Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East

UCL is a world-leading centre for research and teaching in the archaeology of Egypt and the Near East. The programme is ideally suited to students seeking to combine advanced study of these regions with new technical and interpretative skills, and offers an ideal grounding for doctoral research.

UCL’s wide range of archaeological expertise provides a unique opportunity to study Egypt and the Near East in a truly comparative context, and for students to develop a programme and research dissertation tailored to individual interests. These may include the application of new skills in archaeological science, exploring new theoretical perspectives, or the significance of archaeology for the wider cultural heritage of these regions.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of three core modules (45 credits), two or three optional modules (45 credits), and a dissertation.

Core modules

All students must take the following: 

• Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East: A Comparative Approach
• Themes, Thought and Theory in World Archaeology: Foundations

Optional modules

• Ancient Cyprus: Colonisations, Copper and City-States (by arrangement with King's College London)
• Archaeologies of Asia
• Aegean Prehistory: major themes and debates
• Beyond Chiefdoms: Archaeologies of African Political Complexity
• Egyptian Archaeology: An Object-Based Theoretical Approached
• Intangible Dimensions of Museum Objects from Egypt
• Introductory Akkadian (by arrangement with SOAS)
• Mediterranean Dynamics
• Mediterranean Prehistory
• Middle Egyptian Language
• Society and Culture in Ancient Egypt
• The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of the Near East: The emergence of villages and urban societies
• Subject to approval a third module can be taken from the overall options available at the Institute of Archaeology or more widely within UCL and the University of London.

Dissertation/report

All students undertake an independent research project, with guidance from an assigned supervisor, which culminates in a dissertation of 15,000 words.

Teaching and learning

Teaching at the Institute of Archaeology is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars to support student interaction, and examination is primarily through module-based essays and the individual dissertation. Depending on the options taken, teaching may also include object handling, museum work, and laboratory practicals.

A minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree in archaeology or a related subject or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.