Archaeology: New students

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.

Professor Naomi Sykes

Head of Archaeology

To find out more about life in Archaeology follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook.

Things to do before you arrive

Ahead of your arrival, please complete our online pre-arrival induction. 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.

Things to do when you get here

Freshers’ Week 2023: Monday 18 September - Sunday 24 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.

Academic induction activities

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 Welcome 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

History and Ancient History students
10:30-12:00 Classics and Ancient History Welcome talk in AMO/Moot
12:00-13:30 History Welcome talk in FOR/AUD-LT
13:30-14:30 History and Ancient History combined honours meeting with Ancient History personal tutors
14:30 Ancient History personal tutors bring those students to the History/Archaeology social event

Ancient History and Archaeology students
10:30-12:00 Classics and Ancient History Welcome talk in AMO/Moot
12:00-13:00 Classics and Ancient History social event in AMO/Moot
13:00-14:00 Ancient History and Archaeology combined honours meeting with Ancient History personal tutor
14:00-15:00 Archaeology Welcome talk in LAV/LT6
15:00 Students are taken from the Archaeology talk to the History/Archaeology social event

History and Ancient History students
10:30-12:00 Classics and Ancient History Welcome talk in AMO/Moot
12:00-13:30 History Welcome talk in FOR/AUD-LT
13:30-14:30 History and Ancient History combined honours meeting with Ancient History personal tutors tbc
14:30 Ancient History personal tutors bring those students to the History/Archaeology social event

Archaeology Forum

If you're unable to attend the induction activities in person, you can view the information online at the Archaeology Forum.

Follow our Archaeology & History Eventbrite page for the latest updates regarding all Department events and information: University of Exeter Archaeology & History Dept. Events | Eventbrite

Student social with scones and tea at the community garden. Student Social:

Join us for a Community Garden gathering Tickets, Tue 19 Sep 2023 at 15:30 | Eventbrite

Tuesday 19 September, 15:30-17:30
Join us for the community garden social gathering organised especially for incoming students of the Archaeology and History Department.
If you're a first-year History or Archaeology student, our staff will guide you from your Welcome Lecture on a pleasant campus stroll to the Community Garden. There will be tea and scones to enjoy and other new students and staff to mingle with.

Explore the Digital Humanities Lab:

Explore the Digital Humanities Lab Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite

Friday 22 September, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, meet at the entrance of Digital Humanities Lab
We invite you to join us for a whistle-stop tour of the Digital Humanities Lab, where you'll gain insights into the array of equipment that you can use to enhance your studies.
The Digital Humanities Lab works with students and staff in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences to explore the intersection of technology and humanities research. Come for a tour of the Labs and see how we work with professional standard photographic equipment for cultural heritage image capture, 3D printing and AV equipment for podcast recording, filming and editing. Learn more about undergraduate internships and volunteering opportunities in the Lab and how you can get involved.

There will be x3 separate tours around the Digital Humanities Lab, which will last approximately 1 hour.

11am
1pm
3pm

Please meet in the entrance of the Digital Humanities Lab.

Combined Honours or Flexible Combined Honours Students

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

Reading list

We are looking forward to welcoming you to Archaeology at Exeter. We are a close-knit community, and we know that many of our students arrive with little previous experience of archaeology so there is no need to worry that we expect you to know the subject before you get here. The most important thing to bring with you is your curiosity about archaeology and your enthusiasm to learn. The books on our reading list are general textbooks that you will find useful during your first year and in fact throughout your degree programme and your future in archaeology. You don’t need to have read them, but they are excellent books to possess and be familiar with.

If you wish to start with some reading before you arrive in Exeter, a reccommended reading list is below. Please note that these reading lists are only here as guidance and for those interested, you are not expected to purchase these books.

The books on our reading list are general textbooks that you will find useful during your first year and in fact throughout your degree programme and your future in archaeology.

Renfrew, C. and Bahn, P. 2020. Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice. 8th Edition. London: Thames and Hudson.
Scarre, C. (Ed.) 2018. The Human Past. World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies. 4th Edition. London: Thames and Hudson.
Gant J, S Gorin, and N Fleming. 2015 The Archaeology Coursebook.

For those of you joining our BSc pathways, these two additional textbooks will be of use also:

Richards, M.P. and Britton, K. (Ed.) 2019. Archaeological Science: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Blau, S. and Ubelaker, D.H. 2016. Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology. 2nd Edition. London: Routledge.

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

Programme related links

Information for new students

Language modules

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.

Useful links