Archaeology - Master's Programme in the Humanities

Programme

The Master's Programme in the Humanities, specialising in Archaeology, starts with two compulsory courses, followed by a range of elective courses offered by the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History or by other departments at the Faculty of Arts.

The first compulsory course is Cosmopolitan Pasts. It runs at 50% of a full-time study load and you will take the course together with students from the Master's Programme in the Humanities, specialising in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History and in Egyptology.

The second compulsory course, The Craft of Research, runs throughout the first semester and provides the foundation for the writing of your Master's thesis.

You will design your education according to your own interests. At the beginning of the first semester, you will establish an individual study plan (ISP) together with the programme coordinator or director of studies. At that time, you will decide how to plan your studies: which courses to take, when to write your Master's thesis, etc. The ISP is revised every semester, or, if needed, more often.

The department offers a number of courses, which normally run at 50% of a full-time study load. The idea behind this is that you should read two courses in parallel, or read one course while working on your thesis project.

Apart from the courses offered by the Department, which vary from semester to semester over a two-year cycle, you can choose to take an internship (worth 7.5 or 15 credits), or take courses individually tailored to suit your needs. You may also take courses offered by other departments at the university.

Most of the department's courses are offered both in Uppsala and in Visby, but some are only given at one campus.

You will write a 45-credit Master's thesis. It is divided up and written over several semesters. You can choose to devote your full attention to the thesis, or read a course at the same time.

Courses within the programme

You can choose how to organise your studies yourself, after consulting with your programme coordinator or the director of studies. Below you can see one example of how the courses can be organised for the full-time two-year programme.

Semester 1
Cosmopolitan Pasts, 7.5 credits (compulsory)
The Craft of Research, 7.5 credits (compulsory)
Elective courses corresponding to 15 credits

Semester 2
Advanced Field Course in Archaeology, 15 credits
Elective courses corresponding to 15 credits

Semester 3
Internship, 15 credits
Degree project, 15 credits

Semester 4
Degree project, 30 credits

Learning experience

Courses are typically worth 7.5 credits and run at 50% of a full time study load. The course content, teaching and learning methods may vary between courses, but normally include two or four hours of seminars and lectures each week.

Outside of classroom, you are expected to read and digest texts and sometimes also discuss them with other participants. Some courses have a more practical orientation, such as internships, courses on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and archaeological excavations in the field. During these courses, you are expected to work up to 30 or even 40 hours per week in an office, a lab or in the field.

Course assessment is normally continuous based on your active participation in seminars and submissions of several short independent essays. It may also consist of a longer essay submitted at the end of the course.

The programme is taught in English. The programme is offered in Uppsala and also at Campus Gotland in Visby. You should choose to either take the programme in Uppsala or in Gotland.

Gotland is an island located in the Baltic Sea between the mainland of Sweden and the Baltic States. Visby as a World Heritage site is the best-preserved medieval city in Scandinavia.