Study location	United Kingdom, Egham, Surrey
Type	Master courses, full-time
Nominal duration	1 year
Study language	English
Awards	MA

Entry qualification

Undergraduate diploma (or higher) Upper Second Class Honours degree (2:1) or equivalent. Candidates with relevant professional qualifications and work experience in an associated area will also be considered. The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English. Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original.

Language requirements	English IELTS: 6.5 (with 7.0 in writing and no sub-score below 5.5 ) CAE: 176 overall (with a minimum of 185 in writing and 162 in all other subscores)

Other requirements	At least 2 reference(s) must be provided. Academic A motivation letter must be added to your application. - a broad understanding of the civilisations and material culture of the ancient world - an appreciation of the importance of archaeological sources and the different interpretations that have been put on them - the ability to synthesize judgements from multiple viewpoints.

More information	royalholloway.ac.uk/..and-archaeology.aspx

Overview

Interested? To learn more about this study programme, entry requirements and application process, please contact one of our consultants in a country nearest to you.

Programme structure

Core modules
Research Training in Classical Archaeology
You will attend a series of training seminars which will cover a range of materials and methods available to classical archaeologists. You will learn how to undertake independent research, and present your findings clearly and coherently. You will look at the subject-specific resources available at the Institute of Classical Studies and through the British Museum, covering antiquarian drawings, clay sculpture, coinage and archaeology, conservation, plaster casts, making stone sculpture, and pottery and culture. You will learn the practical importance of catalogues and write your own entries for discussion.

Dissertation
This is a piece of original work of 10,000–12,000 words in the field of classical archaeology or art-history. A two-hour workshop for all students in the first half of Spring Term provides key skills and guidance in developing the dissertation topic, gathering research materials, presenting work, preparing the text of the dissertation etc, and a second two-hour workshop for all students at the beginning of Summer Term checks on progress and provide space for work-in-progress presentation of the topics by the students as well as feedback. During Spring and Summer Term, dissertation supervisors arrange periodic meeting with you every two to four weeks, as needed, to discuss progress, solve issues etc. You will submit a draft of the dissertation to you supervisor by the end of Summer Term for feedback; the summer vacation is then spent making improvements, amendments, and revisions.

Optional modules
In addition to these mandatory course units there are a number of optional course units available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course units that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new units may be offered or existing units may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.

Who Owns the Roman Past?
This module will address the political and ethical questions surrounding Roman archaeology in the modern world. You will look at the discipline and its practices through a range of historical, theoretical and practical lenses. Topics for consideration will include: the history of the discipline; the impact of modern conflict; archaeology in national and international law; museums and museum display; the use of archaeology in historical fiction, film and TV. Throughout the module, you will be invited to think deeply about the material at hand and to view these thorny debates from a variety of angles, so that by the end of the course you have developed a fully-rounded picture of the issues, preparing them for how a modern archaeologist might handle these in the world.

The Archaeology of Water
This module aims to explore the varied roles that water played in ancient lives, looking at the various technologies that were employed in the capture, supply and management of water, examining both the technological and social implications of these methods. You will start by investigating the key technologies (e.g. aqueducts, dams, reservoirs, bathhouses) in both rural and urban settings via a series of in-depth case studies of particular sites and regions, before exploring the social meanings behind these technological choices, drawing on material from Anthropology and Science and Technology Studies, and setting them within the wider context of debates on the ancient economy and supposed technological stagnation in the ancient world.

Greek Law and Lawcourts
Our main evidence for the Athenian democracy in the fourth century are the speeches composed for delivery in court. At the same time, the speeches also offer a unique insight into Athenian social relations and social values through the stories told by individual litigants to their audiences consisting of large number of ordinary citizens who were serving as judges. This module offers an opportunity to study the ways in which the lives of the inhabitants of late fifth and fourth century Athens – citizens, resident aliens, and slaves – were regulated by the city’s laws, and equally important how this normative framework could manipulated and sometimes even subverted by members of the community. The module will also offer an introduction to classical Athenian rhetoric, and the seminars will focus on the rhetorical strategies adopted by Athenian litigants in a wide variety of contexts. A broad range of Athenian lawcourt speeches in translation will be complemented by the study of texts (also in translation) by Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes.

Latin Epigraphy
In this module you will develop an understanding of how to interpret Latin inscriptions of all types, ranging from electronic resources to traditional printed corpora. You will look at the production of epigraphic material from the point of view of those commissioning it, the individual craftsman, and the development and the decline of ‘epigraphic habit’. You will analyse texts in the broader context of the artefacts, monuments or buildings to which they were attached, and learn how to measure and record inscriptions. You will also examine how to read and interpret epigraphic texts and prepare them for publication. You will consider a wide variety of inscriptions, including official, public, private and graffiti, from Rome, Italy and the provinces, and make use of epigraphic material held in various collections in central London.

Advanced Latin A
This module consists of study of one set text in Latin, in either prose or verse, to be selected annually. The focus will be on translation, context and understanding of grammar in this text. You will also work on an independent project related to their own area of research expertise in order to refine their understanding of the issues posed by translation and interpretation in this area.

Advanced Latin B
The module will consist of study of one set text in Latin, in either prose or verse, to be selected annually. The focus will be on translation, context and understanding of grammar in this text. You will also work on an independent project related to their own area of research expertise in order to demonstrate why the Latin of a selected passage is worth examination, how discussion of it has influenced scholarship, and how direct engagement with the Latin enhances their own research.

Career opportunities

Graduates of classical degrees have much to offer potential employers having developed a range of transferable skills, both practical and theoretical, whilst studying with us. With up to 90% of our most recent graduates now working or in further study, according to the Complete University Guide 2015, it’s true to say our graduates are highly employable.

In recent years, PhD graduates, many of whom have progressed from our MA programmes, have taken up academic positions at Oxford, Bristol and Roehampton Universities. Outside of academia, our graduates have embarked on teaching careers in the UK and overseas, undertaken archaeological and museum work and pursued careers in journalism, finance, politics and the arts.