaeology ranked number 1

[Undergraduates recording a trial trench at Castle Coeffin on the Isle of Lismore] The Division of Archaeology at Cambridge is a part of the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology. You will take a three-year course in Archaeology and Anthropology, in the last two years of which you will specialise in Archaeology.

If you are interested in studying Archaeology at the University of Cambridge as an undergraduate, you should first look through the links on this page for information about the study of Archaeology, the structure of the undergraduate course in Archaeology at Cambridge, our current research, and the people who comprise the Department. You should also visit the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology webpage.

We teach courses on a wide range of archaeological topics ranging in time from the Palaeolithic to the modern day, and in space from the Americas to the UK and Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and Australia. We also offer courses on archaeological theory, and on museum and heritage studies. Three year courses in Assyriology and Egyptology, the study of the ancient languages and cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt, are also offered within the Division of Archaeology.

There is an official student society of the Division of Archaeology at Cambridge University—the Archaeology Field Club and students from the Department also publish their own academic journal—the Archaeological Review from Cambridge.

[Cambridge undergraduates working with `A' level students as part of the Access Cambridge Archaeology programme] To apply for admission to study Archaeology at Cambridge as an undergraduate, you should visit the Undergraduate Admissions website for general information, and then click the link to Applying for specific information about the application procedure. The Undergraduate Admissions webpage has information for applicants applying from within the UK and EU, and also for those who are applying from overseas. In addition, it has details of the colleges, deadlines and other important information.

[Undergraduates on a Department field trip to Moravia] The subject areas that are taught at senior undergraduate (Part II) and masters (MPhil) level includes:

Core Courses

  • Archaeological thought
  • Archaeology in action
  • The practice of archaeology

Option Courses

  • Archaeology of early human development
  • Archaeology of modern human origins and the Upper Palaeolithic of western Europe
  • The Upper Palaeolithic from the Alps to the Americas
  • Post-glacial adaptations and Mesolithic archaeology
  • Later European prehistory
  • Special topics in European prehistory
  • The historical archaeology of ancient Egypt
  • Ancient Egyptian religion
  • Egyptian language
  • Akkadian language
  • Sumerian language
  • Late Prehistoric and Historic Archaeology of Mesopotamia
  • History of Mesopotamia: 3000–539 BC
  • Mesopotamian literature, religion and science
  • Europe in the first millennium AD: Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian and migration period archaeology
  • The archaeology of medieval Britain
  • Ancient South Asia
  • Ancient South America
  • The archaeology of Mesoamerica and North America
  • Introduction to scientific approaches in archaeology
  • Archaeological science

It is also possible to sit courses that are offered by other Departments and Faculties, including:

  • Human Evolution
  • Pre-Hellenic Archaeology
  • Early Hellenic Archaeology or Early Greek art
  • Classical Art and the Archaeology of the Greek and Hellenistic World
  • The Archaeology and Art of the Roman World
Quick Links
Contact us
Access Cambridge Archaeology
Archaeology Field Club
Archaeological Review from Cambridge