Studying Archaeology at Undergraduate Level: Extracurricular Activities

What other things can I do to improve my chances of getting a place?

Just as you are more than your qualifications, so your application to university should be more than just qualifications and getting a place! Firstly as mentioned before, archaeology is very broad subject so reading about and taking part in archaeology can help your define what areas of archaeology really interest you. You should use the application form to show the development of your interest in archaeology. To do this you could mention how you are currently involved in archaeology.

So what should you mention? Membership of clubs related to archaeology is a good start, especially if you are or were a member of the Young Archaeologists Club.

Any experience with archaeology that you have through volunteer excavations, pay to dig excavation schools or through volunteering with local groups, museums or the Portable Antiquities Scheme would be useful and if you haven’t already done any of these mention any you have signed up for between now and the beginning of the degree you are applying for. Admission tutors know that it can be hard to find places on volunteer excavations and that these usually take place in the summer so if you are just waiting for the holidays to start before you can do some volunteering that’s OK. (If you want to find out how to get involved in such activities then you should see our get involved section).

In addition you can mention subscribing to British Archaeology or Current Archaeology magazines (and if you don’t already subscribe yet, you can always start now) as these are good ways to find out about and keep up to date with the archaeology within Britain. They are also excellent ways of finding out what sorts of archaeology you like – if you always skip the Roman archaeology or the Industrial archaeology articles scan the contents page for anything Anglo-Saxon and read those first, then you know that early medieval archaeology might be your thing!

Basically admissions tutors are far more interested in applicants who are enthusiastic and seek to expand their knowledge on their own than they are in purely what exam results you get – you need to show your academically capable but the students who do best at university are those with a passion for the subject, and universities want to attract those students to their courses.