Year 1

In your first year you will split your studies equally between archaeology and history, taking modules covering medieval, early modern and global history, providing you with a thorough grounding in historical methods and practice at university level. You will also study the archaeological past from the origins of the human species to the 21st century, along with the aims and methods of archaeology.

You will be able to take part in a local archaeological fieldschool. We have run fabulous fieldschools at Bradgate Park with sites from the Mesolithic to the historic period, including the Tudor mansion of Lady Jane Grey (England's nine-day Queen), and the Iron Age hillfort of Burrough Hill.

Core modules

• An Introduction to World Archaeology BC
• Archaeology: The Essentials
• Thinking Through Things
• An Introduction to World Archaeology AD
• Medieval and Early Modern Europe: People, Power, Faith, and Culture
• Making History
• Global History: Connections and Cultures in a Changing World, 1750 to the present
• Modern Britain: c1700-Present

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Year 2

In your second year you will continue to balance your studies equally between the two subjects. You will have more opportunity to shape the course of your degree this year as you will be able to choose option modules from the areas of history and archaeology that interest you the most. You will also have the opportunity to study a range of laboratory-based modules, covering subjects such as environmental archaeology and artefact analysis. At the end of your second year you will participate in a research excavation, which can take place anywhere in the world.

If you would like to write your third year dissertation on an area of history rather than archaeology then you must take the option module The Historian’s Craft.

Core modules

• Perceiving the Past
• Fieldwork 1
• Theory in Archaeology

Option modules

Choose one history option module from:

• Gender History
• The History of Alcohol in North America, 1650-1950
• Jack-the-Ripper: Crime, Popular Culture and Policing in Victorian Times
• A World Connected: Economy, Wellbeing and Sustainability since 1945
• Living with Dictatorship: European Societies, 1918-1941
• Fight the Power! Race, Rights and Protest in the USA

Then choose one archaeology option module from:

• Environmental Archaeology  
• Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age Britain and Ireland 
• Living in Towns: Archaeological Approaches to Medieval Urbanism
• Archaeology of the Roman Empire

Then choose one archaeology option module from:

• Heritage Skills
• Celts, Britons and Barbarians: Iron Age Europe in context
• Artefact Analysis
• Archaeological Survey and Geomatics
• The Medieval Mediterranean World

Plus either Becoming the Historical Researcher (you must choose this if you plan to write your third year dissertation on history)

Or two more history option modules from: 

• The Latin World: Ancient, Medieval and Modern
• Class Struggle and the Industrial Revolution
• Histories of Violence
• Madness, Monarchy and Politics from George III to Queen Victoria
• Domestic Revolutions: Women, Men, and the Family in American History
• Enter the Dragon: Modern Chinese History, 1839-1989
• History in the Classroom
• Heritage Field Project

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Year Abroad (optional)

We’ll make sure you have everything you need for your future career: not just by awarding you a high quality degree, but also by helping you to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to make your mark in the world as a Citizen of Change. One way you can do this is by opting to take a Year Abroad between Years 2 and 3 of your degree.

Studying abroad is not just for people who are interested in travelling and meeting new people. It is about acquiring life skills that are becoming increasingly significant for a wide range of jobs in our modern globalised society. Whether you go on to a career in the private, public or third sector - or plough your own furrow as an entrepreneur – you will find the experience invaluable.

For more information, including a list of destinations, please visit our Study Abroad website.

Please note

• A year spent abroad still incurs a tuition fee, but this is much lower than for a normal year at Leicester. See the Fees and Funding tab of this page for details.
• You may be eligible for a travel grant from Student Finance England.
• Places are offered on a competitive basis, and eligibility is dependent on your academic performance in Years 1 and 2.
• Language courses, at beginners or advanced level, are available through our Languages at Leicester scheme.

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Final Year (History dissertation)

Core module

• Fieldwork 2

Option modules

Choose four option modules from the lists below, two from the lists marked A and two from the lists marked B. You can choose either one history module and three archaeology modules or two modules from each subject.

History modules list A

• The Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1968
• Abolitionists: Antislavery Activism in Britain and America, 1787-1865
• The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria
• When Two Dragons Fight: China and Japan at War in the Twentieth Century
• Making Nazis: Propaganda and Persuasion In The Third Reich, 1933-1945
• Disasporas and Migrations in the Modern World
• Gender, Crime and Deviance in Eighteenth Century Britain

Archaeology modules list A

• Conflict, Heritage and Archaeology
• Warfare, Conflict and Violence in the Human Past
• Archaeology of Islamic Societies

History modules list B

• The Imperial Economy: Britain and the Wider World, 1815-1914
• Crime and Punishment in African American History
• Apocalypse Then: The USA and the Vietnam War

Archaeology modules list B

• Greek and Roman Art: Ancient and modern contexts
• Archaeology and Ancient History in Education
• The Archaeology of Colonialism in the Americas
• Power and Difference in the Past
• The Archaeology of Human Evolution
• Bodies and Beings of Viking Worlds
• The Archaeology of Colonialism in the Americas

Plus your History dissertation

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Final Year (Archaeology dissertation)

Core module

• Fieldwork 2

Option modules

Either choose four option modules from the lists below, two from the lists marked A and two from the lists marked B - you should choose one archaeology module and three history modules.

History modules list A

• The Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1968
• Abolitionists: Antislavery Activism in Britain and America, 1787-1865
• The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria
• When Two Dragons Fight: China and Japan at War in the Twentieth Century
• Making Nazis: Propaganda and Persuasion In The Third Reich, 1933-1945
• Disasporas and Migrations in the Modern World
• Gender, Crime and Deviance in Eighteenth Century Britain

Archaeology modules list A

• Conflict, Heritage and Archaeology
• Warfare, Conflict and Violence in the Human Past
• Archaeology of Islamic Societies

History modules list B

• The Imperial Economy: Britain and the Wider World, 1815-1914
• Crime and Punishment in African American History
• Apocalypse Then: The USA and the Vietnam War

Archaeology modules list B

• Greek and Roman Art: Ancient and modern contexts
• Archaeology and Ancient History in Education
• The Archaeology of Colonialism in the Americas
• Power and Difference in the Past
• The Archaeology of Human Evolution
• Bodies and Beings of Viking Worlds
• The Archaeology of Colonialism in the Americas

Or choose one archaeology module from either of the Archaeology lists above and one history special subject module from this list:

• A Sea of Conflict? Christian Muslim Encounters c.1100-c.1300
• The Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Church, State and Belief in Soviet Russia, 1941-1991

Plus your Archaeology Dissertation

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.