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Contact details

Mr James Emmanuel

Email: james.emmanuel@ucl.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 1040

Fees and funding

UK/EU 2013/14:

£8,250 (FT)

Overseas 2013/14:

£16,250 (FT)

UK and EU students are eligible to apply for Arts and Humanities Research Council funding.

Those who are accepted for this Master's programme may also be eligible to apply to the Institute for English Heritage funded bursaries.

Full details of funding opportunities can be found on the UCL Scholarships website

More information

Contributing department

Contributing Department
Archaeology

Prospectus Entry

Anthropology

Key facts

Research Assessment Rating

60% rated 4* (world-leading) or 3* (internationally excellent)
(What is the RAE?)

Culture, Materials and Design MA

This MA, taught jointly by UCL's Department of Anthropology and the Institute of Archaeology, draws upon both departments' long-standing research focus on how materials shape our lives at a local and global level and will help train future practitioners in the management of materials as resources and the social consequences of their selection and use.

Degree summary

What will I learn?

Students will be taught to apply social science methodologies and material science approaches to explore the technical, aesthetic and symbolic properties of specific materials and how these interact with production technologies and consumption choices. They will develop key research skills, enabling them to locate source materials and use research resources.

Why should I study this degree at UCL?

UCL, with its interdisciplinary academic expertise in social and scientific approaches to material culture present in anthropology and archaeology, offers the ideal laboratory space for students to approach questions of materials design in the 21st century.

The interaction between archaeologists and anthropologists will provide the fertile ground to bring both scientific/technical approaches and social approaches together, facilitating a new socially and technically informed perspective on materials and design.

UCL is located in central London, within walking distance to the British Museum and the British Library. UCL's own museums and collections form a resource of international importance for academic research.

See subject website for more information:

Degree structure

Availability: Full-time 1 year; Part-time 2 years

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme consists of one core module (45 credits) three optional modules (45 credits), a departmental seminar series and a research dissertation (90 credits).

Core Modules

  • Culture, Materials and Design

Options

  • Archaeobotanical Analysis in Practice
  • Archaeometallurgy 1: Mining and Extractive Technology
  • Archaeometallurgy 2: Metallic Artefacts
  • Archaeological Glass and Glazes
  • Interpreting Pottery
  • Lithic Analysis
  • Archaeological Ceramics and Plaster
  • Issues in Conservation: Understanding Objects
  • Anthropology of the Built Environment
  • Anthropology of Art and Design
  • The Anthropology of Consumption and Media
  • Anthropology of Cultural Heritage and Museum Anthropology
  • Social Construction of Landscape

Dissertation/report

All MA students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 15,000 words.

Teaching and Learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, and tutorials. Several courses entail practical instruction, including visits to product design companies and trade fairs; archaeological field sites; Kew Botanical Archive and the British Museum. Assessment is through unseen examination, long essays, research methodology project and the dissertation.

Further details available on subject website:

Entry and application

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

How to apply

You may choose to apply online or download application materials; for details visit www.ucl.ac.uk/gradapps

The deadline for applications is 2 August 2013. Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

Who can apply?

This programme is primarily aimed at design, fine art and science students who wish to undertake training in social and historical approaches to sustainable materials and develop expertise in this field. It will also be attractive to materials industry professionals who wish to develop their career and gain specialist skills.

What are we looking for?

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Culture, Materials and Design at graduate level
  • why you want to study Culture, Materials and Design at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • how your personal, academic and professional background meets the demands of a challenging academic environment
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree
Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Career

The unique combination of scientific and social science training will offer students career pathways in:

  • Materials Consultancy: advising industry on different materials, old and new, and their technical and aesthetic properties in the design industry
  • Product Marketing: employing ethnographic methodology to understand consumer choices
  • Museums, Libraries and Heritage: with emphasis on careers in the growing sector of materials libraries, heritage consultancy (e.g. UNESCO and curatorship)

Find out more about London graduates' careers by visiting the Careers Group (University of London) website:

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