IoA Student Handbook

Provost’s Welcome to UCL

Dear students, 

A warm welcome to those of you who are new and congratulations on making UCL your university of choice. To those of you returning, welcome back.   
  
Your UCL education will take you deep into your chosen field and give you its broader context in our rich multidisciplinary academic culture. It will help you develop skills and networks to prepare you for your future.   
  
We want you to learn how to think, not what to think, through UCL’s research-based approach to education. Our students are our partners and contributors, working alongside world-leading academic staff to pursue excellence, break boundaries and make an impact on global challenges.   
  
I warmly encourage you to shape your journey at UCL. Take our university-wide surveys and work in partnership with academics to make your programme of study even better.  Each programme also has opportunities for you to volunteer as an academic representative to work closely with your department to improve the student experience.

This is an exciting time to make your voice heard, with UCL East, the biggest development in UCL’s history, welcoming its second cohort of students and work continuing on implementing our 2022-2027 strategic plan for education. Preparations are also in train on marking UCL’s bicentennial in 2026, with our student partners involved in planning an inspiring programme of events to celebrate this landmark anniversary.

UCL is a community of great minds. You are a valuable member of that community. I hope you will take every opportunity to shape your time with us, so that your experience is the best possible.   

  
Dr Michael Spence
UCL President and Provost 

IoA Director's Welcome

Dear students,

Welcome to the UCL Institute of Archaeology.

We are one of the UK's leading specialist institutions, and one of the largest centres for archaeology, cultural heritage and museum studies in the world. Founded in 1937, we actively pursue research at archaeological sites and collections, as well as with living communities globally.

More than 60 academic staff work at the IoA, teaching and conducting research including archaeological fieldwork, laboratory analyses and conservation, artefact studies, public archaeology and theoretical, synthetic, and analytical work. We aim to provide you with stimulating, research-led courses within flexible and wide-ranging degrees. Our graduates have an enviable record in securing employment in both public and private sectors.

The IoA is ideally located in the heart of Bloomsbury, near both the British Museum and British Library, in London’s cultural hub.  We inhabit a purpose-built building, completed in 1958, on picturesque, historic Gordon Square. We enjoy unrivalled resources for students and staff, especially our world-leading Archaeological Library, the Wolfson Laboratories, and our own major archaeological collections. We have a rich programme of high-profile international speakers, symposia, seminars, and other events every year.

We are also a partner of Archaeology South-East (ASE), the commercial archaeology division of the UCL Institute of Archaeology. ASE works across south-east England, London and internationally to bring the world-class expertise of UCL to clients and communities in need of advice on heritage protection and archaeological research. Our partnership provides students with the opportunity to gain knowledge of the world of contract archaeology.

You are now a member of the IoA with its long tradition of excellence and inquiry. You are also a member of UCL and will be able to enjoy the benefits of studying in a diverse, highly-ranked university.

I invite you to take full advantage of the unique opportunities which lie before you.

Professor Kevin MacDonald
Director, UCL Institute of Archaeology