Geography with Archaeology BSc(Hons)

Course in brief

The Geography with Archaeology BSc(Hons) investigates the relationship between human societies and their physical and social environments over time.

During the course you will develop expertise in contemporary archaeological and environmental issues, informed by international archaeological research projects on areas such as human evolution, African Iron Age dynasties and environmental degradation.

Field trips in the UK, such as local natural attractions including Seven Sisters, the South Downs, fresh-water rivers and both saline and semi-saline estuaries, and abroad, such as Greece and Sicily, are integral to the course. They give you the chance to put theory into practice as you explore classical archaeological sites and natural environments. You also have the opportunity to take a year of paid professional experience and develop your skills in the workplace.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Moulsecoomb

UCAS code FF84

Full-time 3 years
With placement year 4 years

Apply now with UCAS

Applying for 2017

This course is closed for 2017 applications. Applications for 2018 open in the autumn. In the meantime check out our summer open days for students thinking about studying with us in 2018.

Find out about our open days

Entry requirements

A-levels or BTEC
Entry requirements are in the range of A-level BBC–CCC (112–96 UCAS Tariff points), or BTEC Extended Diploma DMM–MMM. Our conditional offers typically fall within this range.

A-levels must include geography. BTEC must include geography or a science-related subject.

We will generally make you an offer if your predicted grades are at the top of this range. If your predicted grades are towards the lower end of this range we may still make you an offer if you have a good GCSE (or equivalent) profile or relevant non-academic achievements.

International Baccalaureate
28 points to include three subjects at Higher level to include geography or a science-related subject.

Access to HE Diploma
Pass with 60 credits overall. Must include level 3 units in geography, geology or science. At least 45 credits at level 3, with 24 credits at merit or above.

GCSE
At least English language and maths at grade 4, and science at grade C.

Foundation degree/HND
International foundation may be considered. Applicants with an HND or foundation degree may be considered for year 2 entry.

For non-native speakers of English
IELTS 6.0 overall, 6.0 in writing, and a minimum of 5.5 in the other three parts.

International equivalencies

International equivalencies by country

Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma (Myanmar)
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian National Authority
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visit our language institute

For English language preparation courses.

Visit our International College

For academic preparation courses.

Course in detail

Course structure

Our courses are under continual review, and improvements and enhancements to this course will be confirmed on this page in July. If you have already applied you can find more information on the applicant portal.

This BSc is an integrated course that uses geography modules to complement your practical archaeology skills.

For the geography component, you study both human and physical geography, though you are later able to specialise in one area over the other. There are also opportunities to take optional modules in the associated sciences, geology and modern languages.

For the archaeology component, you develop skills for archaeological investigation and environmental reconstruction, for example those in excavation, geoarchaeology, geoprospection, archiving, geoinformatics and data analysis.

The course incorporates local and overseas fieldwork, an optional placement year and a choice of dissertation projects. Sussex itself offers a wealth of archaeological sites, but you will also explore the natural environments of Sicily as part of the course.

Year 1

Year 1 provides a strong foundation in both physical and human geography while introducing you to archaeological practice. Fieldwork takes place in the local area, where you learn a range of transferable skills and field techniques applicable to geographical and environmental investigation.

Modules

Ancient Societies
Archaeological Practice 1
Introduction to Archaeology
Fundamentals of Physical Geography
Global Environmental Issues and Management
Contemporary Human Geographies
Skills for Independent Learning
Data Presentation and Analysis for Geographers
Introduction to Fieldwork

Year 2

Year 2 advances your understanding of geographical technologies and data analysis. The Archaeological Practice 2 module teaches you about the planning, methodologies and reporting of archaeological excavations, also covering issues such as environmental sampling, legality and project finance.

Modules

Societies of Prehistoric Europe
Archaeological Practice 2 – Excavation and Post Excavation
Human Environmental Dynamics During the Holocene: Geoarchaeology
Ice Age Earth
Skills for Research and Careers
Introduction to GIS and Spatial Data Analysis
Geography Fieldwork: Sicily
Advanced Data Analysis

Option modules

Human Origins and Evolution
Water in the Landscape
Soil and Water Analysis
Coastal and Aeolian Processes
Environmental and Spatial Planning
Environmental Conservation and Management
Environmental Pollution and Control
Environmental Hazards
Climate Change
Sustainable Development
Critical Contemporary Geographies
Geographies of Everyday Life
Contemporary Rural Geographies
Geographies of Development
Community Engagement: Actioning Sustainable Development
Sedimentology

Placement year

A placement year offers you a great opportunity to:

build knowledge of real-world businesses and organisations
develop existing skills and discover new ones
make contacts in industry and commerce
increase your confidence
improve your time management.

In recent years, our students have been successful in competing for nationally advertised positions with the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Transport for London, the Field Studies Council and the Atomic Weapons Establishment. Other students have secured placements with environmental firms and consultancies, a multi-national telecommunications company and a renewable energy research centre in Spain.

Final year

The final year gives you the chance to research a particular area of geography or archaeology in depth, and to choose from a wide range of optional modules so you can tailor the course to your individual interests and career aspirations.

Modules

Archaeological Heritage
Archaeological Practice 3
Independent Project
Introduction to Remote Sensing

Options

The Archaeology of Roman Britain
The Humans of Ice Age Britain
Environmental Change in Low Latitudes
Wetland Environments
Coastal Environments
Freshwater Processes and Ecosystems
Cold Environments: Process and Landsystems
Environmental Assessment
Air Quality Management
Water and Health
Waste Management
Medical Geography
Political Ecology
Geographies of Genders, Sexes and Sexualities
Geographies of Sport and Leisure
Geographies of Disability and Impairment
Geographies of Education
Landscape Geographies
Geographies of Racism and Security
Independent Study Module
Applied Remote Sensing
Active Remote Sensing: Lidar and Radar in the Geosciences
Geographical Information Systems
Community Engagement: Actioning Sustainable Development

Why Brighton?

Innovative and relevant
The School of Environment and Technology has attracted over £7million of external research income in the last three years. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise confirmed that 90% of research submitted by the school was of international standing.

A leading professional university
Our courses host field trips both in the UK and overseas, giving you the opportunity to apply the theories that you have learned in class. Present destinations include Greece, North Africa, Sicily, Cyprus and South Africa.

Career-focused
We are one of only a few universities to ensure that students have a career-planning agreement in place at the start of their course. We will help you to develop the professional and transferable skills required for future career success.

Excellence in support and teaching
All of our courses are taught by a team of dedicated, friendly and approachable staff. To help you to settle into university life, we provide a skills-based module to give you advice and feedback in the first year and assign you a personal tutor for the duration of your studies. This is supported by pathway guidance from your course leader and general support from school-based Student Support and Guidance Tutors (SSGTs).

Facilities fit for the future
You will have access to professional-standard laboratories and facilities that support our teaching, research and consultancy in geology, hydraulics, physical geography, and environmental and public health.

Outstanding location
We are based in Brighton, a buzzing coastal city that adds an extra dimension to the university experience. Lying between the English Channel and the rolling chalk hills of the South Downs, Brighton offers many interesting and unique local sites of study.

Careers and employability

With modules that span the human and physical sciences, a degree in archaeology and geography from Brighton demonstrates a wide range of transferable skills in research and data analysis.

The course helps to prepare you for careers across the geographical and archaeological sectors, for example as a field archaeologist, archivist, cartographer, environmental consultant, GIS officer, heritage manager, or planning and development surveyor. It will also prepare you for postgraduate research and study.

Fees and funding

Your fees

UK/EU (full-time) 9,250 GBP

International (full-time) 13,920 GBP

If you choose to take the professional placement (sandwich) year offered on this course you will pay a reduced fee during this year. Our fee for the professional placement year is £1,000 for home students and £2,000 for international students. This fee may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation.

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2017–18. Tuition fees are payable for each year that you study with us.

Where UK/EU students are subject to regulated fees, the annual fee increase cannot exceed the UK government’s maximum regulated tuition fee limit set for the relevant year. For all other students, ie those not subject to regulated fees, tuition fees are subject to a maximum annual increase of the higher of 5% or RPI.

You can find out more about our fees in the the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full- or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Location and living here

Location

About Brighton

Brighton has been called the happiest place in the UK, and it’s easy to see why. With five miles of pebble beach, more than 300 pubs and a packed festival calendar, Brighton is the ideal place to spend your student years.

Arts and culture: The Royal Pavilion is the most famous landmark in Brighton, opening its doors to around 400,000 tourists every year. Right next door is the Brighton Dome, the south coast’s premier multi-arts venue, and the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, which holds a diverse collection of decorative arts, textiles and archaeological artefacts.

Festivals: The Brighton Festival is now the largest arts festival in England and a major milestone in the international cultural calendar. Meanwhile, The Great Escape has been established as the UK’s leading event for new music, with over 300 bands playing 30 venues across the city over three days.

Nightlife: Aside from the many nightclubs that line the city’s seafront, student favourites include The Haunt, Concorde 2 and Patterns, which attract leading bands and DJs from around the world. If you don’t feel like dancing, you can take your pick from the many hundreds of pubs and bars that dot the city centre.

Shopping: The quirky North Laine district houses Brighton’s finest collection of boutique shops and independent cafes, while the narrow, winding streets of the South Lanes house collections of jewellery and antiques. Churchill Square is the city’s main shopping centre and serves all of your high street needs.

Sports: Brighton’s seaside location offers the perfect opportunity to try paddle boarding, kayaking and windsurfing. Further into the city, The Level has a skate park for skateboarders and BMX riders to practise their skills.

Campus where this course is taught

Moulsecoomb campus

Just two miles north of Brighton city centre and the seafront, Moulsecoomb is the largest of our five campuses with more than 8,000 students. A wide variety of subjects are taught here, from engineering and product design to business and law.

Students benefit from many professional-standard facilities, including a flight simulator, design and digital media suites, and specialist research laboratories. The campus library, Aldrich, offers long opening hours and a diverse collection of books and journals for students from all subject areas.

Sports enthusiasts will enjoy our basketball and badminton courts, fitness suite and climbing wall. The campus is also a few minutes walk from the South Downs National Park, providing a great place to relax during the summer months.

Accommodation

Brighton

Our Brighton halls of residence are located across the city in Grand Parade, Moulsecoomb, Varley Park and Falmer.

Our Grand Parade campus is in central Brighton and has one hall of residence, Phoenix Brewery, within walking distance. We have around 300 rooms available in Phoenix Brewery, which are all ensuite and self-catered.

Moulsecoomb is two miles from the city centre and also has one hall of residence, Moulsecoomb Place, on campus. All accommodation in Moulsecoomb Place is catered, offering breakfast and an evening meal during term time. There are more than 150 rooms available here, with six to eight rooms per flat.

Varley Park offers the biggest choice of student accommodation with ten halls of residence. The site is four miles from Brighton centre but within walking distance of Falmer train station.

Falmer campus has two halls of residence: Great Wilkins and Paddock Field. Great Wilkins offers 150+ self-catered single rooms and one-bed couples flats, while Paddock Field offers 450+ catered and self-catered single rooms only. All rooms in Falmer are en-suite.

Aside from halls, you have the option of Unihomes, which we let out to our students on behalf of private landlords. The rent covers all utilities and includes £5,000 of contents insurance for your personal belongings.

You can also choose to join the many students who live away from campus in private rented accommodation. We have a list of high-quality, university-endorsed private sector accommodation and can help you find housemates to move in with.

Find out more on our Brighton accommodation webpages and if you have any questions, our accommodation team will be happy to help. You can contact them by email at accommodation@brighton.ac.uk or by telephone on 01273 644100.

Paddock Field

Moulsecoomb Place

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Moulsecoomb campus map

Unistats

Unistats and key information sets

Unistats is an organisation that collects specific data about university courses in the UK which enables you to compare information that is important in your decision-making when choosing a university. All universities publish Unistats data on their online course pages.

Wherever we can we have provided extra information here to help put the data into context so that it is as useful as possible when you are making decisions.

Programme specification

The programme specification is the official university document for each course. They are updated each year, and give a very detailed breakdown of what your course might look like.

Programme specification