Teaching and assessment
You’ll study and learn with academics who are active researchers, experts in their field and have a passion for their subjects. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.
Teaching format
You'll be taught through a range of lectures, seminars, workshops, practicals, and independent learning projects. All our teaching is research-led, meaning our lecturers are teaching the subjects they're fascinated about, and ensuring you get the most current specialist knowledge.
We have always been passionate about small group teaching - we feel it is the best way to learn. You'll start off with a variety of teaching formats and as the course progresses you'll spend more time on intensive small group teaching and individual study.
We provide training in presentation skills throughout your course, helping you to prepare for your Assessed Seminar and Assessed Lecture.
Find out more about our teaching.
Timetabled activities
In your first year, you can expect:
| Lectures |
2 hours per week |
| Seminars |
2 hours per week |
| Workshops |
2 hours per week |
| Practicals |
2 hours per week |
| Excavation |
2 weeks in Semester 2 |
| Field trips |
1 full day and 7 mini trips |
| Feedback sessions |
1-2 hours |
These figures are representative of a typical week. Your contact hours will vary throughout the year due to your module choices, non-compulsory classes, exam periods and changes to scheduled activities.
Outside your timetabled hours, you'll study independently. This may include preparation for classes, follow-up work, wider reading, practice completion of assessment tasks, or revision.
In the UK, full-time students are expected to spend 1,200 hours a year learning. That's about 40 hours of classes and independent study each week during semesters. Everyone learns at a different rate, so the number of hours you spend on independent study will be different to other students on your course.
Facilities
At York, you'll have access to a huge range of facilities.
In the department we have:
- teaching rooms and a state-of-the-art lecture theatre
- dedicated study spaces
- a large lab space for working with artefacts, soil and environmental samples, and skeletal remains
- computer labs with printers, scanners and specialised photo software, digital drawing and mapping software
We also have Bioarchaeology labs and the York Experimental Archaeology Research (YEAR) Centre. You'll have access to the library and other University resources, including the Borthwick Institute for Archives.
You'll also have access to a wide range of archaeological equipment, including:
- drones
- fieldwork tools
- Total Station theodolites
- geophysical survey equipment (resistivity, magnetometry, ground penetrating radar)
- handheld GPS systems
- a laser scanner
- a variety of photo and imaging technology
Explore our facilities
Teaching location
You will be based on Campus West. Our BioArCh and Palaeo facilities are located in or near the Environment Building.
About our campus
Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can use the fast and frequent bus service. Take a campus tour.
Assessment and feedback
Our degrees prepare you for a wide range of careers by combining humanities and sciences to build skills in data analysis, essay writing, and report writing.
If you're interested in the heritage sector, you can choose modules in heritage studies and gain practical experience through volunteering, internships, and placements with museums and heritage organisations.
You’ll also benefit from lifetime access to subject-specific careers support and develop your future plans through our York Futures development programme.
For more on where an archaeology degree could take you, watch our video playlist.
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