The Ultimate Egyptology Thread!

Congratulations on your acceptance. Manchester is a good and pretty prestigious university. For Egyptology, it's a bit more new, and it's mostly known for these online degrees. What are your research interests, and are you planning to pursue a PhD afterwards?

My research interests are primarily Ptolemaic period, but I'm open to exploring more areas that I haven't been introduced to by Professors who are also Egyptologists. I'd like to pursue a PhD, but that also depends on the financials at that point.

Have you applied anywhere other than Manchester? Depending on the modules offered, you might have to do a lot more independent study than at other universities, in order to prepare yourself for a PhD.

What country are you based in now?

Manchester is a good programme and is very accessible but I don't think they do that much Ptolemaic stuff in the Egyptology degree proper, and you will have to check on how much language is offered in order to ready you for a PhD.

I have not applied to anywhere else but Manchester, since they are the first University to offer an online Masters in Egyptology.

I am based in the US. Unfortunately, I noticed that was an area that was missing from the degree courses for the Master's program. I have independently studied Egypt since I was a child, but that was the area that always piqued my interest, especially due to the fact that the graves haven't been uncovered other than Arsinoe in Turkey.

Are there any other Universities that offer an Egyptology degree, specifically online based? I have been searching, but haven't been able to find many that offer online degrees in Egyptology, especially in Masters programs.

I can recommend you some good Egyptology MA programmes in the US but they're not online. Would you only consider an online MA?

Well it depends on how close to my location. We are planning to move, but there are several options in the works. I know of the University of Memphis and University of Pennsylvania, but I was shocked at the cost difference between UK and US schools. I would prefer an online MA, but am open to going on campus.

Are you referring to the undergraduate or postgraduate courses, by the way?

Both universities have intakes which fluctuate a lot.

At undergraduate level, Oxford usually has between two and four students, but there will be other students taking the classes from different degrees, such as Classical Archaeology, so there could be more in classes.

Liverpool usually has between five and ten, but again, students from Ancient History and Archaeology can take some of the classes.

The smallest classes will have between two and five students at either institution, usually. The largest could be up to fifty, for the introductory history and archaeology classes.

Let me know if you have any more questions. I studied at Liverpool and Cambridge, but I have a friend who went to Oxford for the degree.

Hello, aiming to apply for Oxford this September. Any tips on applications and how to get into Oxbridge? I'm trying to do as much further reading on the subject as I can. My EPQ is also on Egyptology. Been trying to apply to summer courses however, struggling due to the fact I was in private education for some of my academic life and that means I can't apply for many of these courses even though I am currently in state education.
I know their course is very Language based so is there anything you recommend that could help my application in that aspect?
In terms of your friend who went to Oxford, what college did she apply to/go to and is there anything she would recommend?
Thank you so much

Are you referring to the undergraduate or postgraduate courses, by the way?

Both universities have intakes which fluctuate a lot.

At undergraduate level, Oxford usually has between two and four students, but there will be other students taking the classes from different degrees, such as Classical Archaeology, so there could be more in classes.

Liverpool usually has between five and ten, but again, students from Ancient History and Archaeology can take some of the classes.

The smallest classes will have between two and five students at either institution, usually. The largest could be up to fifty, for the introductory history and archaeology classes.

Let me know if you have any more questions. I studied at Liverpool and Cambridge, but I have a friend who went to Oxford for the degree.

Hi there. I would encourage you to read around the subject as much as possible, and be authentic. Oxford seem to take 1 to 4 students per year, so it can be quite competitive, but it completely depends on the year. A strong PS and any other engagement is ideal, but there is nothing essential you need to do beforehand.

You should check out courses by the Egypt Exploration Society, and Bloomsbury Summer School (although you would have to pay a small fee). Listen to the History of Egypt Podcast, and visit museums if you can. There is also a worldwide mailing list for Egyptological events which you can subscribe to (see here: https://www.egyptologyforum.org/). Also, check out @egyptology_guy on TikTok, who is a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge.

Showing language aptitude is great; if you have any prior language experience, you could talk about that.
I'd recommend going through How To Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs by Collier and Manley in your free time, and getting to grips with how transliteration and word order works.

My friend who went to Oxford applied for one college and got moved to another when they got an offer. They always told me that they treated the interviews like a conversation and tried to learn a lot from the interviewers, too. Where else are you applying, aside from Oxford?

thank you that is so so so helpful! I want to apply to Oxford, Manchester, Liverpool for Egyptology then thinking of applying for archaeology somewhere else, prehaps southampton/ exeter,, need to do more research into that.