Landscape Archaeology and Digital Heritage MSc

Program Overview

Overview

3D methods of digitally documenting objects, sites, and landscapes offer significant potential to archaeology and heritage management. Digital data can be a way of archiving heritage (the need for this has been graphically illustrated by the loss of world heritage sites to conflict) and it is becoming the gold standard for commercial recording of sites and landscapes.

Digital data can be used for a variety of purposes:

This new Masters programme will give you direct hands-on experience of current technologies used for acquisition of data and the manipulation, presentation, and analysis of data captured at all scales.

You'll benefit from direct access to a wide variety of case studies and will have the potential opportunity to participate in a variety of international research projects. We work in the heart of Yorkshire, around the globe and under the sea – these landscapes underpin the MSc.

Program Outline

What you will study

The curriculum comprises a core of compulsory modules to provide appropriate background in the theory and application of scientific methods in landscape archaeology and digital heritage.

The emphasis of the programme is on the learning of fundamental scientific principles across several disciplines and applying these to archaeological and heritage area. The programme draws heavily on areas of expertise in the School of Archaeology and Forensic Sciences.

The programme comprises core modules throughout. In the first semester Remote Sensing and Archaeological Prospection & Visualisation provide scientific background to the programme and introduce a wide range of techniques that relate to digital capture of landscapes and heritage. This ranges from object documentation through to landscape analysis and interpretation.

Two modules are taught across the two teaching semesters. The module Digital Worlds will provide the theoretical link that spirals through the programme – linking modules and creating the framework for the use of digitising technology in these fields at a variety of different scales.

The other linking module in Professional Development provides more broad ranging skill-sets; it starts by guiding you to identify your own learning needs and the resources to address them and goes on to prepare you for your research project, including planning of research, research design, time management, research ethics, and health and safety.

In the second semester two additional modules are covered Landscape and Heritage and Site Evaluation and GIS. Site Evaluation and GIS is a focussed module that prepares you to analyse spatial data for a variety of purposes. In this module you will learn to provide solutions to real problems that evidence wide ranging employability skills.

The final element of the programme is a substantial dissertation.

It is expected that students who successfully complete the entire programme will be fully prepared to undertake research at MPhil or PhD level.

All module information is for 2022 entry, and is subject to change.

First year

Learning and assessment

Teaching and learning is delivered through a mix of lectures, seminars and field trips.

Assessment varies by module, ranging from essays and presentations to blogs and reflective diaries.

Official programme specification

Career support

The University is committed to helping students develop and enhance employability and this is an integral part of many programmes. Specialist support is available throughout the course from Career and Employability Services including help to find part-time work while studying, placements, vacation work and graduate vacancies. Students are encouraged to access this support at an early stage and to use the extensive resources on the

Careers

Discussing options with specialist advisers helps to clarify plans through exploring options and refining skills of job-hunting. In most of our programmes there is direct input by Career Development Advisers into the curriculum or through specially arranged workshops.

Career prospects

The programme of study offers skills that are not only in high demand within the museum sector, commercial archaeology and heritage management, but also key skills in new areas of archaeological science research.

These skills are transferable, having wide-ranging applications in other fields including film and media, construction and mineral/resource exploitation and prospecting for which Bradford is renowned.

The programme also meets the needs of the growing demand for hands-on archaeological specialists, where there is currently a dearth of archaeologists in light of large infrastructure projects, such as HS2.