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Archaeology Bioarchaeology (MSc)

Learn how to uncover the secrets of past lives through the study of human and animal skeletons. With this specialist master’s in bioarchaeology, you’ll gain expertise in human anatomy, with unlimited access to our large skeletal collection. You’ll also develop skills in faunal analysis; we have one of the largest reference collections of mammals, birds and fish in the UK.

We're ranked 6th in the UK for archaeology (The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023).

Your specialist bioarcheology learning will cover:

analysing human bones to understand age, sex, diet, health and migration
identifying mammals, birds and fish through skeletal remains
understanding fossilisation and bone modification
interpreting archaeology from collections of remains
Beyond your specialist modules you can personalise this MSc bioarchaeology degree to your areas of interest through a range of optional modules.

This archaeological science master's is a very practical degree, but you don’t need prior knowledge of biology or anatomy. You’ll spend a lot of time in our dedicated archaeology laboratories and you’ll have access to specialist isotope labs and a scanning, imaging and micro-CT suite.

You’ll work closely with experts in our Centre for Learning Anatomical Sciences and benefit from opportunities to apply your learning in real-world settings.

There's an opportunity to apply your learning on a 4-week placement, where you’ll gain valuable real-world experience of the archaeology sector and heritage industry. Previous placements have included Historic England, Wessex Archaeology and The Nautical Archaeology Society.

We bring expertise together from across the University, including Medicine, Humanities, the National Oceanography Centre, Engineering and Winchester School of Art, to enable you to gain both scientific skills and cultural understanding.

This bioarchaeology master's offers a balance between vocational and research skills. During your dissertation you’ll be able to embed with one of our research groups to do original research on a topic that you choose. There is the possibility that this work will be published.

Southampton is close to the World Heritage sites of Stonehenge and Avebury and we have research projects engaged with both sites, as well as a range of other archaeological projects across the Globe.

Campus Information

Avenue Campus

Our £2.8m Archaeology building has specialist bone, stone, skeleton and ceramic labs for the study of archaeological finds, as well as seminar and research rooms. Built with sustainability in mind, it uses mostly natural ventilation and underfloor heating. The glass entrance atrium features a 2.5 metre high sandstone megalith sculpture by the British artist Gary Breeze.

Intakes

Application Processing Time in Days: 30

Minimum English Language Requirements

English Level Description	IELTS (1.0 -9.0)	TOEFL IBT (0-120)	TOEFL CBT (0-300)	PTE (10-90)
Expert	9	120	297-300	86-90
Very Good	8.5	115-119	280-293	83-86
Very Good	8	110-114	270-280	79-83
Good	7.5	102-109	253-267	73-79
Good	7	94-101	240-253	65-73
Competent	6.5	79-93	213-233	58-65
Competent	6	60-78	170-210	50-58
Modest	5.5	46-59	133-210	43-50
Modest	5	35-45	107-133	36-43
Limited	4	32-34	97-103	30-36
Extremely Limited	< 4	< 31	< 93	< 30

Job Opportunity Potential

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PSW Opportunity

2 Years PSW

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

Bangladesh

MSc/ MA/ LLM

A relevant masters degree at minimum 70% with a bachelors degree of at least 3 years

UK 1st degree equivalent: 3.5; 3.2 depending on awarding institution
UK 2:1 degree equivalent: 3.0; 2.75 depending on awarding institution

MSc Engineering

A masters degree at minimum 60% with a bachelors degree of at least 3 years

UK 1st degree equivalent: 3.5; 3.2 depending on awarding institution
UK 2:1 degree equivalent: 3.0; 2.75 depending on awarding institution

India

Bachelors degree awarded by a recognized University or an equivalent professional qualification approved by the University with an overall qualification of at least 60%
UK 1st degree equivalent: 55 - 70% depending on awarding institution
UK 2:1 degree equivalent: 55 - 65% depending on awarding institution

Sri Lanka

Bachelors degree, masters degree or PhD from a recognised Sri Lankan Higher Education Institution. Minimum entry requirement is usually equivalent to a UK upper class (2:1)
UK 1st equivalent: GPA 3.7 out of 4.0
UK 2.1 equivalent: GPA 3.3 out of 4.0

IELTS score requirements
overall score
6.5
reading
6.5
writing
6.5
speaking
6.0
listening
6.0

University of Southampton

Southampton, England, United Kingdom