Archaeology: New students
New undergraduates
New undergraduates
Welcome message from Professor Naomi Sykes

Congratulations on joining Archaeology at Exeter, and welcome to one of the most successful and vibrant departments in the country. Archaeology, as a discipline, will offer you a wide range of personal, academic and practical skills which will stand you in good stead for whatever future course you decide to take. We are currently involved in many exciting projects in Britain and around the world, and in addition to your academic classes, there will be many opportunities to become personally involved with this research. We look forward to meeting you in Freshers' Week.
Head of Archaeology
To find out more about life in Archaeology follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook.
Ahead of your arrival, please complete our online pre-arrival induction which is available via FutureLearn; your Exeter email will have a message with the link. The induction is full of important information and advice about your studies and life as a student here. It also contains activities and discussion boards so you can start to get to know other students even before you start your course.
We strongly recommend that you access this as soon as possible and make the most of this fantastic opportunity to learn more about us, your peers and your programme.
Freshers’ Week 2022: Monday 19 September - Sunday 25 September
During Fresher's Week you should attend the Academic Induction events and activities for your subject/s, as detailed below. If there is any reason why you may not be here for Fresher's Week, please contact the Amory Hub, who support Archaeology students, as soon as possible by emailing archaeology@exeter.ac.uk.
The Student's Guild is also running welcome events throughout the week, including a Welcome Festival and regular guided tours of campus.
Please check your academic timetable during Freshers’ Week, so that you know exactly where and when you need to attend your first classes and lectures! If you have any timetable-related problems or questions, please contact the Amory Hub at archaeology@exeter.ac.uk.
The purpose of Academic Induction is to introduce you to your academic programme, complete any necessary pre-registration tasks, familiarise yourself with your academic buildings, and meet fellow students and the academic staff for your subjects. These sessions form the core part of your Freshers' Week timetable and we expect all students to be present at these compulsory sessions, either in person or online as appropriate.
If you need any advice about issues or clashes within your Freshers' Week timetable please contact archaeology@exeter.ac.uk.
Timetable for new undergraduate students studying Archaeology
Date | Start | Finish | Details | Location |
Tuesday 20 September | 14:00 |
15:30 |
Archaeology Welcome Talk |
Room LT6, Laver Building |
Tuesday 20 September | 15:30 |
16:00 |
Meet your Tutor |
Laver Foyer |
Tuesday 20 September | 16:00 |
17:30 |
Departmental reception for incoming students |
Laver Foyer,Laver LT3 |
Social activities timetable
Please note that attendance at the events below is optional.
Date | Start | Finish | Details | Location |
Tuesday 20 September | 13:00 | 15:00 | Queen's Picnic - Eventbrite link here | Queen’s Arboretum |
Wednesday 21 September | 12:00 | 15:00 | Explore the Lab - Eventbrite link here | Digital Humanities Lab |
Thursday 22 September | 16:30 | 19:00 | Welcome to the Department social event - Eventbrite link here | Positive Light, 184-7 Sidwell Street |
Friday 23 September | 12:00 | 14:00 | Playful Cafe - Eventbrite link here | Harrison 103 |
Archaerology Forum
If you're unable to attend the induction activities in person, you can view the information online at the Archaeology Forum.
Please also be aware that an optional Humanities and Social Sciences Information Fair will be held in Amory C501 from 13:30 to 15:00 on Wednesday 21st September.
If you are a Combined Honours or Flexible Combined Honours student please ensure you view the New Students information for all your subjects since each will have its own Academic Induction information and timetable.
New undergraduate student information
Joining instructions
If you wish to start with some reading before you arrive in Exeter, please view the Archaeology 2022 Reading list‌. Please note that these reading lists are only here as guidance and for those interested, you are not expected to purchase these books.
Modules for Combined Honours programmes
For students on Combined Honours programmes, module choice information will be released and co-ordinated by the lead discipline for the programme, that is the first named subject in the degree title. For example, BA Archaeology and Anthropology is led by the Archaeology department; BA Philosophy and Theology is led by the Philosophy department. (Please see the ‘Combined Honours or Flexible Combined Honours Students’ link above for more information).
Useful information
Modules are available at a range of levels from Beginners to Advanced via the Language Centre in:
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Mandarin Chinese
• Russian
• Spanish
• British Sign Language
We can help you get the language you study with us named on your degree title. This involves successfully completing a minimum of 60 credits in one language taken through the Language Centre. You could choose to start a new language from scratch or develop an existing one. For example, a Geography student who passes 30 credits at Spanish Beginners and a further 30 credits at Spanish Intermediate 1 could have their degree title amended to BA (Hons) Geography with proficiency in Spanish.
If you are not able to take a language as part of your programme due to timetabling constraints, or if you are interested in studying a language that is not currently available via modularity, our Language Centre also runs an Evening Language Programme with many more language options.
To find out more about language modules and other languages offered by different departments see the Language Centre webpage.