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Bioarchaeological and Forensic Anthropology MSc

This MSc provides students with fundamental skills and knowledge to study human remains in both bioarchaeological and forensic anthropological context. This degree provides students with a solid grounding in all aspects of skeletal and dental anatomy, methods and procedures for assessing human skeletal material, identifying disease in the skeleton, and the legal context when dealing with modern forensic human remains.

Covid-19 programme updates

Due to COVID-19, there may have been updates to this programme for the 2020 academic year. Where there has been an update, these are indicated with a red alert and a link which will provide further information.

Key information

Programme starts

September 2020

Modes and duration

Full time: 1 year
Part time: 2 years

Application dates

All applicants
Open: 1 November 2019
Close: 23 April 2020

Tuition fees (2020/21)

UK/EU:
£11,830 (FT)
£5,885 (PT)
Overseas:
£24,250 (FT)
£12,120 (PT)


Note on fees: The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website.

Location: London, Bloomsbury

Entry requirements

Ordinarily, students applying for admission to this programme should have taken an undergraduate level human osteology module or human anatomy module (or similar). Alternatively, students could have attended an osteology related field school or have undertaken archaeological field work involving human remains. Students with other types of experience should contact the degree coordinator for advice.

English language requirements

If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.

The English language level for this programme is: Good

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

International students

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below.

Select your country:

About this degree

Students will learn how to identify, analyse and report on skeletonised human remains, both from archaeological and forensic contexts. Students will learn basic and advanced skeletal and dental anatomy, how to create a biological profile, trauma analysis, disease analysis (palaeopathology), skeletal biomechanics, bone metabolism, and palaeoepidemiology. Core critical thinking and research skills will be developed.  

 

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of five core modules (75 credits), one optional module (15 credits) and a research dissertation (90 credits).

Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded a MSc in Bioarchaeological and Forensic Anthropology.

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.

Compulsory modules

Students are required to take the following: 

  • Dental Anthropology
  • Forensic Anthropology
  • Methodology and Issues in Bioarchaeology and Palaeoepidemiology
  • Morphology and Palaeopathology of the Human Skeleton
  • Variation and Evolution of the Human Skull

Optional modules

Students choose one optional module from the following list or from the wider range of Master's optional modules available at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. Please consult the programme co-ordinator before choosing your optional module.

  • Advanced Forensic Anthropology
  • Archaeologies of the Modern World
  • Archaeology of Early Modern Humans
  • Forensic Geoscience (by arrangement with the Jill Dando Centre for Forensic Sciences)
  • Funerary Archaeology
  • Human Evolution (by arrangement with the Department of Anthropology)
  • Palaeoanthropology (by arrangement with the Department of Anthropology)
  • Zooarchaeology in Practice

Other Master's modules are available at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. Detailed descriptions of the core courses and modules can be found here. Please note not all modules are available every year. 

Covid-19 module updates
Due to COVID-19, there may be updates to the modules for your chosen programme of study this year. Some modules may not be available or may need to be moved to a later term or year of study. These updates are relevant for 2020-21 academic year only.  The full list of modules will be available in the module catalogue from late August.  From the first week of September, you will be invited to complete module selection from Portico, our student record system. There may need to be additional updates or changes to modules during the academic year to allow for new guidance from the UK Government and Public Health England. Your department shall keep you updated of these changes as they become available.

Dissertation/report

All students undertake an independent research project and write a 15,000 word dissertation (90 credits) over a period of about 4 months. 

Examples of past topics include: 

  • degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine
  • comparison of ancestry estimation approaches using both metric and non metric methods
  • cogntitive bias in forensic sex estimation methods 
  • dental cervical diameters in estimating sex in juvenile skelatal material

Covid-19 field trip updates
Due to COVID-19 updates, there may need to be changes to planned field trips for this programme. This will depend on travel restrictions, social distancing measures, and the availability of the relevant venues. Your department will keep you updated if field trips are able to occur and/or any alternative options available.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical classes and field trips. Assessment is through essays, class tests, reports and the dissertation.

While there are some minor differences between terms, students enrolled on this MSc can expect to spend around 20% of their time in lectures, 30% of their time in practical sessions, and around 50% of their time independently working/revising in the laboratory and undertaking research.

Covid-19 contact hours on campus
In Term One, while campus will be open, all the learning activity for the core content of your modules will take place online – including lectures, tutorials, seminars and assessments. By “core content” we mean everything you need to learn to complete the module successfully. In addition to these online contact hours, we will be offering some face-to-face educational activities for students on campus, and we will provide alternative online activities for those students unable to join us on campus. These activities, which will include contact with academic staff, will be relevant to your programme of study may include seminars, academic and employability skills workshops, small-group or individual tutorials, lab and practice-based teaching. UK Government safety guidelines will limit the amount of ‘in person’ activity we can offer and while it will vary from programme to programme, is likely to be no more than 1-2 hours per week. This will vary across departments, particularly if your programme includes laboratory/practical/studio/workshop sessions. You will be updated with more specific details as they are available and your timetable will indicate which sessions will be on campus and which will be available online.
Covid-19 practical component updates
Due to COVID-19, there may be changes to the availability of the practical components for your chosen programme. Any updates relate only to the 20/21 academic year and may not apply to all students across the programme depending on your year of study.  Your department will keep you updated if the practical component of your programme is able to occur and/or any alternative options available.   There may need to be additional updates or changes to the practical component during the academic year to allow for new guidance from the UK Government and/or Public Health England. Your department shall keep you updated of these changes as they become available. 
Covid-19 assessment updates
There may be changes to the format of assessments for modules in this programme due to COVID-19. These will be summarised for each module on the module catalogue from 17 August 2020.   If any changes to assessments need to be made during the academic year due to updates in government guidance, these will be communicated to you as soon as possible from your department.    
Communicating further Covid-19 mitigation plans
We are continuing to follow UK Government guidance, as well as the expertise of our researchers, including specialists in health, education, human behaviour and infection prevention, to make sure UCL is as safe as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. If it becomes necessary to make further changes to your programme as a result of new guidance/regulations, UCL and your department will communicate these as soon as this becomes clear. We will keep you up-to-date with our plans throughout term one, so you have the information you need to be able to take decisions that are right for your circumstances. Please ensure that you keep in touch with your department by regularly checking your UCL emails, Moodle courses, the Coronavirus FAQs for Students page and any UCL online groups or social media you follow.

Additional costs

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support & Wellbeing team.

Funding

UCL Institute of Archaeology (IoA) Master's Awards: a small number of grants up to the value of £1,000 are available for the academic year 2020/21. All UK/EU and Overseas fee-paying students with an offer to start any Master's degree offered by the IoA are eligible to apply. For an application form please email Lisa Daniel. The deadline for applications is 1 March 2020.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

Careers

Some graduates of the programme go on to PhD studies, while others go on to work in a range of archaeological and non-archaeological roles as osteoarchaeological specialists, members of the police, curators and political researchers.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The UCL Institute of Archaeology is the largest and most diverse archaeology department in the UK, offering students a range of opportunities. Students also benefit from a close proximity to the British Museum and the Natural History Museum (NHM), where the course instructors have strong research links. We also have links with the Department of Security and Crime Science.

This particular MSc is unique, offering a combination of bioarchaeological and forensic anthropology for the study of human remains unlike anything else available in the UK. Students further benefit from access to a large collection of skeletal material for study, including dental and palaeopathology reference collections. Access to sophisticated equipment and techniques (laser scanner, SEM, thin sectioning, radiography) is also available.

Department: Institute of Archaeology

What our students and staff say

Staff view

"It has been amazing to see the growth of public interest in Stonehenge and archaeology more generally in the ten years that we have been running this project."

Professor Mike Parker Pearson

Archaeology MA
Professor of Archaeology

Application and next steps

Applications

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.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £80 for online applications and £105 for paper applications. Further information can be found at: www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught/application.

Who can apply?

Instructors on this MSc are leaders in their respective fields (bioarchaeology, dental anthropology, palaeopathology, forensic anthropology), offering students an educational experience unlike any other. Additionally, students on this programme come from a diverse array of background and countries, facilitating an exceptional peer-learning environment.

Application deadlines

All applicants
23 April 2020

If applying after the deadline, please contact the department before making an application to see if places are still available.


For more information see our Applications page.

Apply now

What are we looking for?

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology at graduate level
  • why you want to study Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology 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.

Applicants must have studied at least one Human Remains module. 

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.

Page last modified on 13 August 2020