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Oxford vs UCL masters in archaeology

Hi everyone I was hoping to get advice on whether to choose Oxford or UCL for a masters in archaeology. UCL has my dream program which is bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology and I really love the course but on the other hand how can I say no to Oxford it's a dream. The Oxford course just focuses on archaeological science and no forensics and it's three courses compared to UCL (7) but I am not guaranteed to get a spot in the biomolecular archaeology class at UCL since it is an optional module that priorities those doing environmental archaeology. I'm not sure whether to prioritise reputation over academics in this case especially as an international student who wants to work abroad. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
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by Anonymous
Hi everyone I was hoping to get advice on whether to choose Oxford or UCL for a masters in archaeology. UCL has my dream program which is bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology and I really love the course but on the other hand how can I say no to Oxford it's a dream. The Oxford course just focuses on archaeological science and no forensics and it's three courses compared to UCL (7) but I am not guaranteed to get a spot in the biomolecular archaeology class at UCL since it is an optional module that priorities those doing environmental archaeology. I'm not sure whether to prioritise reputation over academics in this case especially as an international student who wants to work abroad. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

UCL's reputation for Archaeology is up there with Oxford's in that world. It's only outside archaeology that Oxford might be better known.
Honestly I don't think Oxford is as strong as the IoA at UCL for archaeology? Most of the academics at Oxford and Cambridge in archaeology seem to have passed through the IoA at UCL at some point (for a masters, PhD, postdoc, or teaching there). Also in general I think Cambridge has a stronger reputation in archaeology than Oxford too...? I think UCL is really the standout here even before considering the programme there seems more tailored to your interests.

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