Applied Archaeology Degree

fifomania

Anyone done this course?? advice/opinions appreciated!

john__long

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They sure do send alot of emails!

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Sorry! IT student here!

bobcar61

That was completely irrelevant john_long

What sort of information are you looking for OP, hours per week, material covered?

My friends friend just finished first year. I don't know too much in relation to what they did but she loved it and got to go on trips away with the class.
Is there any information on the I.T website about the course?

fifomania

bobcar61 wrote: »

That was completely irrelevant john_long

What sort of information are you looking for OP, hours per week, material covered?

My friends friend just finished first year. I don't know too much in relation to what they did but she loved it and got to go on trips away with the class.
Is there any information on the I.T website about the course?

Just looking to know a basic outline of the course and was it enjoyable? And also what the career opportunities are like. The website gives general info but nothing is as good as hearing first(or second ) hand what it was like.

LovexxLife

Wondering is any one replying to this thread? Would like to know a bit about the course too.

shellykbookey

fifomania wrote: »

Anyone done this course?? advice/opinions appreciated!

Hi
I did the course in Sligo its great, cant recommend it enough. You get to do basically every element of archaeology both theory and science based so it’s a great grounding. My main interest was human bones (had to wait till 3rd year L) and genetics and until I seen the course in Sligo I was going to the uk because I wanted a science course and all the other arch courses here were arts. You basically have a full day every day in first year and get less hours as you go on so expect a fair few projects and essays. One set of subjects till christmas, exams in jan, then different subjects till the summer. The course is only newish so the archaeology bit of the library is smaller than the other archaeology courses but they’re really only missing the older books that aren’t used anymore. They’ve anything that’s relevant including a fairly impressive journal collection. You will have to get a science pack for lab work, it’s a lab coat, glasses, pipette etc in the students union (I think it was around €30 but I started in 2004), you’ll use it a lot in 1st and 2nd year, not so much in the last 2 years. You should also expect to spend a lot on photo copying every week.
The main advantage to the course in Sligo is the practical factor. All non theory classes have a mandatory practical element so when you go on site you can actually do what you learnt. This mightn’t sound like much but summer of 1st year I was showing people with master degrees in archaeology how to dig and set up equipment. A lot of people don’t dig till they’re finished college, you have do get some site experience every summer to get into the next year (though I’m not sure how that’s working with the r word).
The lecturers are great and the classes are relatively small so you can ask questions and get help and stuff. There’s loads of archaeology round Sligo so there will be a lot of fieldtrips I’d suggest investing in a good coat, wet pants, wellies and a flask cos its always feckin raining there also if you don’t like dance music avoid Toffs night club. If you’d like to know anything else just shout back

LovexxLife

shellykbookey wrote: »

Hi
I did the course in Sligo its great, cant recommend it enough. You get to do basically every element of archaeology both theory and science based so it’s a great grounding. My main interest was human bones (had to wait till 3rd year L) and genetics and until I seen the course in Sligo I was going to the uk because I wanted a science course and all the other arch courses here were arts. You basically have a full day every day in first year and get less hours as you go on so expect a fair few projects and essays. One set of subjects till christmas, exams in jan, then different subjects till the summer. The course is only newish so the archaeology bit of the library is smaller than the other archaeology courses but they’re really only missing the older books that aren’t used anymore. They’ve anything that’s relevant including a fairly impressive journal collection. You will have to get a science pack for lab work, it’s a lab coat, glasses, pipette etc in the students union (I think it was around €30 but I started in 2004), you’ll use it a lot in 1st and 2nd year, not so much in the last 2 years. You should also expect to spend a lot on photo copying every week.
The main advantage to the course in Sligo is the practical factor. All non theory classes have a mandatory practical element so when you go on site you can actually do what you learnt. This mightn’t sound like much but summer of 1st year I was showing people with master degrees in archaeology how to dig and set up equipment. A lot of people don’t dig till they’re finished college, you have do get some site experience every summer to get into the next year (though I’m not sure how that’s working with the r word).
The lecturers are great and the classes are relatively small so you can ask questions and get help and stuff. There’s loads of archaeology round Sligo so there will be a lot of fieldtrips I’d suggest investing in a good coat, wet pants, wellies and a flask cos its always feckin raining there also if you don’t like dance music avoid Toffs night club. If you’d like to know anything else just shout back

Hope you dont mind me asking where you able to get an archaeology job?

shellykbookey

I worked every summer when i was in college but i started in 2004 so most of the work was roads and construction and that side of things has slowed down a fair bit. The work you get is for a couple of weeks/months at a time, not many people are permanent.
My last job finished in june and i was on the dole till 2 weeks ago i'm on another project now. It's a bit hit and miss at the moment even for specialists but the course is 3-4 years (i'd recomend the 4 years cos then its a level 8 degree) so there will be a lot more work around by the time you quallify. There's a lot of moving around too just so you know but its worth it.
hope this helps

LovexxLife

Hi, just wondering is the science element really intense?
Is there any maths involved?

shellykbookey

LovexxLife wrote: »

Hi, just wondering is the science element really intense?
Is there any maths involved?

Its a science degree so you have to do a module on biology, chemistry and physics in 1st year. You will need them for other modules on the course but the classes are there to give you a grounding in each so you get the basic understanding if you haven't done the subjects before. There's maths and computing in first year but its easy going and the lecturer is great (I'm not a big fan of maths but it was ok). It's so you can use GIS programes (mapping), databases and surveying, etc.

By the end of the course you'll have done, geology, biomolecular archaeology, analytical chemistry, sientific analysis of artefacts (pottery, glass, metal, etc.), human bones, animal bones and some conservation techniques so the science bit is important. They are also doing a forensic arachaeology class now (didn't have that when I was there ).

The course itself is fairly intense 'cos you'll be in 9am-6pm monday to thursday and classes on friday for 1st and 2nd year anyway, then the hours get cut down a bit. But the whole course is archaeology so it pays off in the end. And they cover almost every subject so you get an idea of what the different areas that you could specialise in are like. The course is heavy but the lecturers are great and the classes are small (way less than 100 people) so you'll get all the help you need and by the time you graduate you'll be able to work on a site without having to be trained up which its a bonus.

Anyway hope this has helped. The course has a facebook page if you want to check it out (IT Sligo Applied Archaeology). Let me know if you go with it

LovexxLife

Thankies again, i most be the most annoying person on this.
Im stuck between this and arts in maynooth for my number 1 on the cao. I have been accepted into Queens already but just have to meet the required grades(which is highly unlikey as they want all B2s in 5 honours)


Thanks again for all the information

brian1991

What do you think the points for Applied Archaeology (Level 7, not level 8) will be this year? I'm hoping it will be under 300, which I should be able to achieve.

Lovelife, was getting accepted by Queens difficult? I wanted to go there, but UCAS looked too complicated, and the course demands too much to ask. I registered for UCAS, but never went further. So was UCAS really that difficult in the end?

LovexxLife

brian1991 wrote: »

Lovelife, was getting accepted by Queens difficult? I wanted to go there, but UCAS looked too complicated, and the course demands too much to ask. I registered for UCAS, but never went further. So was UCAS really that difficult in the end?

Well i put down 5 arch courses with different combinations and i got accepted on them all.
Well bascially you have to do a personal statement, i got my guidance counsellor to read it and check it a few times. Then she had to give me a reference thing and get my predicited grades off the teachers.
They were the 2 main things you needed to do.

Theres just a lot of running around to it like, but nothing too drastic.