Archaeology is about analysing, interpreting and drawing conclusions about past societies based on fragmented sources. The subject often requires strong critical thinking and disciplined working methods.
The MA in practical archaeology provides students with systematic theoretical and practical training in the implementation and management of licensed archaeological research, with an emphasis on methodology, but also ethics and scientific approaches.
The programme is 90 ECTS and is organised as one and a half years of full-time study.
The programme is made up of:
This programme is primarily taught in Icelandic, but some courses or sections of courses are taught in English. All examinations are in Icelandic.
Practical training takes place in the field at archaeological sites and in class. Theoretical learning takes place through lectures, discussions and seminars. It is important to attend class, but students will only benefit if they have read the reading material.
Students should:
Completing the programme does not allow a student to apply for doctoral studies.
BA degree or equivalent qualification in Archaeology with a first class grade (minimum of 7.25). 20 weeks of supervised work experience in archaeological field research (of which at least 75% in excavation). The 10 weeks of work experience required for the BA programme in Archaeology at the University of Iceland may count towards this total.
The programme totals 90 ECTS and comprises joint mandatory courses in Archaeology at the postgraduate level (10 ECTS), mandatory courses (40 ECTS), elective courses (10 ECTS) and a final project (30 ECTS). The programme is three semesters and generally begins in the summer semester with participation in the departmental field school.
Further information on supporting documents can be found here
Check below to see how the programme is structured.
This programme does not offer specialisations.
The student will undertake an independent project relating to landscape archaeology involving i.a. field survey.
The student will read an approved list of texts relating to the theory and method of excavation and carry out assignments involving the application of theoretical understanding to practical problems.
The student will read an approved list of texts relating to the theory and method of post-excavation and analysis, and carry out assignments involving the application of theoretical understanding to practical problems.
The student will develop a detailed research design around a proposed project. This could be connected to their final project.
The student receives training in working with image production (maps, plans, etc.) and in the different media available for the dissemination of archaeological results.
The student will participate in the departmental training excavations for undergraduates.
The aim of the course is to provide students with a more comprehensive and deeper insight into the different theoretical approaches within the humanities. In the course, the main theories that have influenced theoretical discussion in the humanities over the last decades will be presented and discussed, and the students are taught how to apply them in their own research.
Conventional sociological or historical accounts tend to portray human life as if objects either are irrelevant or at best, passive and inert. This course follows the ‘material turn’ that has occurred in the social sciences and the humanities in the past 20 years and explores the importance of things for understanding human society and history. Drawing on examples from a wide range of disciplines from design history to archaeology, each week a different object is taken for study, illustrating the various disciplinary and theoretical approaches that have been taken to material culture in recent years. The course will be organized around weekly lectures, reading and discussion. The course will be taught in english.
The student will participate in the departmental training excavations for undergraduates.
The student will undertake an independent project relating to landscape archaeology involving i.a. field survey.
The student will read an approved list of texts relating to the theory and method of excavation and carry out assignments involving the application of theoretical understanding to practical problems.
The student will read an approved list of texts relating to the theory and method of post-excavation and analysis, and carry out assignments involving the application of theoretical understanding to practical problems.
The student receives training in working with different types of post-fieldwork projects and creates a portfolio of small reports.
The student will develop a detailed research design around a proposed project. This could be connected to their final project.
The student receives training in working with image production (maps, plans, etc.) and in the different media available for the dissemination of archaeological results.
Overview of the history of the Viking age and history of Viking research. Emphasis is placed on the archaeological evidence, the sites and the objects, and discussing how archaeological data has contributed to our understanding of this period. Particular attention is given to economic patterns, issues of ethnicity and state formation.
Living in the contemporary world it is easy to think of the past as something remote and separate from everyday life - whether it is a trip to a museum or even studying archaeology at university, history seems to always be placed at one remove from our everyday life. Something we encounter for fun or interest. The aim of this course is to look at our modern world through an archaeological and historical lens: how are the patterns of our lives today the product of things that happened in the past? This course will show how the past is alive in the present – not as a heritage site or archaeology textbook but as something which still shapes our daily routines and the material world around us. Although the roots of this go back to our biological evolution, arguably most of these effects emerged in the last 500 years.
During the last decades, medieval archaeology has experienced significant growth as a discipline concerned with material culture. Initially, the use of material culture was marginalized to the role of confirming or refuting historical knowledge about this period but today it is understood as having equal historical importance to the archived material. The course is thus intended to improve student’s understanding of Medieval Europe during the period 800–1600 AD through the study of material culture. It deals with general themes in medieval archaeology, such as identity, social status, rural and urban landscapes, religion, life and death, rather than the historical development of the Middle Ages in chronological order. The aim is to give students insight into the different fields of theory and method of medieval archaeology through both material and documentary evidences in accordance with the current state of research. A special emphasis will be put on medieval Iceland, as a part of European culture and society, but even on how medieval archaeologists gather their sources, analyse them and reach conclusions of historical importance.
This course is taught in the field at Hofstaðir in Mývatnssveit, northern Iceland. Students are introduced to Icelandic archaeology and take part in fieldwork which can involve surveying, remote sensing, coring and excavation. Students receive training in all stages of archaeological fieldwork, from project design to post-excavation and outreach to academia, the public and tourists. Students learn about dating methods, site formation processes and the material culture of the North Atlantic. Emphasis is placed on considering localised fieldwork in its broader academic context and introducing students to academic debate within the archaeology of the North Atlantic. Emphasis is also placed on introducing the methods of heritage management and giving students insight into the challenges and opportunities of cultural heritage tourism.
The Master’s project for 30 credits will include as a core part, a practical project involving fieldwork, archival analysis or lab work which will have been defined through a prior project design. The project design is expected to have a clearly defined question, methodology and work plan. The student is expected to execute the practical work independently. The results of the project are to be written up in a report of no less than 10,000 words and no more than 30,000 words. The report will be written in a clear and accessible manner. The report will be written either in Icelandic or English and will include an abstract in both English and Icelandic.
The Master’s project for 30 credits will include as a core part, a practical project involving fieldwork, archival analysis or lab work which will have been defined through a prior project design. The project design is expected to have a clearly defined question, methodology and work plan. The student is expected to execute the practical work independently. The results of the project are to be written up in a report of no less than 10,000 words and no more than 30,000 words. The report will be written in a clear and accessible manner. The report will be written either in Icelandic or English and will include an abstract in both English and Icelandic.
The Master’s project for 30 credits will include as a core part, a practical project involving fieldwork, archival analysis or lab work which will have been defined through a prior project design. The project design is expected to have a clearly defined question, methodology and work plan. The student is expected to execute the practical work independently. The results of the project are to be written up in a report of no less than 10,000 words and no more than 30,000 words. The report will be written in a clear and accessible manner. The report will be written either in Icelandic or English and will include an abstract in both English and Icelandic.
The student will undertake an independent project relating to landscape archaeology involving i.a. field survey.
The student will read an approved list of texts relating to the theory and method of excavation and carry out assignments involving the application of theoretical understanding to practical problems.
The student will read an approved list of texts relating to the theory and method of post-excavation and analysis, and carry out assignments involving the application of theoretical understanding to practical problems.
The student will develop a detailed research design around a proposed project. This could be connected to their final project.
The student receives training in working with image production (maps, plans, etc.) and in the different media available for the dissemination of archaeological results.
The student will participate in the departmental training excavations for undergraduates.
The aim of the course is to provide students with a more comprehensive and deeper insight into the different theoretical approaches within the humanities. In the course, the main theories that have influenced theoretical discussion in the humanities over the last decades will be presented and discussed, and the students are taught how to apply them in their own research.
Conventional sociological or historical accounts tend to portray human life as if objects either are irrelevant or at best, passive and inert. This course follows the ‘material turn’ that has occurred in the social sciences and the humanities in the past 20 years and explores the importance of things for understanding human society and history. Drawing on examples from a wide range of disciplines from design history to archaeology, each week a different object is taken for study, illustrating the various disciplinary and theoretical approaches that have been taken to material culture in recent years. The course will be organized around weekly lectures, reading and discussion. The course will be taught in english.
The student will participate in the departmental training excavations for undergraduates.
The student will undertake an independent project relating to landscape archaeology involving i.a. field survey.
The student will read an approved list of texts relating to the theory and method of excavation and carry out assignments involving the application of theoretical understanding to practical problems.
The student will read an approved list of texts relating to the theory and method of post-excavation and analysis, and carry out assignments involving the application of theoretical understanding to practical problems.
The student receives training in working with different types of post-fieldwork projects and creates a portfolio of small reports.
The student will develop a detailed research design around a proposed project. This could be connected to their final project.
The student receives training in working with image production (maps, plans, etc.) and in the different media available for the dissemination of archaeological results.
Overview of the history of the Viking age and history of Viking research. Emphasis is placed on the archaeological evidence, the sites and the objects, and discussing how archaeological data has contributed to our understanding of this period. Particular attention is given to economic patterns, issues of ethnicity and state formation.
Living in the contemporary world it is easy to think of the past as something remote and separate from everyday life - whether it is a trip to a museum or even studying archaeology at university, history seems to always be placed at one remove from our everyday life. Something we encounter for fun or interest. The aim of this course is to look at our modern world through an archaeological and historical lens: how are the patterns of our lives today the product of things that happened in the past? This course will show how the past is alive in the present – not as a heritage site or archaeology textbook but as something which still shapes our daily routines and the material world around us. Although the roots of this go back to our biological evolution, arguably most of these effects emerged in the last 500 years.
During the last decades, medieval archaeology has experienced significant growth as a discipline concerned with material culture. Initially, the use of material culture was marginalized to the role of confirming or refuting historical knowledge about this period but today it is understood as having equal historical importance to the archived material. The course is thus intended to improve student’s understanding of Medieval Europe during the period 800–1600 AD through the study of material culture. It deals with general themes in medieval archaeology, such as identity, social status, rural and urban landscapes, religion, life and death, rather than the historical development of the Middle Ages in chronological order. The aim is to give students insight into the different fields of theory and method of medieval archaeology through both material and documentary evidences in accordance with the current state of research. A special emphasis will be put on medieval Iceland, as a part of European culture and society, but even on how medieval archaeologists gather their sources, analyse them and reach conclusions of historical importance.
This course is taught in the field at Hofstaðir in Mývatnssveit, northern Iceland. Students are introduced to Icelandic archaeology and take part in fieldwork which can involve surveying, remote sensing, coring and excavation. Students receive training in all stages of archaeological fieldwork, from project design to post-excavation and outreach to academia, the public and tourists. Students learn about dating methods, site formation processes and the material culture of the North Atlantic. Emphasis is placed on considering localised fieldwork in its broader academic context and introducing students to academic debate within the archaeology of the North Atlantic. Emphasis is also placed on introducing the methods of heritage management and giving students insight into the challenges and opportunities of cultural heritage tourism.
The Master’s project for 30 credits will include as a core part, a practical project involving fieldwork, archival analysis or lab work which will have been defined through a prior project design. The project design is expected to have a clearly defined question, methodology and work plan. The student is expected to execute the practical work independently. The results of the project are to be written up in a report of no less than 10,000 words and no more than 30,000 words. The report will be written in a clear and accessible manner. The report will be written either in Icelandic or English and will include an abstract in both English and Icelandic.
The Master’s project for 30 credits will include as a core part, a practical project involving fieldwork, archival analysis or lab work which will have been defined through a prior project design. The project design is expected to have a clearly defined question, methodology and work plan. The student is expected to execute the practical work independently. The results of the project are to be written up in a report of no less than 10,000 words and no more than 30,000 words. The report will be written in a clear and accessible manner. The report will be written either in Icelandic or English and will include an abstract in both English and Icelandic.
The Master’s project for 30 credits will include as a core part, a practical project involving fieldwork, archival analysis or lab work which will have been defined through a prior project design. The project design is expected to have a clearly defined question, methodology and work plan. The student is expected to execute the practical work independently. The results of the project are to be written up in a report of no less than 10,000 words and no more than 30,000 words. The report will be written in a clear and accessible manner. The report will be written either in Icelandic or English and will include an abstract in both English and Icelandic.
The timetable shown below is for the current academic year and is FOR REFERENCE ONLY.
Changes may occur for the autumn semester in August and September and for the spring semester in December and January. You will find your final timetable in Ugla when the studies start. Note! This timetable is not suitable for planning your work schedule if you are a part-time employee.
The University of Iceland collaborates with over 400 universities worldwide. This provides a unique opportunity to pursue part of your studies at an international university thus gaining added experience and fresh insight into your field of study.
Students generally have the opportunity to join an exchange programme, internship, or summer courses. However, exchanges are always subject to faculty approval.
Students have the opportunity to have courses evaluated as part of their studies at the University of Iceland, so their stay does not have to affect the duration of their studies.
After graduation, students generally find careers in archaeological excavation and other fieldwork.
KUML is the organisation for archaeology students at the University of Iceland. KUML advocates for members and organises social events.
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