Programme Specification for the 2025/6 academic year
BA (Hons) History and Archaeology with Employment Experience Abroad
1. Programme Details
| Programme name | BA (Hons) History and Archaeology with Employment Experience Abroad | Programme code | UFA4HPSHPS83 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study mode(s) | Academic year | 2025/6 | |
| Campus(es) | Streatham (Exeter) |
NQF Level of the Final Award | 6 (Honours) |
2. Description of the Programme
The History and Archaeology programme builds on a broad foundation in the first year, to highly specialised work in the final year, including the study of a particular subject in depth.
History at the University of Exeter gives you the tools you need to study the history that interests you. It develops a broad foundation of skills and knowledge in the first year, builds on this in the second year as you begin to become an independent researcher, and culminates in the opportunity to produce highly specialised work in the final year, including the study of a particular subject in depth. There is a huge amount of module choice available to you, covering time periods from the Roman Empire to the early twenty-first century, and topics as diverse as migration and mobility, indigenous peoples in Latin America, the history of health and its politics, women in society, the Vikings, magic and witchcraft in early modern Europe, and histories of material things.
Archaeology will enable you to explore both the academic and practical dimensions of a uniquely fascinating discipline. Building on a firm foundation of the subject provided in the first year, the degree will give you a wide variety of choice to follow your particular interests. These can cover the microscopic analysis of ancient artefacts to the exploration of entire fossilised landscapes, from understanding prehistoric villages to recording historic buildings; the subject is broad, multi-disciplinary and dynamic.
As you work through your degree, you can develop your own specialisation, culminating in a dissertation supported by one-to-one tuition.
This programme is studied over four years. The first two years and the final year are university-based, and the third year is spent gaining employment experience at a suitable location in the UK.
This Employment Experience Abroad variant of the programme is a great way to incorporate graduate-level work placement or placements undertaken outside of the United Kingdom directly into your programme of study, to reflect critically upon these experiences, and for them to count towards the assessment of your degree. There is no better way to gain valuable employment experience that can be rewarded and recognised clearly by future employers. With preparation, support and approval from the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, including in foreign languages if required, you can also demonstrate adaptability and resourcefulness by organising suitable placements in areas of employment related to your interests and potential future career. This variant of the programme also provides a great way to demonstrate to employers your adaptability, cultural awareness, independence and resourcefulness. Experiencing the differences and similarities of education and people in another culture will increase your confidence and broaden the ways in which you see and relate to the world and the world of work.
You are required to find your own placement with suitable employers and organisations with preparation, support and approval from the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.
Advice and guidance on your programme can be sought from your personal tutor and programme director. All staff offer regular office hours.
3. Educational Aims of the Programme
This programme aims to develop your competence in the subject-specific and research skills required in History and Archaeology, through extended engagement with primary sources and methodologies, relevant critical material, theoretical contexts, and through a combination of both broad and detailed focuses on particular aspects of the past, study of a range of time periods, and study of different geographical areas
You will acquire advanced competence in core academic, personal and key skills, providing a basis for career progression in the academic and professional worlds. You will be exposed to a variety of teaching and assessment methods within appropriate learning environments, supported by feedback and monitoring. You will also be given an opportunity to develop your independent study skills through a piece of individual research.
The programme provides an intellectually stimulating, satisfying experience of learning and studying, and forms a sound basis for further study in History, Archaeology or related disciplines. It aims to develop a range of subject-specific, academic and transferable skills, including high order conceptual literacy and communication skills of value in graduate employment. History and Archaeology, like other programmes offered within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, encourages you to become a global citizen, a productive, useful and questioning member of society, and provides thorough training for further study or a specialist career. You may utilise the skills you develop in a range of sectors, including consultancy, market research, the civil service, education, teaching, new media industries, journalism and publishing, research, charities, information science, advertising and public relations.
4. Programme Structure
5. Programme Modules
The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme.
Archaeology modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=archaeology
History modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=history
You may take optional modules as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module.
You may take elective modules up to 15 credits outside of the programme in the first stage and up to 30 credits outside of the programme in the second and final stages as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module. Optional modules offered are subject to change depending on staff availability and student demand. You are expected to balance your credits in each stage of the programme, taking 60 credits from Archaeology, and 60 credits from History.
Stage 1
30 credits of compulsory Archaeology modules, 45 credits of compulsory History modules, 30 credits of optional Archaeology modules, 15 credits of optional History modules.
Compulsory Modules
a - You must select HIH1421 Understanding Medieval and Early Modern History OR HIH1422 Understanding Modern History.
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARC1010 | Themes in World Archaeology | 15 | No |
| ARC1020 | Essential Archaeological Methods | 15 | No |
| HIH1137 | Becoming a Historian: Core | 15 | Yes |
| HIH1421 | Understanding Medieval and Early Modern History [See note a above] | 30 | No |
| HIH1422 | Understanding Modern History [See note a above] | 30 | No |
| HAS1905 | Employment Experience HASS | 0 | No |
Optional Modules
b - Select 30 credits from Stage 1 Option Modules Archaeology
c - Select 15 credits from Stage 1 Option Modules History
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archaeology Stage 1 BA Option Modules 2025-6 [See note b above] | |||
| ARA1030 | Introduction to Islamic Archaeology | 15 | No |
| ARC1080 | Archaeology and Heritage: Past and Futures | 15 | No |
| ARC1007 | Archaeological and Forensic Science Practicals | 15 | No |
| ARC1008 | Forensic Archaeology | 15 | No |
| History Stage 1 Option modules 2025-6 [See note c above] | |||
| HIH1598 | The Medieval Inquisition | 15 | No |
| HIH1141 | Plants and People in the long Eighteenth Century | 15 | No |
| HIH1142 | Women, Gender and Education in Britain, c.1850-2000 | 15 | No |
| HIH1143 | Antisemitism and Assimilation: Images of Jews in the Modern World | 15 | No |
| HIH1002 | Losing an Empire, Finding a Role: Britain Since 1945 | 15 | No |
| HIH1042 | Murder in Early Modern England | 15 | No |
| HIH1402 | Britain, America and the Global Order, 1846-1946 | 15 | No |
| HIH1411 | From Wigan Pier to Piccadilly: Britain between the Wars | 15 | No |
| HIH1501 | The Viking Phenomenon | 15 | No |
| HIH1505 | The First Crusade | 15 | No |
| HIH1506 | The First Day of the Somme | 15 | No |
| HIH1532 | The History of Strategic Thinking | 15 | No |
| HIH1585 | Ladies of the Night: Prostitution in the Victorian World | 15 | No |
| HIH1586 | Early Modern Venice: Representations and Myths | 15 | No |
| HIH1596 | The Good War? The United States in World War II | 15 | No |
| HIH1612 | Renaissance Florence 1350-1550 | 15 | No |
| HIH1043 | The Collapse of Communism in Central-Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union | 15 | No |
| HIH1014 | The Body in Eighteenth-Century Britain | 15 | No |
| HIH1057 | The Opium War: the British Empire encounters the Middle Kingdom | 15 | No |
| HIH1063 | Sex, Marx and Rock 'n' Roll: The Soviet 'Sixties', 1956-68 | 15 | No |
| HIH1618 | Body, Border, Partition: Understanding Violence in South Asia | 15 | No |
Stage 2
30 credits of compulsory Archaeology modules, 30 credits of optional Archaeology modules, 60 credits of optional History modules.
Compulsory Modules
d - Select ARC2003 or ARC2004 from Stage 2 Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARC2003 | Archaeological Fieldwork Project [See note d above] | 30 | Yes |
| ARC2004 | Archaeological Fieldschool [See note d above] | 30 | Yes |
| HAS2905 | Employment Experience HASS | 0 | No |
Optional Modules
e - Select 30 credits from Stage 2 Option Modules Archaeology .
Select 60 credits from a single History Route A, B, C or D . You must take HIH2237 Doing History in the Digital Age if you intend to select HIH3005 History Dissertation or HIH3006 Research Dissertation in the final stage.
History Route A
2 History option modules. Archaeology Dissertation in final stage
History Route B
HIH2002 Uses of the Past + 1 other History option. Archaeology Dissertation in final stage
History Route C
HIH2237 Doing History in the Digital Age + 1 other History option. History Dissertation in final stage
History Route D
HIH2237 Doing History in the Digital Age + HIH2002 Uses of the Past. History Dissertation in final stage
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archaeology Stage 2 BA Option Modules 2025-6 [See note e above] | |||
| ARC2121 | Brooches, Beads, Swords and Shields: Early Medieval Material Culture | 15 | No |
| ARC2130 | Discovering the Past with Molecular Science | 15 | No |
| ARC2514 | Forensic Anthropology | 15 | No |
| ARC2406 | Medieval Castles in Context | 15 | No |
| ARC2408 | Romanisation: Interaction, Conquest and Change in Late Iron Age and Roman Dacia | 15 | No |
| ARC2123 | Sustainability and Collapse in Past Societies | 15 | No |
| ARC2120 | Things and Us: Ancient and Contemporary Material Culture | 15 | No |
| ARC2401 | Understanding the Landscape of Medieval Britain | 15 | No |
| ARC2504 | Zooarchaeology | 15 | No |
| ARA2014 | Regions and Empires in Islamic Archaeology | 15 | No |
| HIH2002 | Uses of the Past | 30 | No |
| History CH Stage 2 Route A modules 2025-6 History Route A | |||
| HIH2011A | Forgetting Fascism, Remembering Communism: Memory in Modern Europe | 30 | No |
| HIH2036A | Albion's Fatal Tree: Capital Punishment in England, 1688-1965 | 30 | No |
| HIH2037 | American Frontiers: The West in U.S. History and Mythology | 30 | No |
| HIH2137A | Inventing Modern Man: Constructions of Mind, Body and the Individual, 1400-1800 | 30 | No |
| HIH2138A | History of Development: Ideologies, Politics and Projects | 30 | No |
| HIH2145A | Spain from Absolutism to Democracy | 30 | No |
| HIH2185A | China in the World, 1500-1840 | 30 | No |
| HIH2186A | Deviants and Dissenters in Early Modern England | 30 | No |
| HIH2208A | Medieval Paris | 30 | No |
| HIH2210A | The Russian Empire, 1689-1917 | 30 | No |
| HIH2218A | Religion, Society and Culture in Tudor England | 30 | No |
| HIH2238 | Slavery, Revolution, Independence: Saint-Domingue and Haiti, 1685-1838 | 30 | No |
| HIH2241 | Rise and Demise of Communism in Global Perspective | 30 | No |
| HIH2242 | British Settler Colonialism and its Legacies | 30 | No |
| HIH2243 | Britain and Ireland: Union, Conflict, and Independence, 1798-1949 | 30 | No |
| HIH2588 | Empire, Identity and Heritage in South-East Europe and the Middle East (1800-1950) | 30 | No |
| HIH2590 | An Age of Iron? Europe in the Tenth Century | 30 | No |
| HIH2591 | Philip Augustus and the Making of France, 1180-1223 | 30 | No |
| History CH Stage 2 Route B modules 2025-6 History Route B | |||
| HIH2002 | Uses of the Past | 30 | No |
| HIH2011A | Forgetting Fascism, Remembering Communism: Memory in Modern Europe | 30 | No |
| HIH2037 | American Frontiers: The West in U.S. History and Mythology | 30 | No |
| HIH2186A | Deviants and Dissenters in Early Modern England | 30 | No |
| HIH2238 | Slavery, Revolution, Independence: Saint-Domingue and Haiti, 1685-1838 | 30 | No |
| HIH2588 | Empire, Identity and Heritage in South-East Europe and the Middle East (1800-1950) | 30 | No |
| HIH2590 | An Age of Iron? Europe in the Tenth Century | 30 | No |
| HIH2210A | The Russian Empire, 1689-1917 | 30 | No |
| History CH Stage 2 Route C modules 2025-6 History Route C | |||
| HIH2237 | Doing History in the Digital Age | 30 | No |
| HIH2036A | Albion's Fatal Tree: Capital Punishment in England, 1688-1965 | 30 | No |
| HIH2137A | Inventing Modern Man: Constructions of Mind, Body and the Individual, 1400-1800 | 30 | No |
| HIH2145A | Spain from Absolutism to Democracy | 30 | No |
| HIH2185A | China in the World, 1500-1840 | 30 | No |
| HIH2208A | Medieval Paris | 30 | No |
| HIH2218A | Religion, Society and Culture in Tudor England | 30 | No |
| HIH2241 | Rise and Demise of Communism in Global Perspective | 30 | No |
| HIH2242 | British Settler Colonialism and its Legacies | 30 | No |
| HIH2243 | Britain and Ireland: Union, Conflict, and Independence, 1798-1949 | 30 | No |
| HIH2591 | Philip Augustus and the Making of France, 1180-1223 | 30 | No |
| History CH Stage 2 Route D modules History Route D | |||
| HIH2002 | Uses of the Past | 30 | No |
| HIH2237 | Doing History in the Digital Age | 30 | No |
Stage 3
120 credits of compulsory modules
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| HUM3997 | Employment Experience Abroad | 120 | Yes |
Stage 4
0-30 credits of compulsory Archaeology modules, 0-30 credits of compulsory History modules, 30-60 credits of optional Archaeology modules, and 30-60 credits of optional History modules
Compulsory Modules
Route A or B taken in Stage 2 - Select ARC3000 Archaeology Dissertation
Route C or D taken in stage 2 - Select either HIH3005 History Dissertation or HIH3006 History Research Dissertation
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARC3000 | Archaeological Dissertation | 30 | No |
| HIH3005 | General Third-Year Dissertation | 30 | No |
| HIH3006 | Research Project Dissertation | 30 | No |
Optional Modules
Route A or B taken in Stage 2 - Select one 30 Credit Archaeology Option. Select a History Special Subject for 60 credits.
Route C or D taken in stage 2 - Select 30 credits from Concepts Modules, or 30 credits of option modules from outside of History via modularity. Select 60 credits of Archaeology options.
If choosing option modules outside of your named subjects, you must make sure that your total for both History and Archaeology is 90 credits each over the second and final year. This is to insure you meet the requirements needed for the degree title.
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archaeology Final Stage BA Option Modules 2025-6 Archaeology Options | |||
| ARC3003 | Professional Placement | 30 | No |
| ARC3006A | Advanced Fieldschool | 15 | No |
| ARC3013 | Practicing Archaeological, Forensic and Heritage Science | 15 | No |
| ARC3120 | Things and Us: Ancient and Contemporary Material Culture | 15 | No |
| ARC3121 | Brooches, Beads, Swords and Shields: Early Medieval Material Culture | 15 | No |
| ARC3123 | Sustainability and Collapse in Past Societies | 15 | No |
| ARC3133 | Digital Pasts | 15 | No |
| ARC3136 | Advanced Fieldwork | 15 | No |
| ARC3401 | Understanding the Landscape of Medieval Britain | 15 | No |
| ARC3406 | Medieval Castles in Context | 15 | No |
| ARC3408 | Romanisation: Interaction, Conquest and Change in Late Iron Age and Roman Dacia | 15 | No |
| ARC3510 | Experimental Approaches to Forensic and Archaeological Investigations | 15 | No |
| ARC3611 | Funerary Osteoarchaeology | 15 | No |
| History Final Stage Concepts Concepts modules | |||
| HIH3330 | Truth | 30 | No |
| HIH3333 | Disease | 30 | No |
| HIH3334 | War | 30 | No |
| HIH3336 | Revolution | 30 | No |
| HIH3331 | Elites | 30 | No |
| HIH3455 | Sexualities | 30 | No |
| HIH3335 | Violence | 30 | No |
| History Final Stage Special Subjects 2025-6 Special Subjects | |||
| HIH3415 | Everyday Stalinism: Life in the Soviet Union, 1928-53 | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3416 | Critics of Empire | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3417 | The Yes, Minister Files: Perspectives on British Government since 1914 | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3418 | The Russian Revolution | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3421 | Magic in the Middle Ages | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3422 | Street Protest and Social Movements in the Modern Era | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3423 | The Holocaust and Nazi Occupation of Eastern Europe, 1939-1945 | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3426 | Health and its Politics in the 20th Century | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3430 | From the Grand Tour to Gladiator: Modern encounters with the ancient world | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3431 | The Population Problem: Conservation, Eugenics, and Food in the Twentieth Century | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3433 | Beyond Cannibalism: Indigenous Peoples and the European Colonisation of Brazil, 1500-1822 | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3434 | The Body in Early Modern England | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3437 | Death to the Traitors: Rebellion and Resisting Tyranny in the Middle Ages | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3441 | Britons Abroad: The Experience of Travel, c. 1650-1900 | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3446 | The Celtic Frontier | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3450 | Decolonisation and Colonial Conflict | 60 | Yes |
| HIH3453 | Violence or Non-Violence? Gandhi and Popular Movements in India, 1915-1950 | 60 | Yes |
6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods
Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
1. History: Discuss the philosophical problems confronting historians. | History
Archaeology | The assessment of all these skills is through a combination of term-time coursework, oral presentations, blogs, project and dissertation work, and examinations. The criteria of assessment pay full recognition to the importance of the various skills outlined. |
Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
17. Draw thematic comparisons between material from different sources. | These skills are all developed throughout the degree programme, but the emphasis becomes more complex as students move from stage to stage. They are developed through lectures and seminars, written work, and oral work (both presentation and class discussion). | All these skills are assessed through a combination of term-time coursework, reports, blogs, dissertations, assessed presentations, and examinations. |
Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
20. Undertake independent study and work to deadlines. | 20. is an essential part of the successful completion of the programme but is particularly developed in Doing History in the Digital Age and the Dissertation. 21 is developed through coursework and presentation work throughout the programme. 22-25 are developed in all modules across the programme, while 26 is developed in all modules except those focusing on independent research. | The skills in 20 and 21 are assessed in all modules in History and Archaeology. Presentations (23) are formally assessed in modules across the degree programme, as are team work skills (24 and 25). |
7. Programme Regulations
Programme-specific Progression Rules
To progress to Stage 2 you must normally achieve an average mark of at least 50% in Stage 1. If you do not achieve an average mark of 50% in Stage 1, you will be interviewed to determine whether you can continue on the Employment Experience Abroad programme; if you do not succeed in that interview you will be required to transfer to the three-year programme. This is to ensure that only those students who are likely to succeed in their Employment Experience are selected. If you are unsuccessful in your application for Employment Experience Abroad, you will be transferred to the three-year programme.
HUM3997 Employment Experience Abroad counts as a single 120-credit module and is not condonable; you must pass this module to graduate with the degree title of BA History and Archaeology with Employment Experience Abroad. If you fail the Employment Experience your degree title will be commuted to BA History and Archaeology.
Classification
Full details of assessment regulations for all taught programmes can be found in the TQA Manual, specifically in the Credit and Qualifications Framework, and the Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook. Additional information, including Generic Marking Criteria, can be found in the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook.
8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning
All students within Archaeology and History have a personal tutor for their entire programme of study and who is available at advertised ‘office hours’. There are induction sessions to orientate students at the start of their programme. A personal tutoring system will operate with regular communication throughout the programme. Academic support will be also be provided by module leaders. You can also make an appointment to see individual teaching staff.
Programme handbooks and other useful information can be accessed via the student intranet: http://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/humanities/studying/taughthandbook/ .
Other useful information and student resources can be accessed via the Exeter Learning Environment (ELE): http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/login/index.php , which has specific information on library skills, essay writing and research skills.
9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning
Please refer to the University Academic Policy and Standards guidelines regarding support for students and students' learning.
10. Admissions Criteria
Undergraduate applicants must satisfy the Undergraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Postgraduate applicants must satisfy the Postgraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Specific requirements required to enrol on this programme are available at the respective Undergraduate or Postgraduate Study Site webpages.
11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards
Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.
The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.
14. Awarding Institution
University of Exeter
15. Lead College / Teaching Institution
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)
16. Partner College / Institution
Partner College(s)
Not applicable to this programme
Partner Institution
Not applicable to this programme.
17. Programme Accredited / Validated by
0
18. Final Award
BA (Hons) History and Archaeology with Employment Experience Abroad
19. UCAS Code
Not applicable to this programme.
20. NQF Level of Final Award
6 (Honours)
21. Credit
| CATS credits | 480 |
ECTS credits | 240 |
|---|
22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group
[Honours] History
[Honours] Archaeology
23. Dates
| Origin Date | 26/07/2017 |
Date of last revision | 25/09/2023 |
|---|


