Our distance learning courses allow you to study ancient history and classical archaeology no matter where in the world you live. The courses are designed to allow you to either study full-time or to fit your studies in alongside work and family commitments in a way that works for you. When it comes to understanding the past, two disciplines are often better than one. In this degree, you’ll study the ancient and classical worlds through both textual and material remains, with the added flexibility of working from home.

Our BA in Ancient History and Classical Archaeology uniquely brings the two disciplines together and is based on our extensive experience in developing and teaching both archaeology and ancient history courses and our world-leading research.

This course will introduce you to key issues in the study of the past through textual and material remains, encouraging you to reflect on the contrasting and complementary images that these approaches create. You will learn to decipher short texts in the Greek and Latin alphabets, allowing you to work directly with ancient written evidence.

We have been successfully teaching distance learning courses to students around the world since 1996. This course is based on our extensive experience in developing and teaching archaeology and our world-leading research. Our modules are designed to inspire you and enable you to gain a wider knowledge of your chosen topic.

We will provide you with an intellectually challenging and stimulating curriculum that draws on the expertise of staff from the School of Archaeology and Ancient History members. We have a proven track record of successfully delivering distance learning courses that will help you gain the transferable skills necessary for successful career development or further academic study. As a result, our courses are highly valued by employers, who recognise the key transferable and subject-specific skills gained.

What's the difference?

If you know from the outset that you can’t, or don’t want to, commit to a full BA, you can apply for the Certificate or Diploma only. Similarly, if for any reason, after you have applied, you are unable to complete the full BA programme, you can opt to leave at the end of Level 1 with a Certificate or at the end of Level 2 with a Diploma.

Why Leicester?

• Students from more than 25 countries have chosen to study archaeology by distance learning with us.
• We are the world leaders in archaeology and ancient history courses by distance learning. This is not just a marketing boast – we have been teaching students by distance learning for nearly 20 years.
• Our distance learning courses are written and taught by academic staff with specialisms in the subject area. All our teaching is informed by our own original research.

Teaching and learning

Each module consists of specially prepared self-study materials, which are made available online through Blackboard, our virtual learning environment, and supplemented by our Library's online materials and book-loans-by-post service.

We recommend that you set aside 12-15 hours of study time per module per week. Each module has a module coordinator who will be in regular contact with you. They will be available via email or online call to provide advice on academic and study matters.

Wherever you are in the world, you will have access to University services, including the University’s David Wilson Library and its extensive range of electronic journals and e-books.

We provide excellent learning support, delivered by the same expert archaeology academics and professionals as our on-campus courses.

Because we understand that many of our students are combining study with demanding careers and family lives, we provide a range of entry and exit points onto our courses, along with the opportunity to move between full-time and part-time study if circumstances change.

We received a maximum of 24 in the most recent QAA teaching assessment, so you can be confident that we can translate our leading research into effective and relevant teaching, allowing you to gain maximum benefit. We have some of the most satisfied students in the country, with consistently high student ratings in the National Student Survey.

Assessment

Modules are assessed by a variety of types of coursework. This includes written coursework, usually in the form of essays or reports as well as posters, site studies, and exercises. There are no examinations and no requirements for you to attend the University campus for assessments.

Field School and Research Boot Camp

The optional Level 2 Field School module gives you the opportunity to get practical, hands-on experience in a number of aspects of survey and excavation by opting to participate in the week-long field school that we organise each year in Leicestershire.

At level 3 you will take a Research Bootcamp module to prepare you for your dissertation. You can either come to campus for this and have a week-long practical laboratory-based experience at the University of Leicester or you can take this module remotely like your other modules.

How does distance learning work?

Our courses are designed to work for a global audience of students who often lead busy lives. They are delivered by expert academic staff (the same people who teach our campus-based courses!). You work remotely at your own pace. You will be given access to our Virtual Learning Environment where all the materials for whichever module you are currently studying will be accessible as well as a student forum with overarching information about our courses.

Students can start their studies at two different points in the year, either in September or February. They can study part-time taking one module at once, or full time studying two modules at a time. You can pause your studies at the end of a module if you need to.

The teaching semester is divided into two halves of 6 weeks. There will be 6 sections of material to work through, then you will pause to complete your first assessment. This is followed by a further 6 sections of material before you complete your final assessment. There are no set times when you need to attend class or complete your study work except for assessment deadlines. This means you can fit your studies around your work and family life in a way that works for you whether that is studying in the evenings, at the weekend, or during the daytime.

Each module has its own space in the Virtual Learning Environment where our staff have designed content to help you learn. This might include recorded lectures, guided readings, exercises to complete, podcasts, discussion boards and optional live sessions: each module is different! These materials will guide you through the module content. Each module has a module coordinator who is responsible for the delivery of the module. You will hear from them regularly as they guide you through your learning. You will also have access to an e-reading list where all the key sources for the module are linked. In addition, you will also have access to our university library, which has masses of digital resources you can access online - but they’ll also post you physical books too. In addition, they are able to provide lots of help and support, from finding resources to improving your academic skills.