Archaeology and Anthropology

Archaeology and anthropology together encompass the study of humankind from the origins of the human species to the present day. Both disciplines have a long history: archaeology grew from 18th-century antiquarianism, while anthropology began even earlier in the first days of colonial encounter. Today both subjects involve a range of sophisticated approaches shared with the arts, social sciences and physical sciences.

The Oxford degree is distinctive in the way it combines archaeology and anthropology throughout the course, offering an unusually broad perspective on human societies from earliest prehistory to the present. Six institutions specialise in these subjects: the Institutes of Archaeology and of Social and Cultural Anthropology, the Ashmolean Museum, the Pitt Rivers Museum, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art. All play a key role in the degree, are supported by world-class libraries and are well equipped with laboratories and computing resources.

Oxford’s Archaeology and Anthropology course offers a comprehensive guide to the richness and diversity of human cultural experience throughout space and time. By choosing to study here you will be able to:

• explore how humans evolved
• get to grips with major transformational processes in human history such as the development of farming, the emergence of towns and trading systems and the spread of world religions
• assess the relative importance of environmental, genetic and social factors in understanding patterns of human growth and nutrition
• learn why societies structure their families, economies and political systems in the ways that they do
• investigate how material culture represents and reproduces beliefs and ideologies.

Careers

Archaeology and Anthropology opens up a wide range of career opportunities, in part because the degree offers a unique perspective on how human societies operate and develop and on how people interact with each other. It is also due to the intellectually demanding requirements of an Oxford degree, and to its ideal combination of personal learning, independent study and tutorial teaching. Graduates of this course have found opportunities in heritage management, museum curation, education, regional archaeological services, international development, the Civil Service, advertising, marketing, computing, energy supply, community relations, law and media.

Your work is divided among lectures, tutorials and practical classes. In the first year you will spend about six hours a week in lectures, closely tied to the course’s core papers. Lectures for core and option papers take up about ten hours a week in years 2 and 3. Throughout the course, there are one or two tutorials a week (normally a total of twelve in each term).

• Attestat o Srednam Obrazovanii (Certificate of Secondary Education) would not be sufficient for candidates to make a competitive application. If your qualification is listed as being insufficient to make a competitive application to Oxford, then you will need to undertake further study if you wish to apply.You could take British A-levels (the British Council may know where you can take A-levels in your country), the International Baccalaureate (IB), or any other qualifications listed as acceptable on this page. The first year of a bachelor's degree from another university could also be an acceptable alternative.
• IELTS: overall score of 7.0 (with at least 7.0 in each of the four components)
• TOEFL (paper-based): overall score of 600 with a Test of Written English score of 5.5
• TOEFL (internet-based): overall score of 110 with component scores of at least: Listening 22, Reading 24, Speaking 25, and Writing 24.
• Cambridge English: Advanced, also known as the Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): grade A if taken before January 2015, or a score of at least 185.
• Cambridge English: Proficiency, also known as the Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): grade B if taken before January 2015, or a score of at least 185.
• English Language GCSE, or O-level: grade B (for IGCSE, please see below)
• International Baccalaureate Standard Level (SL): score of 5 in English (as Language A or B)
• European Baccalaureate: score of 70% in English.

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

Hill Foundation Scholarship

Russian nationals wishing to study for a second undergraduate degree. 

Palgrave Brown Scholarship

Students must be ordinarily resident in and/or educated in the following countries:

Albania; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Czech Republic; Estonia; Georgia; Hungary; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Rep.; Latvia; Lithuania; Macedonia;  Moldova; Montenegro; Poland; Romania; Russia; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; Uzbekistan.