Master of Arts in Early Prehistory and Human Origins

at University of York United Kingdom

The Centre for Medieval Studies (CMS) is the UK’s oldest and largest centre for the interdisciplinary study and research into the Middle Ages. Our expertise spans over 1,000 years and multiple disciplines and faculties, offering dedicated skills training in palaeography, diplomatic and medieval languages.

New disciplines will complement your existing experience, offering you bespoke interdisciplinary modules as well as world-class teaching in the subjects of Archaeology, Literature and Language, History, History of Art and History of Science. You'll learn to recognise how geographies, chronologies and sources of evidence are interrelated, while exploring the fields of study that most interest you. Our global range of research and teaching extends across medieval Britain, Scandinavia, Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa and Islamic Cultures, from 500-1500.

Our new interdisciplinary pathway examines the cultures of the Islamic world through the prism of literature, history, archaeology, art and architecture. Drawing on the wide ranging experience of our staff, you can create a bespoke programme that demonstrates the close connections across the medieval Mediterranean and beyond into Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Anatolia, Central Asia and east Africa.

In the medieval city of York, inspiration is everywhere, and you'll have access to some of the UK's most important medieval archives and museums, including York Minster Library and Archives, the Borthwick Institute for Archives, the Yorkshire Museum, and Jorvik Viking Centre.

Our Biology course is a flexible and broad-based degree that covers biomedicine, biotechnology, genetics, ecology, and evolutionary biology.

This course is ideal if you want an interdisciplinary approach to biology, or wish to specialise at a later stage. You will have a wide range of options to tailor the course to your developing interests.

The study of life ranges from the chemistry of single molecules to understanding how populations of different species respond to changes in the environment. Driven by cutting-edge technologies, we now live in an era where medicines can be tailored to individuals and the genomes of novel organisms can be sequenced in less than a day. An explosion of discoveries relating to how cancer develops, predicting the effects of climate change and harnessing the biotechnological potential of organisms to produce fuel, food and medicines makes biosciences one of the most exciting and relevant subjects of the 21st century!

Adding a year in industry or a year abroad are both an option with this course too, so you can benefit from the advantages that a year away can bring. The Department of Biology will provide you with the opportunity to learn in new, spacious and modern teaching laboratories which provide excellent facilities for practicals and small group project work, alongside our state-of-the-art computing facilities.

Explore how the individual and the social environment influence each other.

Understand how identities, choices and actions are shaped by interactions with other people, society and culture.
Delve deep into the significance of personality, values and mind and their interplay with social activity. Learn how to think critically and craft arguments - attributes valued by employers.

Funerary archaeology combines analysis of human remains with their archaeological context to take a truly interdisciplinary approach to studying both life and death in the past.

Our course will enable you to use the latest techniques and equipment to build key, practical knowledge and explore the varied archaeological and methodological approaches to funerary archaeology. You'll have the chance to develop your skills in a range of different methods and techniques, but all centred on learning how to investigate death and burial in the past.

The flexible nature of the course enables you to pursue your own particular period or methodological interests by selecting modules that appeal to your research interests. You'll work alongside internationally renowned specialists and gain 'hands on' experience of the analysis of human remains. You'll get the chance to learn through field trips to local museums and relevant sites, such as the prehistoric monuments in the Yorkshire Wolds.

Through a combination of academic studies, practical training and research projects, you will learn the specialised skills required for the historical research, visual analysis and archaeological recording and interpretation of buildings. You'll gain a foundational knowledge of the history of architecture in the UK, from c.1000 to the present day. The course will allow you to explore current intellectual and professional research priorities in the archaeology of buildings and introduce you to conservation legislation, policy and practice. You'll leave with excellent research and communication skills relating to the research, analysis and interpretation of historic buildings.

The course brings together experts in buildings survey and recording, archive research, legislation and policy, conservation, theoretical interpretation and computer modelling to deliver a dynamic course, which will equip you with the specialist skills and knowledge required for a career in researching, managing, interpreting and conserving historic buildings. Specifically, you will gain valuable experience in archive research, photogrammetry and other 3D recording methods, CAD drawing, and computer modelling of historic buildings.

A BA in Social Policy, Crime and Criminal Justice will give you a broad introduction to a range of social sciences as well as an understanding of the development of the criminal justice system and the welfare state.

A fundamental part of the degree is the work placement, offering you a chance to learn from professionals in a crime or criminal justice field.

This degree is ideal if you're interested in how crime is defined and how governments can deal with it, as well as how policies on crime and criminal justice relate to other areas of social policy.

Graduates are well equipped for careers in the police service, probation, the voluntary sector and agencies dealing with youth offending and other forms of crime.

Astrophysicists look to the skies to discover more about the nature of our Universe.

From the nuclear reactions that power our sun to the mysteries of dark matter, you'll study the great challenges of cosmology in topics aligned with our active research.

To explore the cosmos you'll need grounding in many disciplines of physics, from optics to electromagnetism, quantum physics to classical mechanics. You'll gain foundational understanding of fundamental physics, scientific principles and methods. You'll learn key skills for analysing real-life problems, write scientific reports to industry standards, communicate complex concepts, and solve mind-bending astronomical puzzles.

Chemistry is often referred to as the 'central science'. It covers topics as diverse as quantum mechanics and the study of atomic particles, to the molecular nature of biological systems and the Human Genome Project.

Learning about the fundamental basis of chemistry - the analysis of molecules, their structures and shapes and how they react - is vital for our modern society. Chemists can really make a difference in the world.

The MA in Comparative and International Social Policy will train you in comparative and international policy analysis, research and design.

It is ideal for those working or hoping to work in international policy analysis and policy development in governments, charities and NGOs around the world.

This MA is especially suitable for:

• graduates from degrees in social policy, politics, sociology, international studies or other social sciences
• graduates from other backgrounds who wish to develop a high quality of graduate level research training in social research methods and policy analysis
• graduates who wish to develop an understanding of comparative and international welfare institutional arrangements
• those looking to develop a career in social research and/or policy analysis.

For thousands of years, maths and philosophy have occupied the same ground.

From Pythagoras to Bertrand Russell, both disciplines developed their own cultural identities, but naturally remained unified. Our contemporary maths and philosophy degree applies that marriage of logic and reasoning to the meaning of life and society.

Philosophy is not a body of knowledge, but an activity: the activity of seeking a reflective understanding of ourselves and of the natural and social worlds we inhabit. Your maths and philosophy degree will reflect that body of knowledge and range of thinking.