Full-time and part-time

Course Team Leader: Martin Carruthers

This exciting course is one of a number of courses on offer from the UHI Millennium Institute. The initiative is led by Orkney College and is to provide courses for those wishing continue studies in archaeology, to develop new skills, gain further experience in existing skills, and continue professional development.

We are proud of this development in archaeology in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. We feel the courses have a lot to offer those who seek professional skills and hands on experience relevant to current archaeological thinking and practice.

Students will be based in Orkney for their time of study. Field trips and placements may take place in other areas of the Highlands and Islands.

Studying Archaeology in Orkney
The postgraduate courses in Archaeological Practice provide the unique opportunity to study archaeology in Britain’s most outstanding archaeological landscape while earning a valuable qualification.

Orkney offers an extraordinary wealth of remains – Neolithic settlements, tombs and henges, Iron Age brochs, Norse settlements and churches and more recent Second World War remains. The use of stone rather than wood for construction, and high levels of preservation result in the survival of complex sites with deep stratigraphy that are unparalleled elsewhere in the UK. The differing character of the islands and their landscapes – from intensively cultivated fertile areas to upland areas - form a variety of archaeological landscapes. Orkney has been the focus of archaeological research for many decades, and key figures in archaeology have undertaken research in Orkney that has shaped the history of British and European archaeology.

The many famous monuments in Orkney act as visitor attractions and tourism brings in similar revenue to agriculture. This position affords you the opportunity to explore issues of cultural heritage, presentation and preservation of monuments and landscapes. The fragility of the resource and its vulnerability to coastal erosion and agricultural processes raises management issues. Erosion, accidental finds and archaeological investigation lead to the discovery of amazing sites, and new types of monuments are still being discovered. As well as the activities of contract archaeology units, Orkney attracts many archaeological bodies to conduct research excavations. A busy programme of fieldwork engages with both rural and urban archaeology. Orkney also boasts unparalleled underwater remains, notably wreck sites which have their own management issues.

Study at UHI Millennium Institute

The UHI Millennium Institute has a collegiate structure, based on a partnership of thirteen colleges and research institutions, each with its own distinctive character. Since 1998, they have been working together to deliver university level programmes throughout the Highlands and Islands.

The UHI Millennium Institute collegiate structure gives you the educational advantages of a larger institution with the personal care and student-centred approach of a college environment.

UHI Millennium Institute’s organisation and governance reflect its central mission to enhance and support the diverse cultural, human, economic, heritage and natural resources of the Highlands and Islands.

The Course

Course Aims

The course aims to provide all students with:

• The ability to apply knowledge and understanding of the theories and techniques of the discipline to a standard above that which would be expected at the level of first degree
• The ability to apply knowledge and understanding of the practice of archaeology to a standard above that which would be expected at the level of first degree
• The ability to apply practical skills and experience relevant to archaeological practice
• A professional, reflective, framework to be utilised either in employment within archaeology and related fields, or to transfer to other areas of employment

Students completing the Masters degree will have:

• Competence in research methods, and the application of these in an integrative environment
  
  

Course objectives

• On completion of the requisite modules for the award of MA in Archaeological Practice, or of the intermediate award of Postgraduate Diploma, students will be able to:
• Demonstrate an awareness of current theoretical, political and research-based frameworks within which archaeology is practised
• Demonstrate awareness and understanding of current theory, legislation and management issues relating to archaeological practice
• Appraise critically the value of archaeological techniques in a range of circumstances
• Demonstrate an awareness of the roles of the various agencies, statutory and key other bodies involved in the practice of archaeology
• Demonstrate an ability to design and manage projects
• Demonstrate skill in decision making and strategic thinking
• Exercise independent judgement
• Recognise and appraise unconventional solutions to archaeological challenges
• Undertake archaeological work with confidence and integrity

In addition, students completing the Masters degree will

Demonstrate an ability to carry out a significant piece of independent research on a relevant topic, including the development of appropriate practical and conceptual skills, the interpretation and critical analysis of the results, and the production of a research thesis

Demonstrate an ability to initiate projects

Course team

The course in Archaeological Practice is led by Orkney College, and taught by staff from Orkney College and from UHI Millennium Institute partner institutions Shetland College and Thurso College. Students will work with the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology, Tankerness House Museum, conservation and farming agencies and organisations.

Staff

Course Structure

Course Structure