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Introduction

The University of Cambridge is an inclusive university with more than 5000 disabled students currently studying across all 31 Colleges and every School. The Department of Archaeology is committed to supporting disabled students. 

Disability is defined as a health condition that lasts or is expected to last more than 12 months. Under the Equality Act 2010, both the Department and University must implement ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled students, and this is an ‘anticipatory’ duty - some adjustments should be in place in anticipation of the likely needs of disabled students.

We recognise that many students may not feel comfortable with disclosing their disability or asking for adjustments, or may be undiagnosed. 

Below follows further information about arrangements and processes that the Department has in place to improve accessibility for disabled students.

 

Physical Accessibility

The Department of Archaeology is located on Downing Site. A detailed access map of Downing Site can be found at: Downing Site Access Map

For accessibility guidance for individual Department of Archaeology buildings, please see the following: 

The North Building (including Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and Haddon Library)

The Henry Wellcome Building 

The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research

The West Building

 

Fieldwork

Whilst most students studying archaeology are expected to undertake fieldwork, for students who are unable to do so, adjustments can be made, including: a focus on finds processing either on site or in an accessible building off site, longer and/or more frequent rest breaks, or switching to museum work for some or all of the fieldwork’s duration.

The Department shares initial accessibility information on Department-led field trips and fieldwork in advance. 

 

Accessibility in Teaching and Learning resources

  • Course information in a Virtual Learning Environment
  • Reading lists with prioritised articles
  • Audiovisual lecture recordings with auto-captions

 

The University Disability Resource Centre

The University's Disability Resource Centre (DRC) has resources for both students experiencing disability and staff working with disabled students. The DRC can be contacted at disability@admin.cam.ac.uk.

The DRC's advisers give support, advice and guidance to applicants and students at the University of Cambridge. You can find out more about the support they provide at: Advice and Support for Students 

 

Student Support Documents

Student Support Documents are produced for all students who have contacted the Disability Resource Centre (DRC) about a disability. The Student Support Document (SSD) is a document which consolidates relevant information about a student’s impairment, the impact this may have on study, and presents recommendations for access arrangements designed to offset any disadvantage the student may otherwise face. You can find out more about SSDs and how they are distributed and used on the DRC website at : Student Support Documents 

 

Raising an Issue

We encourage students to raise concerns and issues as soon as possible. This can be done in a range of ways:

  • Your College Tutor
  • Your Director of Studies (UG) or Supervisor (PG).
  • The Department’s Undergraduate Administrator or Postgraduate Administrator 
  • Your relevant MPhil Coordinator or Postgraduate Officer 
  • Your course or paper coordinator