Master of Arts in Archaeology
Archaeology aims to reconstruct and shed a light on the history of humankind in all its aspects. The Master’s programme focuses on instilling a research attitude, which is required for senior positions in specialized research.
What
The Archaeology programme does more than simply study archaeological finds. It aims to reconstruct and shed a light on the history of humankind in all its aspects. Our programme offers a solid methodological base and practical skills. In addition, our course units all aim at critical and independent thought vis-à-vis the discipline of archaeology and archaeological sources, and the ability to disseminate research results to a wide audience. Our one-year Master’s curriculum succeeds a three-year Bachelor’s curriculum. The aim is to deliver archaeologists who are able to conduct specialized academic research in an independent manner, and who can take up senior positions (leading excavations, projects, ...) successfully. Equipped as they are with critical thought and an independent research attitude, our archaeologists will be in high demand to keep up with various societal processes in today’s fast-changing society, giving archaeology and ever-increasing role.
For whom
The admission requirements vary. Depending on your prior education, you are either able to enrol directly, or there are additional requirements.
Structure
For our Master's students, sufficient mastery of archaeological techniques is key. Our students have to be able to understand and valorize the relevance of our discipline and how it relates to society adequately. We give you the opportunity to conduct your own academic research, which ultimately culminates in writing a Master's dissertation.
Another important aspect is field work. It is an indispensable aspect of an archaeologist’s training, especially at times when preventive and rescue archaeology gains increasing importance in Europe (cf. the Valletta Treaty). Through further participation in fieldwork and other related activities ((museum) management, etc...) we want to prepare our students for the practical side of field archaeology and archaeology research. One of the possibilities is a work placement abroad.
In addition, we focus on oral skills by means of discussion groups and workshops, during which recent academic research (by members of our department or by others) is discussed.
In addition to the (domain) Master’s programme described above, you can also choose a Master’s Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: Educatieve Master). Find out more at www.ugent.be/educatievemaster(in Dutch).
Labour Market
In the first place, we train our students to become fully-fledged archaeologists. They find employment at universities (academic research), in archaeological companies (private sector), in museums and other academic institutions. The Valletta Treaty and its “destroyer pays-principle” makes for opportunities for many in Europe. It has caused a steep rise in the number of field archaeologists on the one hand, and an expanded role for archaeologists in the management and academic research of archaeological heritage, and in spatial planning. Our alumni are in high demand abroad as well (e.g. The Netherlands and France).
A number of Archaeology graduates looks for employment beyond archaeological fieldwork, management and academic research, not without success. Other employment possibilities are, among other things, administrative positions in the public and private sectors, commercial positions, the public relations and cultural sectors, librarianship and journalism. In addition to being tailored to a specific profession, our study programme is in fact also an all-round Master’s programme that gives access to various career paths.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Motivation: our four-year curriculum is aimed at (prospective) students with a critical and academic attitude. A strong interest in material culture and in the interaction between man and landscape throughout history is recommended.
- Multidisciplinarity and multiperspectivism: we train our students to become critical and professional archaeologists who are able to work in a team. We teach our students the necessary skills to be creative and to become accomplished problem-solvers.
- Building bridges: the study of archaeology is at the intersection of material culture studies, landscape studies and the study of the history of humankind. This fascinating interaction is the focus of our study programme. In addition, we teach our students to apply analytical methods and theoretical concepts. In so doing, our study programme bridges the gap between the humanities and the exact sciences.
- Talent development: our students can to a certain extent tailor their curriculum to their own interests.
- Broad employability: not only do our graduates possess advanced archaeological knowledge, they can also be valuable employees in other disciplines due to their solid methodological knowledge.
Strengths
- Motivated team of lecturers: our team consists of motivated lecturers who combine a teaching assignment with conducting internationally recognized research.
- Internationalization: we encourage our students and lecturers to engage in international experiences. We participate in international fieldwork projects and integrate short study stays abroad into our curriculum in a structural manner.
- Multidisciplinarity: the combination of archaeological and basic science course units makes for a curriculum that attracts students with diverse backgrounds in terms of prior education.
- Integration with the professional field: we keep abreast of new developments thanks to our close ties with the local and international professional field.
- Upon graduation: our programme focuses on understanding and being able to apply the principles of landscape archaeology and material culture studies. This means that you are well-prepared for national and international jobs in the public and private sector.
Challenges
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Focus on quality: we strive for premium-quality education and want to involve our students and alumni more closely. In so doing, we want to focus on the following actions:
- bringing (prospective) students into contact with our alumni in a structural manner;
- continuing to encourage our students to respond to the various feedback options and to participate in student surveys about the quality of education;
- highlighting the specific profile of our study programme with a focus on the desired prior knowledge;
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Study load: we want to continue to focus on clear communication: what do we expect from our students and what can our students expect from us? We want to:
- point out to our (prospective) students the desired basic prior knowledge in terms of exact sciences and foreign languages;
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inform our (prospective) students about and support them in the development of solid study methods (learning to stagger the workload)
As a study programme, we provide: -
scheduled feedback moments during the dissertation writing process;
- an ongoing commitment to assess the study programme continuously and adjust it where necessary, for example by converting term course units into full-year course units.
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Study efficiency: we have noticed that students often postpone their Master's dissertation until the resit examination period or even later. This is an aspect that we will work on together with the students:
- regularly bringing our Master's students together in integration seminars so that they can learn from each other;
- continued emphasis on the importance of the Master's dissertation;
- encouraging our Master's students to start working on dissertation on time.
Tailored coaching programme: As stipulated in the quality improvement plan, the study programme in liaison with the faculty and the Education Department, is set to eliminate the weaknesses within a reasonable time frame. The study programme delivers regular progress reports to the Education Quality Board.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.