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Archaeology at Sheffield vs. Durham vs. Bristol

Hi everyone,
I'm a US student applying to archaeology courses in the UK. I have two free spots and I can't decide which of these universities to drop and which two to apply to. In terms of qualifications I am fairly confident about all of them. I probably won't be able to visit the schools before I apply so I can't really get my own full perspective. Which school is more highly regarded? Which would you recommend for archaeology/anthropology courses? Which has better modules, student life, city, etc.?
Thanks in advance

Reply 1

King Haribo

Original post by kattur

Hi Kattur!

Not sure if your still watching this thread, but I hope you get this! I can't answer all your questions, but I can answer most of them.

According to the UK League Tables, Durham is higher than Bristol, and Bristol is higher than Sheffield overall. However, when you take into consideration the specific archaeology departments, Sheffield does beat Bristol:

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Archaeology
Moving further afield from the statistics, Sheffield and Durham do beat Bristol in terms of versatility of their degrees, e.g. BSc, BA, Prehistoric Archaeology, Archaeology and Anthropology, etc. Bristol only offers Anthropology and Archaeology and Anthropology.

For me personally, I think the best place to study Archaeology and Anthropology is at UCL. The institute has a MASSIVE variety of modules - from generic prehistoric, classical and medieval archaeology, to more esoteric modules on Mayans, Aztecs and Asian archaeology - and the department is rated 3rd best in the world: just behind Oxford and Cambridge. The Anthropology course is also rated highly: 3rd best in the UK. If you don't quite think your good enough for Oxbridge, than UCL would be a welcome addition. The student satisfaction is high, and the entry requirements aren't too bad either. It will be competitive, but if your confident to get in to Durham, Bristol and Sheffield, then your bound to do well at UCL! Go for it!

As for student and city life, I don't know a great deal: I'm not a student just yet. I imagine you probably couldn't go wrong with any of them. London would have good night life of course, but Durham might be more serene or quiet. Sheffield - I think - is said to have a good city vibe as well, but please double-check from elsewhere. Maybe a thread from actual Sheffield students?

Sorry for the long post! All the best, and good luck! Any more questions, please feel free to contact me :smile: