Ask an interviewer - Archaeology!

Hi all!

We're back for another two-week thread and this time we have Professor John Robb from the Division of Archaeology ready to answer any questions about the University's new undergraduate course in Archaeology!

Mods - can this be stickied please?

Reply 1

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Hello one and all! I helped design our exciting new Archaeology Single Honours degree which will launch in October 2017, and I do admissions for it. I'd love to answer any questions about the programme, what makes it unique and exciting, and how to get into it!
John Robb

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 2

troubadour.

Original post by Peterhouse Admissions

Well, since nobody's asked anything yet, I'll start us off.

What's the difference between the Biological Anthropology and Biological Anthropology and Archaeology tracks in second and third years? Is the latter essentially the same as Biological Anthropology but with a few Archaeology modules added on?

Also, since this is a new course, what sort of prior knowledge would you expect applicants to have should they be invited to attend an interview?

Thanks. :smile:

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 3

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Good questions! To answer first -- what background do we expect at interview? A lot of people ask this. Basically, it's pretty rare for any of our subjects (Archaeology, Bio Anthro, Ancient Near East) to be taught in high schools at all, and we really don't expect students to have much formal background in them. You can learn it all here. So don't worry about studying up for interview -- that's not the point. We want to know about what your interests in the subject(s) are. And if you have been able to read, scope the internet, visit sites or museums, etc. to follow them up, you could show up prepared to talk a bit about what you've been able to learn. And anything you say about the subject in your personal statement is fair game for discussion. But it's much more about what questions you ask than about quizzing you on a stock of knowledge.

How do Bio Anthro and Bio Anthro/ Archaeology differ in the third year? In straight Bio Anthro 3rd year, you do two Bio Anthro courses and two options courses which can be Bio Anthro, Archaeology, a dissertation or a borrowed HSPS course. In Bio Anthro/ Archaeology 3rd year, you do one Archaeology core course, two Bio Anthro courses, and an Archaeology option or dissertation.

Reply 4

sarahpr

How will it be different than doing the archaeology track in HSPS? Or will HSPS no longer be offered? When will the new courses be up on the Cambridge website?

Reply 5

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Thanks for the questions, Sarah!
* Doing Archaeology in the new course will have some new features, including new core courses in data analysis and in heritage, a big variety of third year "special topics" courses, and some other changes.
* HSPS will continue to be offered for people who want to do Politics, International Relations, Social Anthropology and Sociology -- and students will still be able to borrow courses back and forth between Archaeology and HSPS if you want to take a course in one of those subjects.
* the new Archaeology degree should be up on the Cambridge Admissions website and UCAS around the beginning of March. We don't know the number for sure but I expect it will be V400.
john

Reply 6

Naomi Weir

Dear John,

I have a couple of questions.

I’m very interested in studying Social Anthropology alongside Archaeology. I understand that it is an option to ‘borrow’ social anthropology papers from the HSPS course, but in terms of the application process, I was wondering whether I would have the opportunity to talk about social anthropology at interview and whether there would be a social anthropologist on the interview panel.

Also, regarding colleges, will all the colleges be offering the new Archaeology degree? How can I be sure that there would be fellow Archaeology undergraduates in any particular college?

Finally, how many undergraduates is the University expecting to take on in 2017?

Thanks very much,

Naomi

Reply 7

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Dear Naomi,
more excellent questions, and I'm sure that others will be interested in the answers. To answer in order:
* you could certainly talk about Social Anthro at the interview if you're interested in it. Whether or not there is a social anthropologist at the interview will vary from college to college, but (for example) at Peterhouse, I know a lot about social anthropology (I come out of an American grad department and my degree is officially in anthropology), I've admitted a lot of students for social anthropology in HSPS and in Arch and Anthro before that, and I love talking about anthropology. And quite a few other colleges have Archaeology people like me.
* we can't say for sure yet that every single college will be offering the new degree, but all the ones we've heard back from (25 or more at this point) will be offering it, and we haven't heard from any that don't intend to. Most colleges like to take at least a couple of students in a programme, but they can't guarantee you wouldn't be the only one in the college doing the programme as it depends a bit on how their applicants are. But in any case Archaeology also tends to be quite a social subject, students from different colleges often work together (maybe because they sometimes get supervised together, they bond while digging together, etc.).
* we're hoping to take on somewhere perhaps 25-30 for our initial Archaeology intake, though we don't have a rigid quota, it partly depends on how many wonderfully qualified and exciting applicants we get!
john

Original post by Naomi Weir

Reply 8

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Thanks all! Unfortunately we have to bring this thread to a close now. The University website is updated for 2017 entry now with info on the new courses (including Archaeology!) and the new prospectus is out! PM me or email [email protected] if you have any questions about Peterhouse, our courses or the application process. The University Open Days will be on 30th June and 1st July this year and Peterhouse will be open for informal visits (guided tours with students, no booking required) from 8:30-18:00 on both days with the chance to meet the Admissions Team and Fellows at our subject fair over lunchtime (again, no booking required).